<p>I'm a UVa parent and love Charlottesville so much that I am bringing my work team of 10 to town for a few days of fun and meetings. We will be in town the last week of October and are staying at The Boar's Head. I have a Tuesday and a Wednesday afternoon and evening to fill. Thinking about a Monticello visit one day, followed by a nearby fun/scenic winery or two and a light hike another day followed by a brewery visit. Any ideas on specific hikes (more of a scenic walk) as well as wineries near Monitcello and breweries near a hiking spot would be appreciated. Could also use a couple of fun group dinning recomendations as well. Thank you!</p>
<p>There has been some good discussion on this topic before. Here’s two:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-virginia/1499722-thanksgiving-near-charlottesville.html”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-virginia/1499722-thanksgiving-near-charlottesville.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/university-virginia/1649277-charlottesville-in-the-summer.html”>http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/university-virginia/1649277-charlottesville-in-the-summer.html</a></p>
<p>I personally loved James Madison’s Montpelier estate in Orange Va. </p>
<p>It is also near some of the wineries.</p>
<p>There are some trails at Monticello and right in the area. The visitor’s center will be able to point out the ones that aren’t to hard. </p>
<p>For a vineyard year Monticello, I’d suggest Blenheim. You’ll pass Trump along the way, but opinions about the tasting room and service are mixed. Blenheim is a more authentic winery experience - laid back, nice folks. It’s owned by a beloved local…which will be apparent when you see the art on the walls there. :)</p>
<p>The most picturesque vineyards and breweries the Boar’s Head Inn is a great home base. Pippin Hill is where a lot of people from out of town “get” why we love it here. The wines aren’t amazing, but the food, the decor, and the view are. It’s only about 15 minutes from the BHI. A little further west, the town of Crozet has the Starr Hill Brewery (not beautiful, but they have a good tour), King Family Vineyard (a long time favorite of locals), Grace Estate (new, beautiful), and Pollock. A little further west in Nelson is where the beer lovers would probably have the most fun. Devil’s Backbone is always winning awards, Blue Mountain Brewery has a beautiful patio, and Veritas Vineyard isn’t too far from those.</p>
<p>Another option: 35 minutes north of town is Early Mountain Vineyard in Madison. If the Restoration Hardware catalog was merged with a vineyard, Early Mountain would be the result. They pull their wines from all over the state and they try to have different regions represented on each flight they offer.</p>
<p>I’ve probably written too much. You can google “Brew Ridge Trail” for more info about the breweries and “Monticello Wine Trail” for a pretty comprehensive list of the vineyards. </p>
<p>Another vote for Blenheim. We really enjoyed our time there!!</p>
<p>Ugh. Pardon my writing. I shouldn’t be allowed to post when I’m tired. :)</p>
<p>The Starr Hill tour is indeed awesome! Very knowledgeable folks - and good beer. D took a beer brewing seminar there her 4th year. Also wanted to mention that BBQ Exchange in Gordonsville is now providing food at Montpelier at the Exchange Cafe - their food is delicious. Have a great time! </p>
<p>Ah, Dean J, I can’t tell you how many times I smiled and nodded while reading your post</p>
<p>I’ll put in another plug for Starr Hill, they’re a local success story in terms of breweries. They used to be on the Downtown Mall and you could go and have dinner and a beer with a band that was playing upstairs that night. I have lots of good memories from SH =D The beer is quite good too, Love still holds a special place in my heart. Devil’s Backbone is nationally-renowned, Champion Brewery is on the Downtown Mall, and Three Notch’d (those two are newer, but quickly gaining ground).</p>
<p>As for wineries, I’m with Dean J’s recommendations. I haven’t been to Grace yet, but the others are good. I will, however, put in a HUGE recommendation for Barboursville Winery & Estate. It’s the old home of William Barbour, a good friend of TJ’s and helped facilitate Virginia wine. His home burned during a Christmas Eve party and the winery sits about 1000ft from the ruins of the home, which you can walk down to and explore. The winery itself is stunning, the views are perfect, and the wine is award-winning. You can get a small picnic or full sit-down lunch/dinner there as well. This is hands down my favorite winery in VA and is where I had my graduation dinner, and hopefully, one day a wedding =D
I have been to the others on her list and recommend them all, especially Pippin for the time of year you’re going (though I suggest this as an afternoon one, scenery gets better in the afternoon and the wine is so-so), as well as Kings & Blenheim (both are “classics”…lots of weddings too!)</p>
<p>For “stuff to do”, there will be tons since it’s fall in the mountains. Apple picking is huge and there’s usually lots of activities going on at the orchards. There will be stuff going on on the DT Mall, “fall festivals”, plus the general stuff associated with Grounds. I would look into if it’s a football weekend or not (guessing it’s not) and plan accordingly: traffic comes to a standstill within a mile of Grounds on gameday</p>
<p>I guess I need to plan a trip to do the same one day here soon =D I love this time of the year in Cville.</p>
<p>Thank you, all! Great information. I will plan to report back.</p>
<p>I just wanted to report back on our trip to Charlottesville last week. I brought a group of 10 people from around the country to town for a staff meeting. The trip was wonderful with most people vowing to return with their families and even a couple planning to encourage their children to apply to UVa. Charlottesville turned out to be the perfect destination. Not a place many of my team members would have found on their own and they loved it. Here is what we did:</p>
<p>D1
-Arrived at The Boar’s Head. This was a great choice for even my well seasoned business travelers.
-Dinner at Bella’s. This family style Italian dinner was a great ice breaker</p>
<p>D2
-Morning meeting at the Colonnade Club on the Lawn. This was a real treat and my group loved the experience of being on Grounds for the morning. Although private, the Colonnade Club was very gracious to rent us the Library for the morning.
-Afternoon at Monticello followed by Pippin Hill Farm. Monticello was inspiring as were the views at the winery. Pippen Hill was a great recommendation.
-Dinner in the Mill Room at the Boar’s Head. Terrific.</p>
<p>D3
-Morning meeting at the Boar’s Head
- Hike to Humpback Rocks. Nice short hike and a great view. My team loved getting some exercise and fresh air.
- Blue Mountain Brewery. This was close to the hike and a great casual choice with a view.
- Dinner at Citizen Burger. It was a really fun choice to relax and catch game 7 of the World Series</p>
<p>D4
- Departures (except for me as I stayed in town for Family Weekend)</p>
<p>Thanks to all for the advice. I would strongly recommend Charlottesville for a business meeting.</p>