Wine and Roses at Monticello

“They are not long, the days of wine and roses;

Out of a misty dream

Our path emerges for a while, then closes

Within a dream.”

--Ernest Dowson

“Savor the sights and scents of antique roses in peak bloom while tasting local wines in the garden during this ever-popular event.” Sounds like wonderful, relaxing day, right? It’s definitely shaping up to be so at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello on May 31, 2014. From 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., you have the opportunity to attend the The CHP Open House, featuring Wine and Roses.

From rose cultivation to beekeeping, experts in a variety of fields will be making presentations, leading tours and seminars, and guiding you in a wine tasting:

10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.: This talk with Connie Hilker will answer all of your questions about growing roses in Virginia. (Triva: A personal who cultivates roses as Connie Hilker does is knows as a “rosarian.”)

11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.: Enjoy a rose walk garden tour led by Peggy Cornett, the plant curator at Monticello.

1:00 P.M. to 3:00 P.M.: Taste an array of local wines as you learn from the Father of Virginia Wine himself, Gabriele Rausse.

1:30 P.M. to 2:30 P.M.: Monticello’s beekeeper Paul Legrand will share his wealth of knowledge about bees, focusing on the first 18 months of a bee hive.

Click here to download a full schedule for Wine and Roses.

High Meadows Vineyard Inn is only a 25-minute drive from Monticello, so check room availability now, and book your room for a Wine and Rose getaway.

Photo by VAHistorical.org