Monticello is a nonprofit that operates independently with the support of visitors like you. We remain open during the government shutdown. For details, check our Hours of Operation. We look forward to seeing you.
Hours: Sunday - Thursday, 12pm - 6pm
Friday: 12pm - 8pm
Saturday: 12pm - 7pm
Last open bottle/glass/flight sale 30 minutes before close.
The Vine Food Truck
Hours: Fridays 1pm - 7:30pm; Saturdays and Sundays 1pm - 6:30pm
View the Menu➔
Thomas Jefferson had a deep interest in wine and was known for his efforts to promote viticulture in Virginia and the United States. To that end, he convinced Italian vintner Philip Mazzei to settle in Albemarle County in late 1773 and induced him to do so by giving him a 193-acre tract of land.
Mazzei expanded his property by purchasing several hundred additional acres and planted a vineyard. Jefferson became a shareholder in Mazzei’s Wine Company, alongside other prominent Colonial Virginians, including George Washington, George Mason, Peyton Randolph, and John Blair.
While neither man fully realized their aspiration of a viable wine enterprise, their partnership planted the seeds of what has become a thriving wine industry in Virginia. More than 200 years later, their vision became a reality at Jefferson Vineyards.
