Monticello Wine Trail: Afton Mountain Vineyards

     One of my favorite things about moving to Central Virginia is being smack in the middle of Virginia wineries. Seriously.... this part of the state can be summed up as wineries on wineries on wineries! Some of the more prestigious vineyards are members of the Monticello Wine Trail association, and it's one of my goals as a Virginia resident to visit all 30+ of these wineries. (So far I've been to seven wineries, and six are members of the Monticello Wine Trail!) I've previously shared a review of Keswick Vineyards, and in today's post we're taking a trip to Afton Mountain Vineyards!

Outfit details in this blog post

L to R: Eden, Darian, Kelly and me! These are a few of my sweet friends from community group (bible study) at church.

L to R: Kelly, Darian, Eden, Abigail and me. Love these ladies- wineries are definitely a lot more fun with girlfriends!

I first went to Afton Mountain Vineyards in April shortly after moving- here's a shot from that day! 

      The slogan for Afton Mountain Vineyards is "Grapes Don't Grow in Ugly Places" - and I think that's a fitting way to describe the beautiful and unique scenery at this winery!  Afton Mountain Vineyards is located in neighboring Nelson County, in the fittingly named village of Afton. It's about 30ish minutes to get there from downtown Charlottesville. You do have to drive either up or down a very steep and narrow mountain road (depending on where you're coming from) to access Afton Mountain Vineyards, so this probably wouldn't be the best choice winery to visit in the case of inclement weather. However- both of my visits have been on beautiful sunshine-filled days, so driving to the vineyard up and down the mountain roads was no problem! 

     My first visit to Afton Mountain Vineyards was just a few weeks after I moved to Charlottesville- when my friend Alicia from Alicia Tenise and her boyfriend took me out for a full day of winery visits. We did the tasting at Afton in their tasting room, which included several of their most popular reds and whites. Tastings at Afton Mountain Vineyards are $10. During my second and more recent visit, my girlfriends and I went to Afton for the afternoon to celebrate our friend Darian's birthday. We purchased a couple of bottles of wine from the tasting room, and then took the afternoon to enjoy the vineyard and wine at our own pace (and of course take photos!). 

      

     I've now been to six wineries on the Monticello Wine Trail, as well as the annual Taste of Monticello Wine Festival, held each spring in downtown Charlottesville. (I've also been to one additional winery not on the Trail.) When I moved to Charlottesville a few months ago, I wasn't really a wine drinker and knew nothing about wine. I've been enjoying developing a taste for it, and learning about the different varieties of wine that grow at each vineyard! I also enjoy the fact that generally speaking, winery visits are a responsible social drinking experience and everyone acts mindfully... no one that I know wants to get wasted at a winery out in the country or mountains on a Sunday afternoon for example! I can't wait to keep checking our more local vineyards in months to come.




      God Bless,


      xoxo Annaliese