Wine Festival at Monticello

It's official now - Monticello is going to have a wine festival this year on Saturday September 18th.  Come join us for what promises to be a great event.  Per Monticello's announcement:

Join us for an unforgettable evening of fine wine and live music. Sample the region’s best wines on Monticello's beautiful West Lawn while enjoying the rare opportunity to stroll around the gardens after hours and learn about Jefferson’s passion for wine and his recently restored wine cellar. Local wine experts will be on hand to answer questions about our region’s finest wines and how they compare to the vintages that Jefferson enjoyed. 

We joined together with another B&B to obtain a special VIP table at this year's event.  Included is a locally sourced gourmet cheese & meat board, 3 bottles of local wine and a special tour of Jefferson’s wine cellar by the person who managed it's reconstruction. A house tour of Monticello is included as well.  Take home two Monticello wine glasses to commemorate the occasion.

We offer this to you as a special package when you stay at Foxfield Inn - two nights in a deluxe room, a bottle of Virginia wine on arrival, two Foxfield Inn wineglasses, gourmet breakfast each morning plus the event at Monticello.  Just contact us at 1-866-369-3536 or book online noting Monticello Wine Festival package in the Special Needs section. Cost for this package is $725 for the weekend.

The Monticello event starts at 6:00pm on Saturday night leaving you plenty of time during the day to explore local wineries.   You have time to enjoy a mid-afternoon hot tub before departing here shortly before 5:15 for the festival.

Peach Pickin' Time

Fawn and David, recent guests at Foxfield Inn, spent last Wednesday at Monticello.  After a wonderful time there they decided to stop at Carter Mountain Orchard.  They brought back some of the juiciest fresh peaches.  There is nothing like the first peaches of the season.  This year the peaches are at least 2 weeks early due to the warm weather we've been having here in Charlottesville.  Luckily for us they decided to share their peaches with us. 

We immediately got to thinking what we could do with them for our guests.  This of course is after we sampled one right from the bag.  The next morning Fawn was delighted to see that we had developed a muffin in honor of those peaches.  We decided to name them Fawn's Peach Muffins.  The aroma of these muffins wafting down the hallway welcomed the guests to the breakfast table.  The muffins were redolent with juicy peaches, lime zest and cardamom.

To finish the breakfast we had peach sundaes - juicy peaches with cinnamon and nutmeg, french vanilla ice cream and a light sprinkling of crumb topping.  What a way to enjoy peaches!

I can hardly wait to go to Chiles Peach Orchard to pick our own or we may stop by Henleys Orchard to buy already picked for us.   If you love peaches the way we do when you visit us at Foxfield Inn we'll give you directions to the two orchards nearby that have wonderful peaches.  You can either pick them yourself or buy them all ready for you.

Friendship Renewed

It was with some trepidation that we welcomed friends from many years ago to the inn.  We hadn't seen Jan and Elmeda in 12-15 years.  Many changes had happened in our lives and in theirs since that time.

Dan and I had retired from our "corporate" careers, moved south to Virginia and started our business here at Foxfield Inn.  Jan had become a successful winemaker at a new winery in upstate New York.  Elmeda had strengthened her skills as a quilter and as a musician.

When they arrived it was like old times again.  We fell into a rhythm close to how we were many years ago.  There is nothing like rekindling friendships.

For those of you who haven't been in touch with friends from the past - reach out and try to rekindle the warmth of your acquaintance.  We were not disappointed!

To Jan and Elmeda - thank you for coming back into our lives!

Music In Charlottesville - Summer Season

I was just reviewing all the email notices from the three main theaters in Charlottesville and noticed the impressive array of music events that are happening here this summer.  This does not include all the restaurants, wineries, clubs, bars and lounges that have live music.  So if you're into great music come stay with us at Foxfield Inn and enjoy the sounds of summer.

