We were planning on visiting 5, but had to cut our trip short. We visited 3 wineries in the Yadkin Valley earlier this week.
Our first stop was The Old North State Winery. This winery is located in the heard of Mount Airy, also known as "Mayberry" to all of you Andy Griffith show fans. Old North State gets their grapes from various vineyards around the Yadkin Valley, they don't have their own vineyard. The building used to house dynamite and when they were re-doing the building to house the winery, they found a human arm in the basement. Creepy!
We were impressed with all of their wines and wish we had time to get a bite to eat in their restaurant. We bought 2 bottles of Restless Soul, a blend of Merlot, Cabernet and Chambourcin. This label features a skeletal arm and can be found in local stores. This would be an excellent wine to bring to a Halloween party. We also bought their 2005 38 vines Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine will go with anything.
Our next stop was The Black Wolf Vineyard. We had been told that this wine was not too impressive, but that they had a nice restaurant, so our expectations were already low. The vines looked lovely and the winery was housed in a log cabin with a pony grazing in front of it. When we walked in, it was completely empty. We waited, periodically asking if anyone was there. We proceeded to wander around the restaurant and went upstairs to find an office with some dude sleeping at his desk. We woke him up so he could give us a tasting. Home Slice looked like he should have been surfing or picking up chicks at a gym, not tending to a winery, but whatever. I wouldn't let this affect my judging of the wine. The wine was okay, not great, but would serve well as table wine. Home Slice didn't seem to know too much about the wines, so I don't have anything interesting to say about them. We had planned on going to restaurant for lunch, but decided against it. We bought a bottle of their Cabernet Sauvignon and left. We have no intentions of going back.
The final and best winery we went to was Ragapple Lassie. Ragapple Lassie is named after the owner's award winning pet cow. When you enter the winery you can see pictures of Ragapple Lassie with her owner, Frank. Ragapple Lassie has since passed on and is buried on the vineyard grounds.
We were especially lucky to have Frank give us a tasting. You would see a twinkle in his eye when he told us about his beloved pet cow. When he found out that Jim was a Geologist he plopped two large jars of arrowheads that were found on the grounds. They found enough arrowheads to full 15 jars!
Most people know the Ragapple Lassie wines by their interesting shaped bottles:
Frank's wife chose the bottle by ordering samples from all over the world. She lined them up and smashed the ones she didn't like until their was only one left. This bottle came from Italy.
All of their wines were fantastic, but we purchased a bottle of their Kaleidoscope Red, Kaleidoscope Gold and their Pinot Gris. The Kaleidoscope wines are blends, as you could probably guess. They experienced a freeze and had a limited supply of grapes, so they just blended everything together. The result is divine!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
NC's Finest (so far)
On our way to Blowing Rock, NC Jim and I stopped at a couple of NC's finest wineries in the Yadkin Valley.
The first stop was the RayLen Vineyards. The first thing we saw was a gigantic moss covered silo that appeared to be home to many birds. Unfortunately, no one at the winery seemed to know the original use of the silo.
You have 3 tasting options: The red flight, which includes selections such as The Carolinius and Category 5. The white flight includes their Barrel Chardonnay, Viognier, and Yadkin Gold. We opted for the Complete Flight which included all wines from the red and white flight as well as selections from the reserve cellars. Though this is a fairly young winery (they opened in 2001) all of their wines had a strong,distinct flavor. We LOVED the cabernet sauvingnon and the Barrel Chardonay. We also bought the Category 5, which has an image of hurricane hugo on it.
Westbend Vineyards was up next. This is one of NC's oldest wineries and it is very well established. You have probably seen their wine on the shelves in grocery stores and Total Wine. Next time you see it,pick up a bottle, chances are you are going to love it! Along with the tasting, you also get a very thorough tour,which actually starts as a stroll through the vines themselves. We bought a bottle of their reserve cabernet sauvignon.
Next, we went to the The Bannerl Elk Winey. This is another very young winery that surprised me. Their whites were their strong point and we bought a bottle of the Seval Blanc. We also bought a couple of glasses to drink on the porch while we listened to folk music and took in the mountainous scenery. This winery may be hard to find, but once you do it willbe well worth it.
The first stop was the RayLen Vineyards. The first thing we saw was a gigantic moss covered silo that appeared to be home to many birds. Unfortunately, no one at the winery seemed to know the original use of the silo.
