regularly ranked as
one of the country’s
best places to live. This
culturally rich town of
45,000 is home to the
University of Virginia
(UVA), which attracts
Southern aristocracy
and artsy bohemians in
equal proportion. The
UVA’s centerpiece is
the Thomas Jefferson-
designed Rotunda (%434-
924-7969; 1826 University Ave),
a scale replica of Rome’s
Pantheon. Free, student-
led tours of the Rotunda
meet inside the main
entrance daily at 10am,
11am, 2pm, 3pm and
4pm. UVA’s Fralin ArtMuseum (%434-924-3592;
155 Rugby Rd; hnoon-5pm
Tue-Sun) has an eclectic
and interesting collection
of American, European
and Asian arts.
The main attraction
is just outside of ‘C-ville’:
Monticello (%434-984-
9800; http://www.monticello.org;
931 Thomas Jefferson Pkwy;
adult/child $24/16; h9am-
6pm Mar-Oct, 10am-5pm
Nov-Feb), an architectural
masterpiece designed
and inhabited by Thomas
Jefferson, Founding
Father and third US
president. Today it is the
only home in America
designated a UnescoWorld Heritage site. Built
in Roman neoclassical
style, the house was the
centerpiece of a 5000-acre
plantation tended by 150
slaves. Monticello today
does not gloss over the
complicated past of the
man who declared that
‘all men are created equal’
in the Declaration of
Independence. Jefferson,
a slave owner, is thought
to have fathered children
with slave Sally Hemings.
Jefferson and his family
are buried in a small
wooded plot near the
home.54 p321
BREWERIES AND WINERIES OF THE PIEDMONT
Small- and medium-scale wine making and beer brewing is rapidly growing in the
Piedmont. The following are all in Charlottesville or the surrounding vicinity.
Blenheim Vineyards (%434-293-5366; http://blenheimvineyards.com; 31 Blenheim Farm,
Charlottesville; tastings $5; h11am-5:30pm) Blenheim is owned by musician Dave
Matthews (of the Dave Matthews band), who in some ways – what with his folkie-
preppie vibe and eternal gap-year sunniness and sense of discovery and the fact
that he owns a vineyard – is the Platonic ideal of a University of Virginia student.
Trust us, the album Crash is as popular on campus as it was in 1998. Anyway, the
wines are great and the setting is sheer bucolic joy.
Blue Mountain Brewery (%540-456-8020; http://www.bluemountainbrewery.com; 9519
Critzer’s Shop Rd, Afton; h11am-10pm Mon-Sat, to 9pm Sun) Located 20 miles from
Charlottesville near the high slopes of Skyline Dr, Blue Mountain Brewery is some
kind of wonderful. These guys are dedicated to their craft and their craft beers,
which includes a crisp Bavarian-style wheat beer that is all kinds of good in the hot
summer swelter, and the muscular Full Nelson, brewed with local hops.
Pippin Hill (%434-202-8063; http://www.pippinhillfarm.com; 5022 Plank Rd, North Garden; tastings
$6; h11am-5pm Tue-Sun) Wonderful views over the rolling plateau of the Piedmont
greet you at Pippin Hill, which is located in a bar that just about screams rustic
hipster paradise. Pippin Hill leads the way in practicing sustainable viticuture.
Champion Brewing Company (%434-295-2739; http://www.championbrewingcompany.com;
324 6th St, SE Charlottesville; h5-9pm Wed, 4-11pm Thu-Sat, 1-6pm Sun) The Champion is
in Charlottesville proper, so there’s no need to worry about calling that cab after
your brewery-bound tasting test. More importantly, these guys know their stuff, as
evidenced by their heavy porters and flavorful kolsches.VIRGINIA.TRIPS.26
(^) PENINSULA TO THE PIEDMONT