You may have the universe if I may have Italy — Giuseppe Verdi
I went to Italy last weekend and never crossed an ocean. I stayed right here in Virginia, and had an experience that I can only call magical.
My sister-in-law was out from Utah to celebrate her birthday with her mother and brother (my husband, Tim). We hardly ever get to see FiFi (Tim’s childhood pronunciation of her real name, Christine) and wanted to do something special for her because it had been decades since she had been “home” for her birthday.
Zonin's grapes. Notice the rose bush at the end of each row? They're the "canary in the coal mine" for wine grapes.
So we all piled in the car and drove about 90 miles west of Richmond to horse country. Rolling hills, paddocks, great farms and homes on magnificent acreage — “Piedmont Virginia” happens pretty quickly once you head in the general direction of Charlottesville. There’s a lot of money out there as well as a lot of taste. And, apparently, soil and climate conditions that are perfect for growing grapes. There are some 21 wineries in the vicinity of Charlottesville alone (along the Monticello Wine Trail), and about 155 throughout the state of Virginia. And that was all we needed to know. We were heading back to Barboursville Vineyards and its incredible Palladio Restaurant.
Barboursville — named for James Barbour (former Virginia Governor ((1812-1814)) and friend to Jefferson and Madison) — was once a magnificent and historic Virginia estate located between Monticello and Montpelier. The ruins of the old plantation home (the only building in Orange County known to have been designed by Jefferson) are still visible on the grounds, along with The 1804 Inn and the 18th Century Vineyard Cottages, which are available for relaxing weekends in the country. Now home to Virginia’s most honored winery, Barboursville Vineyards was founded in 1976 by the Zonin family, prominent in Italian viniculture since 1821.
Tim and I eagerly attended our first “local” wine tasting not long after we moved to Virginia. To our disappointment, many of the wines were what I would consider “novelty” wines — made with strange ingredients like strawberries and jalapeños. Or they were simply too sweet for our palates. But the first time we tried the Barboursville Pinot Grigio, we were hooked. So a few years later we were delighted when the Italian club organized a day trip to visit both Montpelier — Madison’s home — and Barboursville Vineyards.
Twenty years ago the Zonin family sent a “talented and somewhat audacious graduate of Italy’s leading wine academy” to Barboursville to see what he could do. Within five years, that novice winemaker, Luca Paschina, presented the Zonin family with an early version of Octagon, which would soon become the most honored red wine in the Eastern United States and which has been enjoyed by both Queen Elizabeth II and President Barack Obama. In his 20 years at Barboursville, Luca has overseen the production of a variety of fabulous wines including Cabernet Franc, Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc, Rosé, Barbera, Nebbiolo, Sangiovese and its famed dessert wine, Philéo.
The tasting room & surroundings
And just as the grapes are overseen by an authentic Italian hand, the artful pairings of food and wine at Palladio Restaurant are the work of Sommelier Professionista Alessandro Medici (formerly of Trattoria Sant’ Ambroeus in Bergamo, Italy) and Chef Melissa Close Hart, who has three times been Guest Chef at the James Beard Foundation and has been twice nominated as one of the Foundation’s 25 leading chefs in the mid-Atlantic region.
I confess that I’ve always wanted to be catered to by a Medici (I was hoping for a poetic appointment in a palace) and while that didn’t happen, we were very well cared for by Alessandro. Our meal began with a glass of his crisp Brut as we perused the menu. Fifi was impressed. The choices are amazingly fresh and mostly local. It’s what Chef Melissa does with them that is beautifully unique while at the same time somehow authentically Italian.
The entryway
When you go to Palladio, you have choices: two, three or four courses . . . with or without wine. It gets more difficult to stick to two or three courses the more you read the menu, but one does what one has to do. Tim can never stop at anything less than four. Mom is always good for two and a bite of someone’s dessert. Fi and I chose the sensible option, I believe: three courses. With wine, all around. Bring it on. It’s a European setting with European temporal sensibilities, so you can count on being seated for at least two hours. All that food will soak up most of the alcohol before you get behind the wheel again . . . we hope.
Our afternoon began with a beautiful drive through the vineyards and up to the restaurant. It continued with an array of exquisite culinary offerings. Our appetizers were a Morel and Parmigiano-Reggiano Flan, Piedmontese Beef Carpaccio, Smoked Rag Mountain Trout and a Braised Rabbit Tart with Sweet Pea Puree and Frisée Salad. Then we moved on . . . Monkfish, Crispy Gnocchi, Roasted Cornish Game Hen and Braised Pork Cheeks. For dessert, Fi ordered the Panna Cotta because I told her it was my favorite Italian dessert of all time, and then I ordered the Brandied Black Cherry Gelato. I think Mom and Tim split the Dark Chocolate and Lemon Marmalade Cake, but by then I was too far gone to notice. Gone in the happy sense. Each European-sized course served with a complimentary wine. Crusty breads and fine service throughout. And how special did they make Fi’s birthday dessert?!?
The best Panna Cotta ever!
We walked out into the sunlight reluctantly, not wanting to leave, but somewhat eager for a glorious drive home through the countryside. Fi was ecstatic. These little trips make the time between the big trips bearable. We are very lucky to be able to do this and we know it. If we can’t have Italy every year, we’ll have Palladio in between. And for your own special occasion, you can have it, too. Make a reservation, even for lunch. And get on the mailing list, because there’s lots coming up this year and if you’re either a wine nut or a foodie, you won’t want to miss one of these experiences. Barboursville. It’s just one of the reasons we’re happy to have found Virginia.
Buon viaggio!
Linda Dini Jenkins is a card-carrying Italophile, travel planner, freelance writer, and amateur photographer. Travel is her passion, so writing about her travels just comes naturally. She hopes all her travelers find a way to express their joys, surprises, and fears as they travel and gives every traveler a nifty journal to help smooth the way. Learn more…