You have 3 tasting options: The red flight, which includes selections such as The Carolinius and Category 5. The white flight includes their Barrel Chardonnay, Viognier, and Yadkin Gold. We opted for the Complete Flight which included all wines from the red and white flight as well as selections from the reserve cellars. Though this is a fairly young winery (they opened in 2001) all of their wines had a strong,distinct flavor. We LOVED the cabernet sauvingnon and the Barrel Chardonay. We also bought the Category 5, which has an image of hurricane hugo on it.
Westbend Vineyards was up next. This is one of NC's oldest wineries and it is very well established. You have probably seen their wine on the shelves in grocery stores and Total Wine. Next time you see it,pick up a bottle, chances are you are going to love it! Along with the tasting, you also get a very thorough tour,which actually starts as a stroll through the vines themselves. We bought a bottle of their reserve cabernet sauvignon.
Next, we went to the The Bannerl Elk Winey. This is another very young winery that surprised me. Their whites were their strong point and we bought a bottle of the Seval Blanc. We also bought a couple of glasses to drink on the porch while we listened to folk music and took in the mountainous scenery. This winery may be hard to find, but once you do it willbe well worth it.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Re-Discovering Iron Gate Merlot
Jim grilled up some chicken and steak kabobs today and I was tasked with choosing a wine. I'm in "winter" mode,so I am partial to reds at the moment. I pulled out the Iron Gate Merlot and I am SO glad that I did! I had tasted this wine back in the summer when Jim and I trekked out to Mebane to go to the Iron Gate Winery.
The Iron Gate Merlot is quite possibly the best thing ti ever come out of Mebane. It went well the with chicken, the steak, the veggies and even the jalapeno potato chips I had been snacking in. We still had couple glasses left over after dinner and it went swimmingly well with chocolate and biscotti. This wine goes with EVERYTHING! We plan to take another trip back there to get more, and have another one of their very generous wine tastings. Yum!
The Iron Gate Merlot is quite possibly the best thing ti ever come out of Mebane. It went well the with chicken, the steak, the veggies and even the jalapeno potato chips I had been snacking in. We still had couple glasses left over after dinner and it went swimmingly well with chocolate and biscotti. This wine goes with EVERYTHING! We plan to take another trip back there to get more, and have another one of their very generous wine tastings. Yum!
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Two Wineries on the Haw River Trail
Jim and I were heading to Greensboro to visit a friend, so we decided to check out some wineries on the Haw River Trail.
Our first stop: Benjamin Vineyards
They had a nice little picnic area and an old grape press on their porch. Very cute!
This vineyard planted thir first vines in 2002. The land used to be owned by a tobacco farmer. We were most impressed by their oaked Chardonnay, their '06 Chardonel and their spiced wine. We bought a bottle each of the Chardonnay and the Chardonel and plan to return next holiday season to pick up the holiday spice.
Although the wine was good, I think I was more impressed by the cool art on the walls.
Then, we hit the GlenMarie Winery
This was a cozy little winery, but the bar was a little high. I felt like I was at a bank, or something, where I almost have to get on my tiptoes to reach over the counter.
This winery makes all of their wines in stainless steel vats, no barrels. As a result, I wasn't too fond of the wines, because I prefer the oak-y taste, but they still had some good stuff. My favorite was the "Summer Promise" which is a blend of four white wines. We also liked the Chambourcin and purchased a bottle of that as well.
The clear winner of the two was Benjamin Vineyards, but I was a little dissapointed overall. I'd like to come back to these wineries in a few years once their vines mature.
Our first stop: Benjamin Vineyards
They had a nice little picnic area and an old grape press on their porch. Very cute!
This vineyard planted thir first vines in 2002. The land used to be owned by a tobacco farmer. We were most impressed by their oaked Chardonnay, their '06 Chardonel and their spiced wine. We bought a bottle each of the Chardonnay and the Chardonel and plan to return next holiday season to pick up the holiday spice.
Although the wine was good, I think I was more impressed by the cool art on the walls.
Then, we hit the GlenMarie Winery
This was a cozy little winery, but the bar was a little high. I felt like I was at a bank, or something, where I almost have to get on my tiptoes to reach over the counter.
