About Glass House Winery
Glass House Winery is a boutique winery in the heart of Monticello Wine Trail in central Virginia. At our vineyard we craft artisan wines made solely from grapes grown on our property and in our region of Virginia. We now have 15 acres under vine on our vineyard and have chosen grapes that bring out the best of the terroir in our region of Virginia. We cultivate these grapes with meticulous care at our winery, while striving to treat the Earth of Virginia as respectfully and gently as possible in the process.
Founded in 2010 by Jeff and Michelle Sanders the Glass House Winery and the Glass House B&B was recently sold to Jay Smith, who is from Richmond and moving to Free Union.
“I am extremely excited to become the new owner of Glass House Winery. I am so thankful that Jeff and Michelle have chosen me to carry on the unique and beautiful winery they created. As Jeff and Michelle did, I will continue the traditions and provide customers continued high quality artisan wines, delicious chocolates, a great Bed & Breakfast experience combined with music of many genres from local Charlottesville talent.” – Jay Smith
Jay’s son Taylor is a dentist at Charlottesville Pediatric Dentistry and his wife Courtney is a hand therapist at Spectrum Therapy. Both are UVA alumni. Jay’s daughter Jessica is a Opthalmic Assistant and Refractive Service Coordinator at UVA Department of Ophthalmology. Jay and his children are very musically talented and all play at least one instrument and sing socially. All will be part of Glass House Winery.
The winery was a passion for both Jeff and Michelle, combining a love for wine and viticulture with Michelle’s personal passion of hand-made gourmet truffles and Jeff’s knowledge of tropic plants.
According to Jeff, “While we will miss owning the Glass House Winery and the incredible vibe that has developed there, we are extremely pleased that Jay wants to continue things largely as they are—the wine program, the staff, the hand-made chocolates, the music program, and the B&B management.“ Michelle and Jeff will consult with Jay during a transition period, and be frequent guests of Glass House and other Monticello Wine Trail wineries.
Named after the large tropical plant conservatory, Glass House includes a 15-acre vineyard and makes largely estate wines, most of them award winning. They also make and market Glass House Winery chocolates and have been a pioneer in developing the local music scene at area farm wineries and breweries. The B&B is whimsical, has 5 en-suite bedrooms and large spaces inside and out for enjoying your getaway.
For a virtual tour of our one of kind Tasting Room and Conservatory, please click here.
We have built Glass House Winery as environmentally friendly as possible, while keeping it a viable business, using both solar and geo-thermal energy sources, and often using materials on the grapes such as clay to keep pests away, rather than more harmful sprays. If you see our grapes looking like clay some days, now you’ll know why!
