Charlottesville

We took a few hours in Charlottesville to revisit a few places.

Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson

We visited here early in our journey but decided we wanted to visit again.  You can read about our earlier visit HERE.

It was very hot so we took the tram to the Jefferson family cemetery to pay our respects.  And then walked back UP the hill to the house.

Look who we met!

We'd heard that his talk about his life and decisions made was good so we went inside to hear what he had to say.  He took questions after he concluded his talk and each answer was from his point of view all those years ago.

The next stop was a new one for us.

It looks like a fun place to meet up with friends.

The wine wasn't great but hey, we had to buy some anyway.

The main reason we wanted to visit Charlottesville was to make a return visit to Trump Winery.  Our dear friend, Patryce, has been battling leukemia for several years and just days before our visit her situation took a serious turn for the worse.  If it's one thing she loves, it's sparkling wine!  And after our previous visit, we introduced her to Trump wine and she LOVED it.  Her birthday was about a month after our visit so we wanted to arrange to have some sent to her for her birthday.

What a patriotic way to enter the winery.

We've been to a lot of wineries and this might just be the most beautiful one we've ever visited.

We went into the tasting room and enjoyed some wine.

After a snack.....

.....we toasted Patryce and sent our prayers her way.

We learned that the Trump Cidery had recently opened down the street so we headed there.

The ciders are crafted with locally sourced apples and each batch reflects flavors of the region from crisp and tangy to rich and robust.

The flight was nice and we enjoyed talking with the 'bartender'.  They'd only been open about a month and he was excited to be in his new job.

Yes, we bought a bottle

The patio is beautiful and you can see for miles.

You can even see the winery in the distance.

Sadly, just four days later Patryce's battle ended.  Every time we drink sparkling wine we will make a toast to our friend of over 40 years.  RIP, Patryce.

Virginia - Trump Winery

When we planned this stop, we had no idea that the RV park was adjacent to the Monticello Wine Trail which includes 23 wineries.  So we decided to take a break from history and visit some wineries and relax.  We were surprised to see a sign for the Trump Winery so we made the stop.

The winery was previously owned by Patricia Kluge who was married to one of the world's wealthiest men but when they divorced in 1990, she walked away with a record $100 million settlement.  In the divorce she was given Albemarle - the land, the house, and the antiques - as part of the settlement.  She decided to buy a vineyard adjacent to her property and set out to make world-class wines in Virginia.  By the mid-2000's, she was producing 10 internationally acclaimed wines and the Kluge Estate Vineyard was valued at $75 million.  And then the 2008 financial crisis hit.

Kluge was producing 30,000 cases of wine a year but was only selling a third of it.  The vineyard was losing $500,000 a month and the loan went into default in November, 2008.  She put her Albemarle House on the market for $100 million, auctioned off her antiques and jewelry in March, 2010 and raised $20 million, which she put back into trying to rescue her winery.  The price of Albemarle was slashed to $24 million.

Kluge leveraged literally everything she owned and lost it all.  Farm Credit foreclosed on Kluge Estate Vineyard in September, 2010 and Albemarle House was seized in January, 2011.  She was doing everything possible to try to save her business.

And then Donald Trump stepped in and bought the winery in April, 2011 and re-opened it as Trump Winery in October, 2011.  Since 2012, it has been owned and operated by Eric Trump, trading as Eric Trump Wine Manufacturing LLC.

As we drove in, we were amazed at the beauty of the area.  A long drive up a hill and we were there.

We've been to a lot of wineries and I've never seen a tasting room this grand.

The venue was actually three separate tasting rooms so we headed into the first one we came to.

We checked out the menu and made our choice.

There were cushy couches and chairs so we took a seat to taste our wine.  And to take in this view.

We began talking to one of the servers and she told us about the Reserve Room, which was another tasting room for adults only.  So in order to see more of the estate, we moved there.

Now this was a completely different feeling.  And while there was seating on the patio, we decided to stay in the nice, cool room.  And they served lunch which once ordered, you sit back at your table and they deliver the food to you so that you can enjoy whatever wine you like.  We chose a Blanc de Blanc sparkling wine which was very, very good.

We struck up a conversation with a couple, Heather and Ken, at the next table and had a great time talking to them.  They live nearby so they filled us in on the area.  

We enjoyed more of the stunning views as we headed out.  What a great day!