POINTS OF INTEREST
• Connections with the legacy of Thomas Jefferson, symbolized in the central octagon drawing room.
• Pre-eminent wine is red, because its consistent core varietals.
• Soils of varying mixes of clay and alluvial calcareous deposits.
ESTATE
Name: Barboursville
Location: Situated on the broad, rolling plateau and foothills of the Southwest Mountains in the Virginia Piedmont.
Soil: Varying mixes of clay and alluvial calcareous deposits.
Climate: Temperate mid-Atlantic weather of our growing region, this estate presents the viticulturist with a dynamic mosaic of growing conditions.
Training System: Cordon Spur and Guyot.
Vine Density: 4,000 plants per hectare (1,615 vines per acre).
Varietals: Chardonnay, Moscato, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Barbera, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot,Nebbiolo, Petit Verdot, Sangiovese.
HISTORICAL NOTES
Barboursville Vineyards is the original vinifera winegrowing estate in the Monticello viticultural area of the Virginia Piedmont, and has lead in proving the viability of Thomas Jefferson’s dream for the production of wines of European derivation and style in this region. Originally founded in the 18th Century as a diversified agricultural plantation by the prominent Barbour family, the estate has repeatedly made itself synonymous with leadership in the Commonwealth. As Virginia’s Governor, Senator, Ambassador and Cabinet Secretary, and second-generation heir to the estate, James Barbour exerted an influence in the shaping of early national affairs second only to that of his good friends and close neighbors, Jefferson and James Madison, and was an innovative President of the Albemarle Agricultural Society. With the planting of this vineyard in 1976 by Gianni Zonin, 6th- generation winegrower from Gambellara, Italy, the estate resumed a regional leadership which had been established 200 years before, achieving the viticultural destiny envisioned at the same time.