Tranquil Pursuits

Thomas Jefferson’s retirement from public service in 1809 allowed him to pursue his passions once again. Unfortunately, Jefferson no longer received a steady income, and he was forced to curb his appetite for fine wine. For the next seventeen years, Jefferson and his many guests succeeded in depleting Monticello’s cellar. Between 1822 and 1824, twelve hundred bottles of wine were enjoyed by Jefferson and his guests. When the Marquis de Lafayette visited his long time friend in 1826, they drank so many bottles of wine that Jefferson placed an emergency order to a merchant in Richmond, fearing he might run out.

During his retirement, Jefferson again decided to try his hand at viniculture but ended his vine growing in 1816 with out success. Jefferson, however, remained a strident promoter of wine and especially of American wine made from native vines. Over time, Jefferson’s role shifted from critical judge to enthusiastic advocate. Jefferson praised the fruity Scuppernong wine from North Carolina claiming that it would be “distinguished on the best tables of Europe.” It was later discovered that the Scuppernong wine that Jefferson had lauded as “of remarkable merit” was not wine at all and actually consisted of fresh juice fortified and preserved by apple brandy! Jefferson seemingly maintained enough vision to overlook the quality of such early native wines, as not to dampen the enthusiasm of American winemakers.