It was good enough for Thomas Jefferson ...

We toured Monticello on a recent trip to Charlottesville. Down in TJ's cellar was a note about the kinds of wines that our third president enjoyed. He liked Madeira. He liked port.

He also liked North Carolina wine. REALLY liked it.

In fact, in 1817 Jefferson -- according to the Jefferson Encyclopedia -- "gave the state of North Carolina credit for producing 'the first specimen of an exquisite wine,' Scuppernong, and praised its 'fine aroma, and chrystalline transparence.' " It should also be noted that by 1826, "[w]ith the exception of a 'sufficient' quantity of Scuppernong, all the wines on hand in the Monticello cellar at the time of Jefferson's death came from southern France."

Not bad praise at all.

So why do wine snobs still look down their noses at the "sweet" wines?

Sweet wines - or "comfort wines," as this poster states -- are those "familiar, simple wines that are inseparably linked to fond memories, or places, or events. While they typically don’t receive rave reviews from wine critics and won’t be showcased in glossy periodicals, they do have merit."

Sounds fine to me.

A not-too-distant trip: Monticello

We are in the days of $4-per-gallon gasoline and in the thick of summertime travel, so here is a recommendation of a not-too-far away vacation spot for most North Carolinians: Charlottesville.

It is here where if one wants "to understand who Thomas Jefferson" was, all he or she should do is visit Monticello, "his majestic mountaintop home in Charlottesville, Virginia," writes CNN.com.

... In the entrance hall at Monticello you can see one of his inventions: the Great Clock, with large iron weights that look like cannon balls. In the sitting room, another Jefferson invention: a dumbwaiter built into the side of the fireplace which lifts bottles of wine from his basement.

"He was a remarkably intellectually curious man," said David L. Holmes, professor of religious studies at the College of William and Mary and author of 'The Faiths of the Founding Fathers.' "He was the Renaissance man, the Enlightenment man in the colonies; there were others behind him in the group but he was the one."

Jefferson read widely and was interested in the beliefs and ideas of others. Among his extensive book collection was a copy of the Quran. ...

For more on Charlottesville, visit here.