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Charlottesville won a day on our Virginia itinerary because of my love of history, my passion for Viognier wine, and the chance to be surrounded by the natural beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains; I was sold. 

After spending our first two days in Virginia exploring the Luray Caverns and Shenandoah valley National Park, we headed south to Charlottesville. 

We started the day with a tour of Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s home and a World Heritage UNESCO site. His home was on my bucket list due to our shared love of books. I also love historical homes, especially when they take great effort to be accessible. I was not disappointed; this was one of my favorite historic homes! Part of the magic of visiting historical homes is being in “the room where it happened” and Monticello’s efforts to be accessible made that possible. I imagined Thomas Jefferson thinking about the Declaration of Independence as we toured his home.

I am so glad we bought our tickets online in advance. You have to arrive 30 minutes before your tour starts to allow time to take an accessible shuttle to the main house. Add to that, not every shuttle is accessible, which could have increased our wait. But fortunately we didn’t have to wait long to board an accessible one. And the staff knew how to operate the lift and secure my chair, which made for an easy trip.

The main house is accessible by a ramp and they have an accessible restroom on the level under the house. Your ticket includes admission to the house, museum, and grounds. My favorite room was his library, naturally! And I loved the architecture. While touring the first floor John took pictures of me. I even had him take my photo with the accessible garment hangers in the closet and the Jefferson cups! The guides were all knowledgeable, courteous and accommodated my accessibility needs. 

The grounds were fairly easy to navigate. You get a real sense of what it was like in Jefferson’s time. I was unable to enter the slave cabins due to a step, but I did not encounter any other barriers. We also enjoyed the re-enactor Thomas Jefferson and the historical presentations he gave out on the lawn. I learned he gave his books to the Library of Congress! My mom encouraged me to do the same, in an effort downsize my own library. ☺

Overall this was a great experience, which was easy thanks to Monticello’s efforts to be accessible. Plan to spend 2-3 hours here.

A key skill in mastering accessible travel is planning and logistics. To save time we ate lunch on-site, at Monticello’s cafe, as we had an afternoon of wine tasting we needed to get to quickly. I researched the wineries in advance and picked two on the Monticello Wine Trail. Virginia is internationally recognized for its Viognier wine. The best way to describe Viognier is a dry white with fruity aromas. It is one of my all-time favorite wines. Being in Virginia we had to experience their famed wineries first hand. 

We started with Thomas Jefferson’s winery; Jefferson Vineyards.  At the time we went, they only had outdoor seating and pre-set seasonal flights of four wines. They did not take reservations but fortunately we were able to quickly purchase a flight and find accessible seating. Nestled in a foothill of the Blue Ridge mountains with colorful gardens, the winery grounds are beautiful. I highly recommend their award-winning Viognier and the Cabernet Franc. Thomas Jefferson’s signature is on their famous Viognier and I bought several to take home as gifts for friends and family. 

 

 

The second winery we visited was Dave Matthews’ Blenheim Vineyards; which was my favorite. I am a fan of his music and after this trip I became a fan of Dave’s wine too. This winery had a rustic feel. Dave tried to break out of the stereotypical winery mold, and you certainly feel that when you are there. At the time we went, all the seating was outdoors. We reserved our tasting in advance. The flights featured two white blends, one red blend, and a rose. We were also able to sample my favorites; the Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc, and Cabernet Franc. One of the coolest things is that Dave himself creates the art for some of the labels. As you may have guessed, we did some serious shopping for gifts. We have many Dave Matthews Band fans in our family and all were thrilled with the gifts. This is definitely the best celebrity owned winery I’ve been to.

 

 

We spent the evening exploring Charlottesville’s cute downtown area with an appetizer at Tillmans and dinner at the local tapas restaurant. All of this was near the University of Virginia’s campus and the energy was lively and enjoyable.

 

We ended our day shopping at Wegmen’s to grab a couple bottles of wine from wineries we did not have time to visit. 

 

Charlottesville has a unique history and charm that I haven’t encountered on other wine vacations I have taken, and the Virginia Viognier is the best I’ve had. In addition, my enthusiasm for this trip convinced me I had a future as a travel influencer when one of my friends booked a trip to the Monticello Wine Trail this May based on my recommendation! 

 

The Virginia attractions we visited were an easy drive from Northeast Ohio. We will most definitely make another trip back in the future!