Monticello is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in the center of Virginia's hilly Piedmont region. The state's oldest AVA (formalized in February 1984), Monticello is named after the estate of the third US President, Thomas Jefferson; it was one of America's earliest vinifera vineyards and the place where he cultivated his extensive French wine collection. Today, the vineyards of the Monticello AVA are planted to vinifera varieties such as Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Viognier, which has become the zone's most famous style of wine.
The AVA is located around Charlottesville, just east of the more-substantial Shenandoah Valley. Covering four counties and some 800,000 acres (320,000ha), Monticello is one of Virginia's more-premium wine regions. Vineyards cover the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains and in the rolling farmland at the base of the slopes.
Monticello's climate is defined by its warm summers and the wind protection offered by the Blue Ridge Mountains, part of the Appalachian range. However, cold winters present a threat – as they do elsewhere in Virginia – with fatal vine-freeze affecting local vineyards. To lessen the risks posed by spring frosts, and to make the most of the sunny, south-easterly exposure offered by the mountain slopes, many vignerons have selected sites at altitudes of 800ft (245m) and above.
The threat of fungal diseases caused by relatively high humidity means that growers have to employ careful vineyard techniques to make the most of Monticello's terroir. Trellising, canopy management and cultivar selection are all important considerations in the vineyards of Monticello. There is a wide array of soils in the area, ranging from silty loams to heavier clay-based soils.
While the vineyards of Monticello are planted mostly to the more popular and prestigious European vinifera varieties, there are still plantings of French-American hybrids and native American vines such as Norton, albeit in increasingly smaller quantities.
