Monticello Wine Company

The Monticello Wine Company was a Charlottesville, Virginia cooperative founded in 1873 by local grape growers,[1] led by a German, Oscar Reierson.[2] Its four-story winery had a capacity of 200,000 gallons, and was located at the end of Wine Street, near Hedge Street.[3] It was the largest winery in the South.[4] It shut down with the onset of Prohibition in Virginia, which took effect on November 1, 1916.[1][5]

The Monticello Wine Company building.

Monticello Wine Company
LocationCharlottesville, Virginia, USA
Founded1873
Key peopleAdolph Russow
Known forVirginia Claret
VarietalsNorton (grape), Catawba (grape), Delaware (grape)
Other productsVirginia grape brandy

The success of Monticello Wine Company brought Charlottesville to declare itself "the Capital of the Wine Belt in Virginia."[1] The company was best known for its Virginia Claret Wine, produced with Norton grapes—it "won a major international award in 1873 at the Vienna Exposition."[6] It was located in what is now the Monticello American Viticultural Area.[7]

References
  1. "Historical Highway Markers: Monticello Wine Company". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. 2008-11-30.
  2. Pinney, Thomas (1989). A History of Wine in America. University of California Press. pp. 413–4. ISBN 978-0520062245.
  3. K. Edward Lay (2000). The Architecture of Jefferson Country. University of Virginia Press. p. 244. ISBN 0-8139-1885-5. The Monticello Wine Company...was on a hill at the end of Wine Street near Hedge Street...
  4. K. Edward Lay (2000). The Architecture of Jefferson Country. University of Virginia Press. p. 244. ISBN 0-8139-1885-5. The Monticello Wine Company, the largest in the South at that time...
  5. Eaton, Lorraine. "Virginia's Prohibition history". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved 2008-11-30. On Halloween night 1916...the state joined 17 others that banned the sale of liquor.
  6. Leahy, Richard (2008-02-19). "Virginia Wine: Nearly Four Centuries and Counting". Archived from the original on 2008-06-14. Retrieved 2008-11-30. In Charlottesville, the Monticello Wine Company, operating with grapes grown by co-op members, won a major international award in 1873 at the Vienna Exposition for a "Virginia claret" based on Norton.
  7. "Code of Federal Regulations. Title 27: Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; Part 9 — American Viticultural Areas; Subpart C — Approved American Viticultural Areas; § 9.48 Monticello". Archived from the original on 2012-02-12. Retrieved 2008-11-30.


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