Three days of celebrating the best of Central Virginia Wines - Tickets now on sale!
The 2015 Taste of Monticello Wine Trail Festival will take place April 9-11, celebrating the best of Central Virginia wines over the course of three days. Tickets went on sale last Friday, February 27 at 10 a.m. and will be available at monticellowinetrailfestival.com and the Charlottesville’s Visitor Center on the downtown mall.
The Monticello Wine Trail Festival is a partnership between the Jeffersonian Wine Grape Growers Society, nTelos Wireless Pavilion and the Jefferson Theater. In addition to our presenting sponsor, Mercedes-Benz of Charlottesville other key sponsors and event partners include Bank of the James and Keller & George jewelers. The Monticello Wine Trail is a not-for-profit organization that exists to promote and encourage cooperation among the various award-winning Central Virginia wineries, which have helped the state’s ranking as the 5th largest wine producer in the nation. The festival has grown into a 3-day event with various wine-focused programming.
“The Monticello Wine Trail Festival is a great recognition of Central Virginia wines, and we look forward to another year of celebrating all they have to offer within the local community and the region as a whole,” says Monticello Wine Trail President Jake Busching.
The festival’s Monticello Cup Awards keynote speaker will be Washington Post wine columnist Dave McIntyre, named by Meininger’s Wine Business International and Worth magazine as one of the most influential U.S. wine writers. He continues to write for Dave McIntyre’s WineLine and is co-founder of Drink Local Wine, an organization and website that highlights writing about wines from “The Other 47” states. Among other publications, McIntyre has written for Wine Enthusiast and Sommelier Journal, and has been honored by The Atlantic Seaboard Wine Association with its two highest awards for his contribution to wine appreciation.
The Monticello Wine Trail Festival will feature more than 25 participating regional wineries and vineyards, including: Afton Mountain Vineyards, Barboursville Vineyards, Blenheim Vineyards, Cardinal Point Vineyard & Winery, Chestnut Oak Vineyard, Delfosse Vineyards and Winery, Democracy Vineyards, Early Mountain Vineyards, First Colony Winery, Flying Fox Vineyard, Gabriele Rausse Winery, Glass House Winery, Grace Estate Winery, Jefferson Vineyards, Keswick Vineyards, Kilaurwen Winery, King Family Vineyards, Loving Cup Vineyard and Winery, Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards, Reynard Florence Vineyard, Stinson Vineyards, Stone Mountain Vineyards, Trump Winery, and Veritas Vineyard & Winery.
The 2015 schedule of events is as follows:
Thursday, April 9: Monticello Cup Awards at the Jefferson Theater
A casual event for wine enthusiasts, focused on the competition for the prestigious Monticello Cup awarded to the best wines of the region.
Tickets: Pricing TBA
Time: 6-10 p.m.
Friday, April 10:
Individual wineries will host a variety of activities during the day followed by a series of winemaker dinners at some of Charlottesville’s best restaurants that evening. Visit monticellowinetrailfestival.com for the latest updated calendar.
Saturday, April 11:
Tasting event at nTelos Wireless Pavilion featuring 25 local wineries and live entertainment. An exclusive VIP ticket is available and offers catered food and an opportunity for sampling exclusive wines from each winery.
Time: 1-5 p.m. (VIP ticket holders gain early entry at Noon).
MONTICELLOWINETRAILFESTIVAL.COM
JOHNNY “ROASTBEEF” WILLIAMS
With such initial success Johnny landed a role in the Orion Pictures “STATE OF GRACE” where he got to share his acting chops with such greats as Sean Penn and Gary Oldman. Johnny’s comedic magic was recognized by Andrew Bergman, who cast Johnny as fourth banana in the Castle Rock comedy classic “HONEYMOON IN VEGAS” opposite James Caan, Nicolas Cage, and Sarah Jessica Parker. Since then Johnny has proven his versatility as a feature film actor by playing a variety of roles, from gangster to auto mechanic with such talents as Billy Crystal, Jim Carrey, and Whoopi Goldberg.
Johnny’s recognition on screen has led him to many independent film projects, and he has worked with such talented directors in that area, namely Walter Hill, Marty Davidson, and Howard Duetch among others.
Film work led to television. Over the years Johnny has appeared in dramatic roles on shows like “LOIS AND CLARK”, NYPD BLUE (numerous times in different roles), and Steven Spielberg’s “HIGH INCIDENT”. Johnny’s natural comedic qualities garnered him roles as a regular in Amy Heckerling’s pilot “NINETEEN”, for CBS, and guest stars on ABC’s “DHARMA AND GREG”, and “CHUCK”. Johnny also landed a reccurring role on the hit comedy “LOVE AND MONEY” for CBS. Johnny has appeared in a variety of network movies, including ABC’s “THE CAROLYN WARMUS STORY”, opposite Virginia Madsen, James Garner, in a special “ROCKFORD FILES” MOW, and Tom Sizemore in NBC’s “WITNESS TO THE MOB”.
Along the way, Johnny’s been recognized with favorable reviews for his performances in stage productions on both coasts.
Johnny has written and produced a pilot for presentation as a comedy series, “MAMA AND SON”, and has written five feature film scripts as well.
Johnny is represented by THE BROGAN AGENCY personal rep: SHAWN BROGAN in Los Angeles California.