NC Wine Month

Apr

2023

In The Wine Light – North Carolina Wine Month 2023

In the Wine Light we celebrate North Carolina Wine Month! Back in May for the third year, NC Wine Month 2023 looks to be a festive time.

Head out and visit wineries, vineyards, meaderies, and cideries in the month of May.

Share your fun on social media. Use the hashtags #NCWine and #NCWineMonth.

If you’re looking for ideas on how to celebrate North Carolina Wine Month, check back here for a listing of special events and promotions and other ways to celebrate all month long!

Here’s the list we have so far:

All month long! – The official social media accounts of North Carolina Wine are holding giveways. Check out @ncwines on Facebook and Instagram. Three winners will be announced on each Monday of North Carolina Wine Month.
Sunday, May 1st – Tickets for the #NCWine Digital Media Summit go on sale. The summit takes place on Monday, July 17th with pre-summit activities on Saturday, July 15th and Sunday, July 16th.

May

2022

In the Wine Light – Ways to Celebrate NC Wine Month!

In the Wine Light are ways to celebrate North Carolina Wine Month! May is officially NC Wine Month.

So, what are some ways to celebrate NC Wine Month? We’re glad you asked! Here are a few of our ideas!

Visit a local tasting room. Go for a tasting or an afternoon picnic or both! Visit ncwine.org to plan your trip!
Buy local wine! Either at a local store or better yet, from the winery itself!
Drink local wine! Celebrate with your favorite bottle of North Carolina wine. Dry, sweet, red, white or rosé, there’s something for everyone out there!
Ask for local wine at restaurants and wine bars. It’s NC Wine Month! Encourage restaurants to do their part.
Encourage your friends and family to join in. There are plenty of folks leaving in NC who have no idea that we’re in the top 10 for wine production in the country!
Talk about NC Wine on social media! Be sure to use the hashtags #NCWine and #NCWineMonth! Let’s get them trending!
Take a picture of what NC Wine you’re drinking! Share with us on Social Media! We’ll do our best to retweet or repost! Don’t forget the #NCWine and #NCWineMonth hashtags!
Follow us! We’re on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Just search for @NCWineGuys. We’ll give you tips on where to go and what to drink!
Follow the official North Carolina Wine accounts on social media! Find them at “North Carolina Wine” on Facebook and @ncwines on Twitter and Instagram!
Catch up on Cork Talk! We’re well into season 4 of Cork Talk, our podcast all about the local wine scene in North Carolina. Subscribe and enjoy every episode. Find Cork Talk at our website or wherever you get your podcasts.
Join our Facebook group! We’ve started a Facebook group to support the local wine industry. Search for Support Local North Carolina Wine – #NCWine to join.

Let us know if you have other ideas! Cheers!

Apr

2022

In The Wine Light – North Carolina Wine Month 2022

In the Wine Light we celebrate North Carolina Wine Month! Back in May for the third year, NC Wine Month 2022 looks to be even more festive than the 2022 version thanks to an improving pandemic!

Head out and visit wineries, vineyards, meaderies, and cideries in the month of May.

Share your fun on social media. Use the hashtags #NCWine and #NCWineMonth.

If you’re looking for ideas on how to celebrate North Carolina Wine Month, check back here for a listing of special events and promotions and other ways to celebrate all month long!

Here’s the list we have so far:

All month long! – The official social media accounts of North Carolina Wine are holding giveways. Check out @ncwines on Facebook and Instagram. Three winners will be announced on each Monday of North Carolina Wine Month.
Sunday, May 1st – Tickets for the #NCWine Digital Media Summit go on sale. The summit takes place on Monday, July 18th with pre-summit activities on Sunday, July 17th.
Sunday, May 1st – Shelton Vineyards releases the Court of North Carolina, the next release in the Hallowed Places Collection. This special North Carolina red wine blend was created in partnership with NC State University. It’s available exclusively on Shelton’s website and Tasting Room!
Wednesday, May 4th – Shelton Vineyards kicks off the first of its North Carolina Wine Month Winedown Wednesdays. These will run weeks from 5pm – 8pm.
Thursday, May 5th – Hanover Park Vineyard begins a series of teacher appreciation events on Thursday afternoons in May. Stop by for snacks and a glass of wine. Look for later hours on Thursdays in May. They’ll be open until 6:30pm.
Mother’s Day Weekend – Haze Gray Vineyards releases their 2021 Rosé.
Saturday, May 21st – Haze Gray Vineyards releases their 2019 Chambourcin.
Saturday, May 21st – The Yadkin Valley Wine Festival returns to Elkin Municipal Park in beautiful Elkin! Look for over 16 wineries from which to sample!
Saturday, May 28th – Brandon Hills Vineyard releases their latest white wine, Oh La La, a white blend. We got a sneak peak at this a few weeks back. It’s the perfect wine for summer.

Apr

2021

In The Wine Light – North Carolina Wine Month 2021

In the Wine Light we celebrate North Carolina Wine Month! Back in May for second year, NC Wine Month 2021 looks to be more celebratory than the 2020 version. During 2020, wineries were closed for onsite consumption until May 23rd due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fast forward to 2021, and it’s nearly business as usual.

With the pandemic improving and the great weather in May, there’s even more of a reason to celebrate. Head out and visit (safely) wineries, vineyards, meaderies, and cideries in the month of May. Take your masks. Wash your hands. Keep your distance, but ENJOY!