At The Pavilion there are numerous great acts:

• Jimmy Cliff with SOJA - Sunday, June 6th
• Harry Connick Jr - Sunday, June 13th
• Sheryl Crow with Colbie Caillat - Monday, June 21st
• B.B. King with Lukas Nelson & the Promise of the Real - Saturday, July 17th
• Lady Antebellum - Sunday, July 18th
• Willie Nelson & Family - Saturday, July 24th
• Primus & Gogl Bordello - Sunday, August 1st
• Lyle Lovett & His Large band - Thursday August 19th

The Paramount Theater is offering up:

• Mary Chapin Carpenter - Saturday, June 19th
• Ash Lawn Opera
• Don Giovanni (W.A. Mozart) - July 3, 10, 16, 30; August 1
• Brigadoon (Lerner and Loewe) - July 17, 18, 31; August 7, 8
• Charlottesville Municipal Band - June 8, 22; July 6, 20; August 3, 17

The Jefferson Theater has the following musical performers:

• Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses/Tift Merritt - June 3rd
• Brandi Carlile - June 4th
• The Dave Rawlings Machine - June 9th
• Dar Williams with Sara Watkins - June 30th
• The Groove train - July 9th
• Dierks Bentley & The Travelin McCourys - July 15th
• The Low Anthem - July 23rd
• Appalachian Voices: Yim Yames, Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore - July 27th

And that's not including the Fridays After Five which rock the Pavilion each week until September 10 this year. The music starts at 5:30PM each week and runs until about 8:30PM. The shows are always free and feature some of Charlottesville's best local artists. Come on down and meet your friends,start your weekend off right at Fridays After Five.
It's going to be a great summer to listen to great music here in Charlottesville. 

Come stay with us at Foxfield Inn and enjoy the sounds of summer.

Springtime in Charlottesville

Well - spring sure has arrived here.  The weather has been absolutely gorgeous this year.  After a slow start due to the late winter spring has shown herself in splendid color.  The daffodils  blossomed, the dogwood trees were in bloom, the red-bud trees showed their colors - what more could we want from spring other than to stay around a bit longer.

Our frog survived the winter and is singing his song in our fishpond in the afternoons.  There are two frogs and they like to sing to each other form opposite ends of the pond.

Spring has arrived in Charlottesville Virginia

Spring has finally arrived here at Foxfield Inn.  The garden beds have been spruced up, the bluebirds are nesting and the goldfish have awoken from their winter's sleep.  The flowers are starting to blossom and the trees are beginning to leaf out.  It is a wonderful time of year.

The deer had a hard time this winter with all the snow and enjoyed eating at our garden.  So we have a special package for you gardeners out there.  Bring a plant with you during your mid-week stay (Monday-Thursday) that are deer tolerant/resistant and receive a 5% discount.  For details about this special see April Showers Bring May Flowers.

Monticello in March

We just received the March list of events from the fine folks at Monticello.  If you are staying with us at Foxfield Inn during the month of March check out these events:

• Saturday March 13 - Apple Grafting Workshop  Skill at grafting is the true mark of gardening expertise, but it's also easy to learn and fun to do. Tom Burford will lead this two-hour workshop designed for the novice propagator. Bring only your thin-bladed pocket knife and a pair of hand pruners. Leave with your own grafted apple tree. $10. Reservations required; call 434-984-9880. Held in the Jordan Classroom, Thomas Jefferson Visitor Center and Smith Education Center, 9:30 a.m. $10.

• Thursday March 18 - Michael Kranish will discuss his critically acclaimed book Flight from Monticello: Thomas Jefferson at War at 4:00 pm in Monticello’s Jefferson Library as part of the Virginia Festival of the Book. Free. Information: (434) 984-7504.
• Saturday March 20 - The reconstruction and stabilization efforts that follow U.S. military involvement overseas and their importance to national security will be the focus of a panel discussion at the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies. This event is free and open to the public, but space is limited and registration is required. To register, call (434) 984-7500 or send an e-mail to icjs@monticello.org by Friday, March 12.

 Ongoing:

• House Tours
• Thomas Jefferson Visitor Center and Smith Education Center
• Family Friendly Tours
• Mountaintop Activity Center