With an afternoon to kill on a recent weekend getaway to Asheville, NC for a dear friends’ wedding, KK and I planned out the perfect Sunday afternoon, complete with a scenic drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway and visits to 5 wineries en route to the Charlotte airport. Typically when we have wine tasting adventures, we will have a couple disappointments and a couple favorites. This time, however, all 5 impressed us – each in their own unique ways. Even more, we were fortunate enough to meet 5 out of 5 of the owners, which is extremely rare, especially coming from the less mom&pop Texan wineries. Here are some short summaries from 3 of the wineries, with featured entries on the remaining two to follow.
Rockhouse Vineyards – A Larry David lookalike, winemaker Lee Griffin, certainly has a skill at producing exceptional wines – some of the best wines KK and I have tasted in the state. Although the tasting was short – with only 3 wines – what they lacked in quantity, they made up for in quality. The Petit Verdot would be amazing with a juicy steak, and the 2005 Merlot was extremely smooth and tannin-free. We’re not usually fans of Merlot, but this one was certainly an exception.
Overmountain Vineyard – Aside from the incredible views of the Tryon Foothills, the property also has an interesting history, dating back to the Revolutionary War. In 1780, American frontiersmen from the mountains, the Overmountain Men, passed through what is now the vineyard on their way to the Battle of Kings Mountain. This Revolutionary War trail was deemed the Overmountain Victory National Trail by the National Park Service in 1980. Up until the 1930s, the property was primarily used for tobacco and cotton, with the vineyard following in 2002. In addition to some of the standards (rose, cab sav), the winery also offers a number of 100% organic wines (blueberry, blackberry, and muscadine) – created with no chemicals, irrigation, or filtration.
Parker-Binns Vineyard – A husband and wife team (Parker is her maiden name and Binns is their married name) opened the vineyard in October 2011. Originally tree farmers from Florida, they made a 12-hour driving radius from their home to have a 2nd home, easily drivable in case of a hurricane – which is how they ended up in Mill Spring, NC. The wine flight was fairly standard – a chardonnay, rose, cab sav/franc blend, and blackberry wine. Although the winery is merely a few months old, it shows a lot of promise with its gorgeous gardens and charismatic owners.
(Stay tuned for the other two wineries…)
CabSavvy 