Monticello Wine Trail: King Family Vineyards

     Can't believe it's taken me this long to finally review my favorite winery that I've been to so far,  but better late than never! Time to take a virtual trip over to King Family Vineyards. I hope if you're local you've already had the chance to visit this incredible place. If you live outside of Virginia, enjoy this virtual tour!

     As you can see from the photos above, I've visited King Family Vineyards many times, and in all sorts of weather and seasons! When other wine lovers in Charlottesville ask me the standard "What's your favorite winery?" question, I honestly never used to know how to answer. As of now, I've been to over 20 Virginia wineries so far (and 18 on the Monticello Wine Trail), and there's been something that I've enjoyed about all of them. If I don't love the wine, it probably has a stunning tasting room and beautiful views. And vice versa- maybe the tasting room at a winery is small or outdated, but they are producing really unique varietals and I end up loving the wine! To summarize, it was really tough for me to pick a favorite for my first few months in Charlottesville last year. That was, until I first went to King Family Vineyards!

    King Family is one of the larger wineries on the Monticello Wine Trail, and is located in in the charming small town of Crozet, about 30 minutes from downtown Charlottesville. It's located right off I-64 and US 250, so it's very easy to get to (unlike some smaller wineries also in the Crozet area, which can be more off the beaten path). The tasting room is spacious and beautiful, and King Family has indoor and outdoor seating for guests. The winery was founded in 1998 is named for the actual King family, and the business is still family run today.

     The best known wine at King Family Vineyards is probably their rosé (it might just be the best known rose in all of the Monticello Wine Trail!). It's called Crosé, and is named after the town of Crozet (pronounced Cro-zay, just like their wine name!) which the winery is located in. It is a delicious rosé, and for this past season they launched Crosé cans as well. I have to be honest though- my absolute favorite wines at King Family are actually some of their whites! Their Chardonnay and Viognier are just fantastic, and possibly some of my favorite white wines at all the local wineries I've been to. Another reason that I like King Family so much is because when I've done tastings here I've found that I actually don't mind most of their red wines! I am not really a red wine drinker at all, but I find theirs to be very smooth and nice "intro reds" for those of us who prefer lighter generally.

    And one of my other favorite things about King Family Vineyards? Sunday Polo matches!! The Roseland Polo Club has their home base and field located directly behind the King Family tasting room and event venue. Every Sunday afternoon (weather permitting) in the summer, they host free polo matches. The matches begin in the early afternoon, but they open the gates in the late morning so attendees can set up tents and begin tailgating! The first time that I went to Polo last summer, it was one of the hottest days of 2018. On the polo field you're in direct sunlight, and I think it was about 100 degrees by the time my friends and I arrived. That was probably one of the most sweaty days of my life, no joke. Safe to say if it's a really hot summer day, you might want to wait for another weekend to enjoy this! But if the weather is more in the 70-80 degree range, this is the perfect Sunday activity!

     If ever someone is visiting this area and messages me to ask for a winery request, I always suggest King Family Vineyards! It's a great starting point for a weekend in Virginia wine country: great wines, great views, great tasting room, and conveniently located near many other wonderful wineries (including several I've already reviewed like Veritas and Afton Mountain). Hope that you enjoyed today's Monticello Wine Trail review!


     God Bless,


     xoxo Annaliese