Post 325: A Short Trip to Charlottesville, VA

A Short Trip to Charlottesville, VA 

I recently made the almost 2 hour drive to Charlottesville, Virginia and visited with Family (one in the hospital) and made a few stops while there; including Trump Winery, Yoders, and Carter Mountain. As you can see from the pictures, a beautiful day it was on Wednesday, September 20, 2023.

Trump Winery

On the way to Charlottesville, on 29 North (although I was going south), about 25 miles outside of Charlottesville is a very cool store called Yoders Country Market. It is well worth the visit as it has wonderful jams, jellies, flours, baking supplies, candies, baked goods, ALL types of wonderful spices, frozen goodies, refrigerated goodies, a deli and SO much more. 

2105 S Seminole Trail, Madison, VA 22727
https://www.yoderscountrymarket.net/

I guess I should mention the Petting Zoo as well with Leonardo di Goat "I'm King of the World!" up on the ramp over head.

After spending some time visiting with the Family on Tuesday, my aunt and I decided to revisit Trump Winery. We had gone there prior to Covid, around Christmas-time maybe in 2018 or 2019 and had such a great lunch there and the wine tasting was really exceptional as well. We remembered the lovely view and had a wonderful time there and hoped for a repeat. Well....

Over the river and through the woods we go, past the Carter Mountain Orchard entrance, past Michie Tavern https://www.michietavern.com/ and the gift shop, past Monticello and Jefferson Winery (I have GOT to go back to these spots too!). And then we realized the GPS wasn't stopping where we once entered the Trump Winery...on we drove, over hill and dale. And then discovered, low and behold, a NEW Trump Winery! Jaw-dropping. I'm hoping you heard my, "WOW".

We did not realize that the huge 'mansion' viewable from the previous spot across the valley on the mountainside had been under renovation and was now THE Trump Winery for the last 2 years. It was gorgeous. It was awesome. It is now the largest winery on the East Coast.

https://www.trumpwinery.com/

Click on the image for a larger view.

The original Trump Winery was on the far distant tree line and will become a cidery. The ground nearby is going to be planted with apple trees.

There was plenty of outdoor seating, also with tables and chairs in the shade, and plenty of people enjoying themselves. We met people from Florida, Colorado, and Ohio. Lunch was devoured, wine tasting was GREAT and what an interesting presentation! Select the wines you want to try (and size) and they served on a wooden tray with small glass container inserts. Or you could build your own sampler. 

We enjoyed the flat bread pizzas and LOVED the wines we sampled.

Only one tasting room was officially open but we counted 2 other rooms that had tasting areas. And LOTS of indoor seating as well, in nooks and crannies and great views all around. Wouldn't this be an incredible spot for a wedding! Of course, that is what it is built for as well and they could handle several going on at once, I suspect.

The Gift Shop included not only all the wines, but the wine merchandise - wonderful selections and the quality of everything, the BEST!

The courtyard. Immaculate was a word that came to mind besides beautiful.

After leaving the winery and winding our way back past Monticello, we decided to stop and Carter Mountain...apple cider, just picked apples and MORE. An ice cream cone was in our future. Charlottesville lays there between Carter Mountain and the distant mountains.

https://chilesfamilyorchards.com/carter-mountain-orchard/

It's been awhile since I've been to Carter's. I remember getting peaches there before, but those are past their time. The drive UP the mountain is now paved - good to see. Apples and pumpkins are the featured items this time of year, along with apple doughnuts. Ohhhh yeah. Along with a large gift shop with all kinds of goodies and souvenirs. 

The opposite side of Carter Mountain.

I told my aunt that even though she had visited Trump Winery many times in the past, everyone will need to come back again and see it now. Lucky her, she's only about 12 miles away or so.

Definitely more time was needed to go back to Monticello and there are so many other wineries in the area. Not sure we could ever get such a beautiful, perfect day with a light breeze the next time! But it would be worth it.

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