Mona Lisa’s Toast to the Williamsburg Winery

Whether the real Mona Lisa hangs in the Louvre remains a subject of debate 500 years after Leonardo da Vinci’s painting of one of the most recognizable faces in the world.

Williamsburg Winery founder Patrick Duffeler is ready to settle the matter once and for all. The Mona Lisa hangs inside the Williamsburg Winery, and you’ll never believe it. She’s sipping a glass of wine from a Williamsburg Winery goblet.

A spotlight shines on the intriguing painting that hangs in Wessex Hall.

Duffeler won’t disclose any details about the artist, except for her infectious sense of humor. Like a lot about the painting, that remains secret.

More than 500 years after it was painted, the Mona Lisa remains among the most iconic pieces of Western art, and many aren’t convinced it was actually Leonardo da Vinci who painted it. One theory suggests it was the work of one of his master apprentices, Francesco Melzi, while others believe da Vinci’s rumored lover, Andrea Salaì, is the artist behind the Mona Lisa. While initially Salaì’s Mona Lisa was thought to be a pure copy, by using chemical analysis and infrared imaging, experts discovered a background landscape similar to the original Mona Lisa.

History suggests the master worked alongside his pupils painting the Mona Lisa, believed to be Lisa Gherardini, wife of the Florentine cloth merchant Francesco del Giocondo.

Yet the larger debate centers around her bewitching smile.

“What’s special about the Mona Lisa is the lack of assurance people have about what her thoughts are,” Duffeler says. “They don’t really know what’s she’s thinking.”

Or in this case why she’s drinking the winery’s Raspberry Merlot, the popular dessert wine that showcases the brightness of raspberries with the subtle nuances of Merlot. Did she just enjoy dinner at the Gabriel Archer Tavern? Or did a springtime stroll among the peaceful trees that surround the Wessex Hundred farm put her in the mood for the sweet red wine?

“I would be guessing like everybody else who interprets paintings,” Duffeler says with a playful shrug before adding, “We might not be as popular as the Louvre. But we have a real Mona Lisa.” Come enjoy the painting along with fresh air and the best of Virginia wine at the Williamsburg Winery.

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