The Virginia Wine Experience: Jefferson's Dream to the New World Scene

We encourage early registration as space is limited. If space is available after May 20, a late registration fee may apply.

Unlock the secrets to Thomas Jefferson’s fondest yet most elusive dream…one sip at a time. More than 400 years since Virginia’s first foray into the wine world and more than two centuries after Jefferson’s valiant-yet-unsuccessful attempt to harvest the European grape here, the Commonwealth has exploded on the national and international wine scenes. Last July, Travel and Leisure called Virginia “one of the five top new wine destinations in the world.” Here is your chance to follow this most delicious evolution while expanding your own wine horizons and enjoying the work of some of the region’s foremost culinary masters.

Leading this behind-the-scenes journey through the Virginia wine scene will be the man who is widely considered the “father of viticulture” in the state. Italian native Gabriele Rausse, who is today the Associate Landscape Director at Monticello, was brought to Virginia from Italy more than 30 years ago to finally find success in nurturing Virginia grapes. His astounding success in this arena has won him international acclaim and provides him with unmatched access to the region’s top winemakers and vineyards.

You will join Rausse and a host of other entertaining and informative Virginia wine experts (including the area’s top vintners, who become a part of the faculty) on a thirst-quenching and entertaining wine adventure.

It is a program designed for the casual wine lover looking to gain a fuller understanding for wine and the wine culture and for the connoisseur out to further refine his or her well-trained palate.

This is a program designed both for the wine expert and those with the passion to become one. It is for anyone who loves travel and learning, not to mention the opportunity to interact with an impressive array of wine and history experts and fellow travelers who share their appreciations and interests. It is a terrific way for friends or couples to learn together or for families to pass on their wine passion through generations. And it is an experience designed for anyone who, particularly when it comes to food and wine, appreciates the very finest things in life.

This seminar offers unsurpassed value, rich content, and is part of an educational travel tradition with a long history of exceptional participant satisfaction.

Rich in history, architectural treasures, and natural beauty, Charlottesville is nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, 120 miles southwest of Washington, DC, and 70 miles west of Richmond. Charlottesville (airport code CHO) has extensive air service provided by US Airways, United Air Lines, Delta Air Lines, and Northwest Airlines. The Charlottesville/Albemarle Airport website offers schedules and booking for flights, hotels, and rental cars. Ground transportation is provided by Amtrak and Greyhound.

Before you arrive, you will be sent useful program materials and information to help guide you here and prepare you for the seminar.

During the program you will have the option of staying in the University of Virginia's International Residential College (where our classrooms and meals will be held) or at the Lambeth Field Apartments. During the academic year, the IRC is affiliated with the International Studies Office and is comprised of students from a variety of backgrounds and cultures, with over 1/4 of its population being international students. These single and double occupancy rooms have telephones and are served by centrally located restroom and bath facilities. The rooms are not air-conditioned.

A limited number of air-conditioned dormitory rooms are available in U.Va.'s Lambeth Field Apartments, which are located within walking distance from the central University Grounds - about two blocks with a short incline. The Lambeth Field Apartments contain two or three double occupancy bedrooms with a living room, kitchen, and 1.5 baths.

A block of rooms have also been reserved at a local hotel. Please contact us for more information.

Program Faculty

A native of Vicenza, Italy, Gabriele graduated from Milan University with a degree in Agricultural Science. He immediately began combining learning with experience, first working for the Tenuta Santa Margherita winery outside Venice. After completing national service in the Italian Army, Gabriele next gained experience on cattle and sheep ranches in Australia, before returning to Europe to work in horticulture. It was at this time that he was invited by Italian vintner Gianni Zonin to begin what is now Barboursville Vineyards north of Charlottesville. Gabriele began this first commercial vineyard in Virginia with a planting of European grapes in 1976. After his success at Barboursville, Gabriele stayed in the area to help other vintners establish their grapes, a task he is today pursuing at Jefferson’s home, Monticello.

In total, Gabriele has helped to start over forty vineyards and ten Virginia wineries. He also began the first nursery in the state to grow European vines, propagating over one million plants. In 1996, Gabriele was nominated by the Virginia wine industry as Man of the Year. At a recent talk by noted wine critic and author, John Hailman, Gabriele was called “the nicest guy in the Virginia wine industry.” Add to that “the most knowledgeable…”

We are proud to work with our colleagues at Monticello to educate about Jeffersonian history.

www.monticello.org

CONTRIBUTING FACULTY

Peter Hatch.As Director of Gardens and Grounds for the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Peter J. Hatch has been responsible for the maintenance, interpretation, and restoration of the 2,400-acre landscape at Monticello since 1977. Mr. Hatch has managed important restoration projects, such as the eight-acre Vegetable and Fruit Garden, the Grove, an ornamental forest of eighteen acres, and the establishment of the Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants in 1987. He also oversees numerous educational programs, including the Historic Landscape Institute and the Evening Conversations series which honors the legacy of Thomas Jefferson with after-hours symposia on a variety of topics. Mr. Hatch is the author of The Fruits and Fruit Trees of Monticello, Thomas Jefferson and the Origins of American Horticulture, The Gardens of Monticello, and is the editor of Thomas Jefferson's Flower Garden at Monticello.

Mary Hughes. Since 1996, Mary Hughes, FASLA, has been the University Landscape Architect for The University of Virginia, where she also serves as a Lecturer in the Department of Landscape Architecture. A native Ohioan, she earned a B.A. degree in French from Wittenberg University and master's degree in Comparative Literature from The University of North Carolina prior to receiving her M.L.A. degree from The University of Virginia. Prior to assuming her current position, she served as a historical landscape architect for the Midwest Region of the National Park Service, overseeing preservation projects for a wide range of vernacular and designed landscapes in national parks and historic sites throughout a 10-state region.

