Our Story
Originally founded in 1873 as a local wine cooperative, today the Monticello Wine Company is a historic brand re-envisioned by a local Charlottesville wine family. The Monticello Wine Company wine is produced by a local family, for a local audience. Our wines will be found exclusively at local restaurants and shops.
The Monticello Wine Company, once the largest winery in the South, was founded in 1873 in Charlottesville, Virginia. The winery, a cooperative of local grape growers, had a capacity of 200,000 gallons. Once the recipient of an international award for its Extra Virginia Claret at the Vienna Exposition in 1873, Monticello Wine Company closed during Prohibition in 1916. It was re-launched in 2013.
The Monticello Wine Company offers the following wines: Rosé, Chardonnay, a medium bodied red blend called "Doubtless", and a Bordeaux-style red blend, “Cellar Red”, named after the street “Wine Cellar Circle” in downtown Charlottesville, near where the original Monticello Wine Company building stood. All wines have been made by Afton Mountain Vineyards (AMV). The Monticello Wine Company will use grapes grown at AMV for the foreseeable future, working with winemaker Damien Blanchon. Co-owners Tyler and Andrew Greeley will be developing new wines that represent the personality of the Monticello Wine Company label.