American Viticultural Area · VA
Monticello
Monticello is a federally-designated American Viticultural Area in VA, established in 1984. The map below shows its official TTB boundary alongside nearby AVAs.
The Monticello boundary is highlighted. Nearby AVAs are rendered in gray — click any of them to view that AVA's page.
At a glance
Established
1984
State
VA
Climate
Humid continental
Signature varietals
Boundary recorded in 27 CFR Part 9 · Source: TTB
About the Monticello AVA
Monticello, designated 1984, takes its name from Thomas Jefferson's estate in central Virginia, where Jefferson made repeated attempts at growing European vinifera through the late 1700s and early 1800s — all unsuccessful, defeated by phylloxera, fungal pressure, and frost. Successful commercial vinifera production didn't take hold in the region until the 1970s, nearly two centuries after Jefferson first tried.
The AVA's humid continental climate is challenging — fungal pressure is high in summer, and late spring frost is a recurring risk — but mid-elevation sites on the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains are increasingly productive for Cabernet Franc, Viognier, Petit Verdot, and Petit Manseng. Cabernet Franc and Viognier in particular have emerged as Virginia's most distinctive varietals, more so than the Bordeaux reds that dominated early plantings.
Nearby AVAs
Other American Viticultural Areas closest to Monticello — useful when a vineyard sits inside more than one AVA at once.