A taste of history in the Blue Ridge foothills

VIRGINIA | Jefferson's Monticello serves as the centerpiece for a delicious weekend escape near nation's captial

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Thomas Jefferson wasn't afraid of a good superlative.

Wine, the nation's third president said, was "awakening of life within me."

Music, he proclaimed, was "the favorite passion of my soul."

Coffee was "the favorite drink of the civilized world."

Even feasting on muffins baked by his slave chef Peter Hemings was a "great luxurious act."

There's plenty to brag about in Charlottesville. It's home to Jefferson's magnificent estate Monticello, the Jefferson-designed University of Virginia and, more recently, a bustling foodie scene with an emphasis on fresh Virginia fare and local wine.

Visitors get a taste of both food and history at Charlottesville's Silver Thatch Inn, about a three-hour drive from Washington, D.C.

Hidden off a busy four-lane road, the inn is one of central Virginia's oldest buildings, dating back to 1780. What started as a home for Hessian soldiers captured during the Revolutionary War went on to become a boys' school, tobacco plantation and melon farm, among other things. During the Great Depression, the inn and its 300 acres were bought by a long-time University of Virginia dean, who turned it into his home.

In its current incarnation, the Silver Thatch is a quaint, clapboard inn with seven guest rooms -- all named for Virginia-born presidents -- as well as one of Charlottesville's more upscale restaurants. The chefs/owners, a former attorney and his wife, build their menu around locally grown produce and other ingredients harvested nearby.

While the restaurant is a local favorite, the area's main draw for out-of-towners is Monticello, Jefferson's retirement home. (Given its popularity, you might want to book your tickets in advance.)

At first sight, Monticello looks properly regal -- all white pillars and red bricks, carefully cropped lawns and meticulous gardens, ringed on one side by the mystical Blue Ridge Mountains.

I expected the 30-minute house tour and supplemental 45-minute plantation tour to be an unapologetic, glowing tribute to Jefferson, one of the country's founding fathers and clever inventor. But the tour guide happily proved me wrong when she noted the irony of the author of the Declaration of Independence, espousing the ideals that "all men are created equal" and deserve "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," owned 200 slaves.

A little further along in the tour, our guide enthusiastically delved into the subject of Jefferson's relationship with slave Sally Hemings -- and DNA tests showing he was almost certainly the father of her children.

Even more impressive than the guide's candor was Monticello's stunning architecture. From the outside, Monticello is part White House, part Tara, the mythical setting of Gone with the Wind. Each room is filled with pieces of history, from the otter skins gifted by explorers Lewis and Clark to the autopen Jefferson used to duplicate his correspondence. But the grandeur of Jefferson's estate came at a steep price; he died $107,000 in debt.

Monticello, our guide said, was "a real money pit" when its most famous resident called it home.

Plenty has changed since then, but Charlottesville is still ringed by the rolling farmland that's helping the town make a culinary name for itself among locavores. Chickens are raised on nearby farms; vegetables are eaten seasonally. It's a return to the farm that asks consumers to forgo the long trip and resulting gas consumption that comes with bananas shipped from Costa Rica or beef from Korea.

A plate of cheese made from mostly local dairies goes for $15.95 at the gourmet grocery store at Main Street Market, a collection of stores including a bakery, coffee shop, gelateria and several restaurants that share a common seating area.

Add in two glasses of Virginia wine -- better than it sounds -- and you're indulging in the kind of history lesson best suited for vacation.