This winery makes all of their wines in stainless steel vats, no barrels. As a result, I wasn't too fond of the wines, because I prefer the oak-y taste, but they still had some good stuff. My favorite was the "Summer Promise" which is a blend of four white wines. We also liked the Chambourcin and purchased a bottle of that as well.
The clear winner of the two was Benjamin Vineyards, but I was a little dissapointed overall. I'd like to come back to these wineries in a few years once their vines mature.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Who put this wine in my quonset?
Today, Jim, Candy (Jim's Mom) and I drove out Pittsboro to Visit the Silk Hope Winery. This area of Pittsboro was named Silk Hope because some Quakers settlednthere in hopesof making it big in the silk industry. Well, the Quakers are still there, but the silk dreams were a bust. All is well, at least they have a good vineyard. Wait, do Quakers drink?
I truly though the The Secret Garden Winery was going to win the award for smallest winery in NC. It was in a trailer! Well, this winery was in a quonset:
The Silk Hope Winery is a family run operation. the vineyard is about 2 acres. For four bucks, we got to taste four wines and we also got to keep the glass. This winery focused on red wines, we actually only tasted one white, their White Chambourcin. However, their strongest wine was the Red Roots. It's 50% Chambourcin, 40% Touriga and 10% Cabernet Franc. An awesome, flavorful combination.
This winery may be small, but it does have personality. I personally liked this sign:
Jim and our wine merchant:
Though this winery is far from fancy, we think it's worth the trip. May want to call before you go, appointments aren't needed on the weekends, but weekdays are up in the air. You can find info about the Silk Hope Winery here
I truly though the The Secret Garden Winery was going to win the award for smallest winery in NC. It was in a trailer! Well, this winery was in a quonset:
The Silk Hope Winery is a family run operation. the vineyard is about 2 acres. For four bucks, we got to taste four wines and we also got to keep the glass. This winery focused on red wines, we actually only tasted one white, their White Chambourcin. However, their strongest wine was the Red Roots. It's 50% Chambourcin, 40% Touriga and 10% Cabernet Franc. An awesome, flavorful combination.
This winery may be small, but it does have personality. I personally liked this sign:
Jim and our wine merchant:
Though this winery is far from fancy, we think it's worth the trip. May want to call before you go, appointments aren't needed on the weekends, but weekdays are up in the air. You can find info about the Silk Hope Winery here
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Long Island Wineries
In all the craziness of our trip to NY, my friend Lisa, was able to take us out to the Long Island Wine Country for a few hours.
All of the wineries are really close to eachother, so it's easy to hit a bunch in one day, or in our case, a few hours. I think our livers could only handle 3, especially since the last ones gave us LOTS of wine.
1st, we hit up Paumanok Vineyards. It was crowded, and we couldn't get a word in edgewise to find out more about the winery, but they had a fabulous chardonnay, a nice deck to hang out on and a gorgeous view.
Next, we hit up Clovis Vineyards, which was a little bit smaller, but we got more attention in the tasting room. Again, an excellent chardonnay.
Our last stop was Pellegrini Vineyards. I was little bit drunk by the time we got to this one, and their hefty tasting glasses didn't help. The cool thing about this winery, was that you could choose which wines you wanted to taste, go sit in their beautiful courtyard, and their staff brought out your tasting glasses to you. I wish other wineries would do this.
It was odd to visit 3 different wineries and not hear the words " . . .and THIS is our muscadine wine!"
All of the wineries are really close to eachother, so it's easy to hit a bunch in one day, or in our case, a few hours. I think our livers could only handle 3, especially since the last ones gave us LOTS of wine.
1st, we hit up Paumanok Vineyards. It was crowded, and we couldn't get a word in edgewise to find out more about the winery, but they had a fabulous chardonnay, a nice deck to hang out on and a gorgeous view.
Next, we hit up Clovis Vineyards, which was a little bit smaller, but we got more attention in the tasting room. Again, an excellent chardonnay.
Our last stop was Pellegrini Vineyards. I was little bit drunk by the time we got to this one, and their hefty tasting glasses didn't help. The cool thing about this winery, was that you could choose which wines you wanted to taste, go sit in their beautiful courtyard, and their staff brought out your tasting glasses to you. I wish other wineries would do this.
It was odd to visit 3 different wineries and not hear the words " . . .and THIS is our muscadine wine!"
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