There’s no need to travel far to wine country. From Travelers Rest to Tryon, the lower Blue Ridge boasts wineries and vineyards that are producing standout bottles against a backdrop of stunning Appalachian scenery. Get out, explore, and savor the taste of your own backyard at these to premier wine destinations.
For the Philosopher: Marked Tree Vineyards
If someone offers me a glass of grüner veltliner, I am almost certain to accept. I did not expect to find that intriguing Austrian grape when visiting Marked Tree Vineyard in Flat Rock, North Carolina, but there it was. I was given their 2018 vintage; putting my nose in the glass led me to anticipate tasting something floral or even musky – which I wasn’t against – but in a delightful twist, the wine delivered all the acidic brightness I’ve come to know and love from that particular grape . . . READ MORE.
For the Nature Lover: Overmountain Vineyards
When Sofia Lilly confesses that her first crush was at ten years old, she isn’t talking about a childhood sweetheart. She’s inviting you into the pivotal moment she fell in love with winemaking. “We had a little basket press that I was obsessed with. It’s a lot smaller than what you’d find in bigger wineries, and takes a lot more time to work with, but we made a good amount of wine with it for several years,” Sofia says. Now the head winemaker at Overmountain Vineyards, she reflects back on those early days of making wine with her father on the porch in flip-flops . . . READ MORE.
For the Culture Maven: Eagle Mountain Vineyards & Winery
Of all the wineries in Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina, there’s one thing that the new Eagle Mountain Winery has that no one else does. That something is winemaker George Bursick. Eagle Mountain’s director of winemaking, who hails from Sonoma County, California, is a master of his trade. One of the country’s most highly acclaimed winemakers, Bursick spent 20 years heading the wine program at Ferrari-Carano in Healdsburg, during which time he oversaw the expansion of their production from 5,000 to 500,000 cases a year and reaped myriad accolades for his wines . . . READ MORE.
For the History Buff: Biltmore Estate Winery
Don’t we all adore spring—the warm sunshine, the bright blooms, the trees bursting into emerald leaf? At Biltmore Estate, winemaker Sharon Fenchak daydreams of spring too, but her mus-ings turn toward a wine to usher in the season. Every year, Fenchak crafts a special blend for spring, and this year her efforts resulted in Révant, a crisp, versatile, off-dry white (a marriage of chardonnay, viognier, pinot grigio, riesling, semillon, and sauvignon blanc), whose name just happens to mean “daydreaming” in French . . . READ MORE.
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