Along with Peter Hatch of Monticello, Ms. Hughes serves as co-director of the Historic Landscape Institute, an adult education program featuring the Jefferson landscapes of central Virginia as laboratories for applying historical horticulture and preservation practices. She is co-editor with Charles Birnbaum of a book, Design with Culture: Claiming America’s Landscape Heritage, that chronicles the origins of the landscape preservation movement in the United States. In 2006 she purchased 32 acres of land in the Shenandoah Valley west of Lexington, Virginia, where she is planning to establish Jump Mountain Vineyard, anticipating the first planting of vines in spring of 2008.

Bill Curtis, U.Va alum and Proprietor, Tastings Wine Shop Wine Bar and Restaurant. When Bill first opened Tastings in 1990 it was the only fully integrated Wine Shop/Wine Bar/Restaurant on the East Coast and it remains a unique venue for wine experimentation and education today.

Neil Williamson. Neil Williamson serves as President of The Trellis Group, LLC,

a marketing agency focused on East Coast based wineries. In addition to full time clients,

Trellis also serves wineries on a project basis. Monticello Wine Trail Brochure project is

one such example and includes fourteen of the area’s premier wineries.

Christopher Hill is a vineyard consultant and former viticulturalist. He served two terms as

president of the Virginia Vineyards Association and two terms on the Virginia Winegrowers

advisory board. He holds an M.S. in horticulture from Virginia Tech.

Terri Beirne

Terri is a member of McCandlish Holton's Government Relations practice, tracking governmental activity for Virginia wine, health care and trade association clients. Her extensive experience includes more than 20 years of building relationships with the Virginia General Assembly, the executive branch, state regulatory and permitting agencies, the State Corporation Commission and local elected officials.

As an adjunct professor at the University of Virginia and Piedmont Virginia Community College, Terri teaches Virginia wine law to the industry and consumers.

GUEST SPEAKERS

Ellen Crosby is the author of The Merlot Murders and The Chardonnay Charade, the first two books in her best-selling mystery series set in Virginia wine country. Her third book, The Bordeaux Betrayal (Scribner, August 2008), once again mixes winemaking with murder -- and a bottle of wine Thomas Jefferson may have purchased for George Washington. As part of her research for this book, Ms. Crosby spoke with Gabriele Rausse and Cinder Stanton of Monticello. Crosby is also the author of Moscow Nights, a standalone suspense novel published in the UK. Before writing fiction she was a freelance reporter for The Washington Post, a Moscow correspondent for ABC News Radio, and an economist at the U.S. Senate. For more information visit www.ellencrosby.com

William J. Moses is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard in Charlottesville, Virginia. Several years after retiring from the technology industry, Mr. Moses, who graduated with honors from the University of Virginia, relocated to the town where he attended college. With his background in Internet, broadband and sports, developing and running a state-of-the-industry vineyard and winery might seem a curious step, but there is more behind it than just a love of wine -- true love was the motivating factor. Originally in 2001 Mr. Moses stepped in to help his wife, Patricia Kluge, with her burgeoning vineyard and this quickly evolved into a full-fledged second profession. The couple’s passion for wine, enthusiastic work ethic and ability to merge and execute their diverse ideas led them to work together full-time, further developing the brand and growing the business. In 2000, Virginia Governor Mark Warner appointed Mr. Moses to a two-year term on the Virginia Wine Board and named him to Co-Chair the Gubernatorial Wine Industry Study Commission. Subsequently, Mr. Moses was reappointed to the Virginia Wine Board by Governor Tim Kaine and served as Chairman for the past four years. With his growing role in the Virginia wine community and the expansion of Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard, Mr. Moses and his wife look forward to the future.

Also joining us will be other leading Virginia growers, Vintners and wine experts.

Program Staff

Joan Elias Gore, PhD., Director of Travel Programs at the University of Virginia School of Continuing and Professional Studies.

Cynthia Smith , Program Administrator.

pricing and Registration

• If you register prior to April 2, 2008, please return the registration form with a $350 per person deposit (or the full fee if you choose). The balance of your program fee is due by April 2, 2008.

• If you register after April 2, 2008, please return the registration form with full program fee.

We encourage early registration as space is limited. If space is available after May 20, a late registration fee may apply.

Register by fax, 434-982-5297, or by telephone, 800-346-3882 or 434-982-5252, using VISA, MasterCard, AmEx or DISCOVER; or by sending us your downloadable form by mail with a check (made payable to U.Va.) or credit card information to:

If you withdraw in writing within 14 days of registration you will receive a full refund (if not within final payment date). If you withdraw in writing before April 2, 2008, you will receive a full refund, minus the $350 deposit. In the event withdrawal is necessary after April 2, 2008, there will be no refund but you may substitute another person to attend the program in your place.

There will be no refund for unused portions of the program, including but not limited to, missed meals, lodging nights, and sightseeing.

We highly recommend you purchase travel cancellation insurance (and confirm what it may cover). Useful travel insurance information can be found at www.TripInsuranceStore.com or 888-407-3854. You may also wish to check with your local travel agency for recommended sources.

Peace Frogs Travel/Outfitters, a registered travel vendor with the state of Virginia and a full-service travel agency, has worked with our participants in the past to guide them through booking appropriate travel insurance to fit their needs, including insuring expenses for the Travel&Learn program itself. They can also book airfare and arrange car rental, rail tickets/passes, hotel bookings and other excursions. If you wish to work with them, contact them at: Peace Frogs Travel/Outfitters 434.977.1415, 1145 Emmet Street, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903

Information about other travel resources including airport safety and security, currency, health care, packing, passports, personal safety, telephoning, and other useful information can be found on our travel resources page.

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Program Schedule

Summer on the lawn and in the Vineyards: The 2nd Wine Seminar