Located at 1800 Fray Road in Ruckersville, 20 minutes north of downtown Charlottesville. This is a small winery which opened in 2019 and which requires reservations – don’t just drop in between other wineries. Winegrower and winemaker Justin Falco is originally from Connecticut, with Italian roots, and worked previously in IT in the San Francisco Bay Area, and then graduated with a Sommelier Certification from the International Culinary Institute.
Wine. One of the Top 50 wineries in Virginia. Montifalco specializes in serious, small batch boutique wines. Justin is currently growing Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Rkatsiteli and Saperavi white wine grapes (the latter to Eastern European varietals are unusual for Virginia). He is currently purchasing Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, and Zinfandel, either from elsewhere in Virginia or from California. At the prestigious San Francisco Chronicle nation-wide wine competition in 2022, Montifalco was awarded a very impressive pair of double gold medals, for their 2017 vintage Malbec and Petit Verdot. Their same vintage Cabernet Sauvignon received a silver medal at the event, and their 2018 “Resilient” (a Merlot-led red blend) received a bronze medal. At the 2022 Finger Lakes Wine Competition, Montifalco’s 2017 Meritage and “Coda Rossa” were awarded silver medals. The 2017 Meritage and 2018 Resilient also received silver medals at the 2022 Monticello Cup. In addition to his own wines, Justin offers a selection of European wines for tasting along with the Montifalco bottles.
Setting. Small winery, space mostly outdoors. Justin believes in high service standards and works to offer visitors with reservations a great experience and lots of personal attention and stories. Smokers into cigars can enjoy an outdoor mobile cigar lounge.
Stories. Advance Mills. Montifalco’s winery is along Advance Mills Road, and just a couple of miles away is a Historical Marker for Advance Mills. This was a new kind of development frequently encountered in rural Virginia in the first part of the 19th Century. Advance Mills was a community which grew around a single mill that John Fray constructed in 1833 on the north fork of the Rivanna River. By the twentieth century, Advance Mills had expanded to include facilities to process corn, flour, wool, sumac, and lumber for local farmers. A general store also sold goods to nearby residents. Villages such as Advance Mills were once common features of rural Virginia, serving as economic and social centers. Industrialization, electricity, and the increasing efficiency of automobiles led to the disappearance of Advance Mills, as well as other similar communities around Virginia. Founder John Fray’s 1810 house can still be seen, as can the Advance Mills bridge crossing the Rivanna. The name also lives on here in Advance Mills farms, and the area is on the National Register of historical places.