As Americans, we may possibly well consider Thomas Jefferson for the famous words that he writtened when he penned the Declaration of Independence. While that document was vital then, and still stands as a remarkable historical text and piece of America’s history, it doesn’t tell us much about the man who penned it. (Maybe the only thing we learn about him specifically while reading the document is that he was an amazing writer.).
Jefferson was a “renaissance man,” if ever there was one. He was a man who was passionate about finding out– about different cultures, horticulture, architecture, and ideas, to name a few things.
He worked for our nation in various capacities, including as an ambassador to France, the first Secretary of State to President George Washington, and Vice President to John Adams before he was voted for into office to represent the nation’s third president. He also served as the governor of Virginia from 1779-1781.
One of the things his presidency is widely known for is the Louisiana Purchase, when the United States bought a huge chunk of land from France. Eventually, Jefferson had Lewis and Clark explore this new territory and record their findings and observations.
He married a woman by the name of Martha Wayles Skelton, and the couple had children together, though only two of them lived to be adults.
He was highly involved with the creation of the University of Virginia, and it’s one of the few things that he had marked on his epitaph, which reads: “Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and father of The University of Virginia.”.
He established his famous home, Monticello, a beautiful estate with gardens and tasteful architectural elements that display his brilliant for design.
Amidst all of these other points about his life, many of us may not learn that Jefferson was known and valued for his knowledge of all things wine.
Like a lot of his fellow Americans, he liked sweeter wines in his younger years. The time that he spent in France changed his palate preferences forever afterward.
From the personal records that he kept, we realize that he purchased lots of wine which he kept a varied collection in his wine cellar. And, remarkably, his assessments of various wines match contemporary ratings of fine wines as well, confirming his skill, expertise and knowledge.
Jefferson is similarly quoted as saying, “Good wine is a necessity of life for me.” And while we may not be contemporaries of Jefferson’s time, a lot of us might share that same view. And hey, if that takes place to be you, you’d possibly love joining us for one of our wine tours Rochester Charter Bus . If going through beautiful vineyards, becoming acquainted with numerous varietals, and tasting vintages all sounds like your type of a fun times, call us today and book our Rochester Charter Bus!
These sources presented information for this article, and generate additional interesting reading: http://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/thomasjeffers