Charlottesville, VA is a small to medium sized town less than a 3-hour drive from D.C. with a little under 50,000 permanent residents and is the quintessential “college town”. It is home to Shenandoah National Park, the University of Virginia (where Brendan studied undergrad) hundreds of wineries/breweries, and home to an incredible variety of cuisine. When I would visit Brendan in college, we would primarily spend our time exploring UVA’s campus, the local wineries and Shenandoah National Park. After college, Charlottesville became the perfect getaway for us, and we found ourselves wishing to go back more and more. We grew to love it so much we even got married here! Any weekend in Cville is the perfect filled with wine, good food, and countless activities in the outdoors. After years of visiting Cville and finding our true favorites here are our favorite gems in this cute little town.
V i n e y a r d s
Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards
The creme de la creme of Charlottesville wineries is Pippin Hill. You can find delicious wine no matter where you go in Charlottesville, but if you are looking for an entire experience this is your place! Our favorites off their wine list jump between their Petit Verdot and Viognier (both Virginia wine staples) and Chardonnay.
Our move at Pippin is to either get a reservation on their veranda (our favorite) for lunch or to bring a large picnic blanket to sit on their lawn (no reservation required). Reservations open up 60 days out for lunch reservations for their veranda or inside the tasting room, and estate tastings (disclaimer: Pippin does not allow outside food). Either way you can enjoy your afternoon ordering their food, bottles of wine and watching the day go by with the Blue Ridge Mountains in the backdrop. Pippin knows how to please their guests, and their food is no exception. They have their own vegetable gardens with seasonal ingredients that they use on their ever-changing menu. Our favorites off their menu are the grass-fed beef sliders, heirloom tomatoes & burrata, and hummus platter.
Pippin, in addition to being an incredible vineyard, is a very special place to Brendan and me because we got married here! We knew this was the place we were meant to get married, after years of visiting and falling in love with their wine, food, and ambiance. It felt so special to bring all of our favorite people to truly our favorite place. You will not find a more perfect place to spend time on your weekend away.
Logistics
We recommend arriving as soon as they open at 11:00 am if you are sitting on the lawn due to their parking lot filling up quickly. If you have a reservation no need to come earlier unless you want to! We highly recommend making Pippin and any other winery you’re visiting during the weekend, your only plans for the afternoon. After many years of wine tasting, we have come to realize that less is more. Settling into a place for the day feels superior to running to as many wine tastings as you can before the sun sets. We promise.
King Family Vineyards
King Family is a Charlottesville wine staple and a big favorite of ours. It’s the perfect place to bring a picnic blanket and your favorite snacks to relax for the entire afternoon. A big draw to King Family is their polo field and weekly polo matches throughout May-October that the public can attend while at the vineyard. Picture an extensive field with the Blue Ridge Mountains and King Family’s staple green and white barn in the backdrop. Our favorites on their wine list are the Meritage Red Blend and their Crose rose wine.
King Family sells limited food (cheese & crackers) so if planning on spending your afternoon there, you definitely want to plan ahead. Sometimes on the weekends they will have a food truck on their property but otherwise, we recommend stopping at Greenwood Grocery for picnic supplies and sandwiches. It’s a small store with specialty groceries, wine, beer, and a great deli counter with one-of-a-kind sandwiches.
Veritas Winery
If you want to feel like you’re tucked away in the mountains, Veritas is a perfect stop on your weekend in Charlottesville. This was our first winery experience in Virginia, and it quickly became one of our favorites. Reservations are needed for guided wine tastings, indoor/outdoor tables for the tasting room menu, and seasonal fire pit tastings. But, without a reservation you can still spend time on their lawn or inside their tasting room for walk-in wine tastings and ordering off of their menu. Veritas allows outside food, so a homemade picnic is a fun option! For their wine, our all-time favorite wines are their White Star and Red Star blends, they are both a perfect easy drinking wine.
Charlottesville Activities
If you somehow get tired of drinking Virginia’s wine all weekend long, you don’t need to venture too far to find other great activities in the area! If you head over to the University’s campus you can find a wonderful place to walk around and view all the beautiful old architecture and learn about UVA‘s history and the founding by Thomas Jefferson. You will find the famous Rotunda at the center of campus and not far from “the lawn” is The Corner, filled with tons of restaurants and bars for students and visitors. Our favorites over here are Boylan (a burger sports bar), Bodo’s Bagels, and the local UVA merchandise shops.
Outside of UVA, you can drive about an hour north of cville and run into Shenandoah National Park for a day (or weekend) filled with hiking and exploring the Blue Ridge Mountains. Another great option is to drive along Skyline Drive and enjoy the views from plenty of overlooks. This is especially beautiful in the fall with all of the foliage. Our favorite hike in the park is Old Rag, which is a 9.4 mile circuit up to see an incredible view of the park. It is difficult hike, so we recommend bringing plenty of water and food and plan your daylight hours accordingly. Another great option is hopping on to the Appalachian Trail for as much distance as you like.
