Virginia's most respected winery, 30 kilometres northeast of Charlottesville on Route 20, on the site of a Jefferson-designed plantation mansion. The tasting room and winery are open daily except Monday. The ruins of the original mansion stand among the vines. Picnic grounds are available and the winery restaurant, Palladio, serves Italian-influenced lunches on weekends. Booking recommended for restaurant visits.
Barboursville Vineyards
A story
Barboursville was founded in 1976 by the Zonin family, the Italian wine dynasty, and it shows: the estate produces Nebbiolo and Sangiovese that would be taken seriously in Piedmont. The ruins of the Barboursville mansion — a Jefferson-designed house that burned on Christmas Day 1884 — stand in the middle of the vineyard, which gives the property an atmosphere no amount of design could manufacture. The Octagon, a Bordeaux blend, is the flagship wine and the one Charlottesville residents invariably recommend; the Viognier is also good.