Monticello Wine Company
Winery in Charlottesville, Virginia, US
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 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]
