Vacation near Charlottesville, Va. What to do...?

My lady friend and I are going on a small vacation to Wintergreen, Va with her family. We will be there for a couple days in the middle of October. I know we are going to Charlottesville for a bit. What should we do in this area? Great sites to see? Killer Restaurants? Worthy breweries? Would also love to find an awesome bottle shop to pick up some things I can't get back home in Ohio. Any suggestions on a store or certain beers to look out for?

My brother used to live in Charlottesville so I have been able to check out some of the sites. Charlottesville has a great downtown pedestrian mall on Main street in the center of town. It is filled with some great bars and restaurants including a great dumpling place and an outdoor amphitheater. Starr Hill Brewery is just outside of town and they make some great beer. They recently moved into the Philly region so I am not sure if you have heard of them. If you are interested in trying out some local wine you can check out Prince Michael Vineyard which is perched atop Carter's Mountain. This gives a great view of the surrounding area and they have very informal wine tastings. They also have a large orchard there and you can buy fresh local produce or pick your own apples. In Charlottesville there is a great beer shop called Beer Run that has a great selection and offers growler fills and food as well. If you don't mind doing a bit of traveling You can check out Devil's Backbone Brewery in Nelson County. When I visited it was when they first opened and it was a bit out in the middle of nowhere, but I have heard that there are now two other breweries in Nelson County. A quick google search for breweries in the county turned up Wild Wolf Brewing Company and Blue Mountain Brewery. Those are my favorite spots off the top of my head. It is definitely worth cruising around the downtown area surrounding the pedestrian mall as there are a bunch of bars and restaurants on south street and more on the section of main street that passes UVA. Let me know if you have anymore questions as I can contact my brother for anything I don't know.

I grew up just north of C'ville, sister still lives there, and I am planning on moving back.
Blue Mountain brewery and Devils backbone are must stops( both are close to Wintergreen). Blue Mountain has a nicer view and better food but Devils Backbone has better beer in my opinion. Wild Wolf has some good beers but I have never been to their brewery. Kluge vineyard is well thought of by my sister and BIL along with Monticello vineyard. In town is Star Hill Brewery, kinda hit and miss on their beers, some awesome some not so much and it is personal taste on that.
I would definitely take the time to visit Monticello, not a brewery or anything but it is the former home of Thomas Jefferson.

mb82 said:

I would definitely take the time to visit Monticello, not a brewery or anything but it is the former home of Thomas Jefferson.

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I second that one. Definitely worth the visit, we used to live in Yorktown, we went for a day trip we both enjoyed seeing it and learning more about the president.

Thanks all. We are spending half of a day seeing Monticello. The other half if that day, we will be in Charlottesville. Thanks for the input on the breweries. We will have to check them out on the day driving in or leaving. Or maybe spend a whole extra day.

Leaving for vaca on Wednesday! So excited. Figured I would send out one more cry for help. We will be checking out the breweries suggested on the way there and back. I want to go to a kick ass bottle shop. Where should I go. What should I look for while I'm there? I'm from ohio and would like to bring something back that I can't get here. Any suggestions?

I suggest you check out foamhenge in natural bridge. Your life will never be the same.

Mine sure isnt

If you're into wine, you should know there are over 200 wineries throughout the state of Virginia, which many folks don't realize as they are rarely available outside of VA. The reds in particular can be very nice, VA has a great climate for reds (long, dry summers). One of my favorites (Barboursville) is just north of C'ville.

The pedestrian mall in downtown C'ville is pretty neat, too, for amblin' around and casual shopping or dining. And there are often concerts down at the amphitheater (although probably not this time of year).

And as previously posted, Monticello is a must-visit (and leave enough time to really see it all, the house and the property).