Not so long ago, the best wine was European, and good American wine was Californian. Period. Virginia oenophiles knew that Thomas Jefferson had tried and failed to make a drinkable beverage from Old World vines on Virginia soil, and if the Renaissance man of Monticello couldn’t do it, it obviously couldn’t be done. End of […]
If you regularly run out of money before the month is over, it’s time to consider some economies. Here are concrete ideas to help stretch your money farther. First, build an emergency fund—enough to cover three months expenses to start and building to six months. Then if an emergency strikes, you’ll have funds to cover […]
When Norma Rafferty’s father passed away, it made sense for her and her husband, Bob, to have a modest apartment addition for her mother built onto their home. A few calls showed neighborhood zoning and homeowner regulations allowed it if various permits were granted. They hired an architect to design an addition to fit well […]
Walking into a paint place with those thousands of little paint sample cards can be a daunting adventure. Choosing among dozens of shades of white—white!—is mindboggling. And there are hundreds more shades of actual colors with names that range from imaginative to exotic. Here are some things to consider. First, select colors you can live […]
Riesling’s come a long way since the 1970s. After generations of fractured vineyard ownership in the Mosel dating back to Napoleon, the 1970s brought replanting and remapped vineyard ownership. New, sensible roads greatly improved the harvesting process, and many areas planted habitats to attract beneficial birds to the vineyards. Upward creeping temperatures due to climate […]
If you love horses you’ve come to the right place. Our area’s love affair with all things equine began in the 1600s when colonists brought the first English stock to this country. Ultimately, historians believe it was the introduction of the bloodlines from these early animals that resulted in the American Quarter Horse. Today’s horse […]
It originated outside the Omni Hotel in 1988, and it quickly became a Charlottesville tradition. In the 90s it moved to the grassy bowl at the other end of the Mall, and when the Pavilion opened in 2005, it took up residence there. If the Downtown Mall is the locus of Charlottesville civic life, the […]
“An unfolding story” is how one Charlottesville resident describes her collaboration with landscape designer Cole Burrell. That’s apt —their work together has logged nine years and counting. But it’s also a fair description of what happens when you walk through the garden. From the street to the rear property line, the landscape here reveals one […]
To visit Tudor Grove is to step into a river of time. This venerable estate, just south of town off Old Lynchburg Road, has been standing here since 1800—long before I-64, Fifth Street Extended or apartments and subdivisions came to define the surroundings. As the gracious winding drive reveals the first glimpse of the house’s […]
The tiny house movement hasn’t exactly made its way to our corner of the world, but the scene at one local antique shop tells a different story. At Joseph Joseph & Joseph, customers enter to find a restored log cabin—in the middle of the store. Originally a 19th century tobacco barn, the structure needed to […]