Nate and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary on June 20. Not here in Northern VA. No, we took the long (okay, 2 hour) trek to Barboursville, VA to celebrate our status as no-longer-newly-weds at the beautiful Barboursville Vineyards.
For those of you who aren’t familiar (one week ago, we would’ve fallen into that category), Barboursville is about half an hour outside of Charlottesville, which is where you’ll find UVA and Monticello. Good friends of ours recommended Barboursville Vineyards as a vacation destination, and we’re so glad we followed their advice. The winery produces arguably the best vino in Virginia and is the site of some important VA history, as it is the location of Governor James Barbour’s first home (now the 1804 Inn) and second home (The Ruins — designed by Thomas Jefferson, it burned on Christmas day in 1884).
Our first night at Barboursville Vineyards, we stayed in the Malvaxia Suite in the 1804 Inn. The suite consisted of a large sitting room; a big, beautiful bathroom; a huge bedroom; and a porch that spanned the entire front of the inn.
We then moved to the lovely Sangiovese Cottage, which was really more our speed. While Nate and I appreciated the beautiful antiques in the Malvaxia Suite, we were much more at home with the overstuffed furniture, the bird prints, and the English cottage vibe of Sangiovese.
This vacation was all about relaxation and reading, but we did fit in a few excursions. Our first day trip was to Montpelier, James Madison’s home. The DuPont wings have been removed and the foundation is slowly trying to restore the house to its full Madison-era glory. We weren’t allowed to take photos inside, so we took a ton of pictures of the house and the grounds. Our favorite part? No contest — the DuPont gardens.
Our second trip was to Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s home. It was hotter than Hades out, but we persevered, touring not only the house, but the gardens and the burial plot as well.
On our last day in Barboursville, we finally took the time to visit the ruins of the Barbour mansion, take photos of the 18th century cottage next to our own, and partake in other general gallivanting and photo ops.
Our final view of the vineyards and winery on the way home. Good memories, great wine.
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So happy that you had a great trip! You weren’t that far away from us! We hope to get to Montpelier sometime soon – I’ve been wanting to see the new restoration work. We celebrated my birthday on the 19th and I was thinking about you both the next day on your anniversary! Glad you celebrated in style! Hugs from Fredericksburg!