Share your fun on social media. Use the hashtags #NCWine and #NCWineMonth.

If you’re looking for ideas on how to celebrate NC Wine Month, here are some of the special events and promotions we’ve found so far:

Botanist & Barrel in Cedar Grove will be celebrating with new wine and cider releases.
The Surry Wineries, an association of 20 wineries in Surry and Wilkes Counties, are all banding together to promote wine month!
Grassy Creek Vineyard & Winery in State Road released a new wine on Friday, April 30th to honor their vineyard dog, Max. The 2017 “To the Max” is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah. Expect this wine to be a big NC Wine Month hit!
Brandon Hills Vineyard in Yadkinville released their 2015 Raptor Red on Saturday, May 1st. Raptor Red is Brandon Hills’ signature red blend. We got a sneak peak last fall. It’s great wine, you’re sure to enjoy. The release also includes food and live music.
FernCrest Winery in Andrews released their new Autumn Rosé on Saturday, May 1st. This wine is made from their vineyard’s Cynthiana/Norton grapes and finished sweet. Later in the month, look for their Black Lady wine made from local blackberries and organic blueberries and finished sweet.
Zimmerman Vineyards in Trinity will be releasing their new Sparkling Rosé, Rosé Rush with a special release party on May 14th at 6pm. For $50 per couple, enjoy a bottle of this new rosé along with a charcuterie board. Contact the tasting room to reserve your spot. In addition, Songwriter Sundays continue all month! This features local artists singing original tunes.
Wineries and vineyards across the state are giving away picnic sets. Check your favorite winery or vineyard’s social media pages for details!

Stay tuned for other ways to celebrate all month long! Keep checking back on this post, we’ll be updating it all month long.

Aug

2017

NC Wine Month 2017 Kickoff Event

For the first time ever, there will be a kickoff event to celebrate North Carolina Wine Month things started! We’ve been busy helping plan this event. Here’s a rundown of the activities. Continue reading →

Aug

2016

Celebrating NC Wine and Grape Month!

2021 Update – North Carolina Wine Month is now celebrated in May while North Carolina Grape Month is celebrated in August. There’s now two months to celebrate!

September is North Carolina Wine and Grape month! It was proclaimed by Gov. McCrory to celebrate the wine and grape industry’s contributions to our state. With a $1.7 Billion economic impact, 525 grape growers and 180 wineries, this industry is vital to our state. It deserves to be celebrated!

So, how do you take part? We’re glad you asked! Here are a few of our ideas!

Visit a local winery. Go for a tasting or an afternoon picnic or both! Visit ncwine.org to plan your trip!
Buy local wine! Either at a local store or better yet, from the winery itself!
Drink local wine! Celebrate with your favorite bottle of North Carolina wine. Dry, sweet, red, white or rosé, there’s something for everyone out there!
Ask for local wine at restaurants and wine bars. It’s NC Wine Month! Encourage restaurants to do their part.
Encourage your friends and family to join in. There are plenty of folks leaving in NC who have know idea that we’re 10^th in wine production in the country!
Talk about NC Wine on social media! Be sure to use the hashtags #NCWine and #NCWineMonth! Let’s get them trending!
Take a picture of what NC Wine you’re drinking! Share with us on Social Media! We’ll do our best to retweet or repost! Don’t forget the #NCWine and #NCWineMonth hashtags!
Follow us! We’re on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Just search for @NCWineGuys. We’ll give you tips on where to go and what to drink!
Follow the official North Carolina Wine accounts on social media! Find them at “North Carolina Wine” on Facebook and @ncwines on Twitter and Instagram!
Join us for #winechat on Twitter. We’re going to be talking all about #NCWine and #NCWineMonth on #winechat on Twitter. Our session is scheduled for September 28^th at 9pm ET. Just follow the #winechat hashtag to join the conversation! Let’s get #winechat and #NCWine trending!
Help with harvest! Many local vineyards will be harvesting in September. Most of them harvest by hand with the help of volunteers. Go volunteer!

Let us know if you have other ideas! Cheers!

Sep

2015

NC Wine Month Week 4 Recap

It’s hard to believe that the end of the month is already here. This past week brought with it more reds and a scattering of whites to change things up. Here’s our list. Don’t forget, you can also follow our progress on the NC Wine Month 2015 Challenge page. Also, we’ll be posting a Month in Review list shortly.

Continue reading →

Sep

2015

NC Wine Month Week 3 Recap

Another week has come and gone. We’re almost to the end of September and soon October will be upon us. Week 3 brought with it slightly cooler weather, so we had a few more reds but still made room for some excellent white wines. Here’s our list for the week. Don’t forget, you can also follow our progress on the NC Wine Month 2015 Challenge page.

Continue reading →

Sep

2015

NC Wine Month Week 2 Recap

Week 2 is now behind us and we’re now half way through the month and #WineChat with #NCWines is tomorrow! The wine selections last week were just as good as the previous week. Here’s what we had. Don’t forget, you can also follow our progress on the NC Wine Month 2015 Challenge page.

Continue reading →

Sep

2015

NC Wine Month Week 1 Recap

It’s hard to believe that the first week of September is already over! Last week we enjoyed a delicious selection of NC Wines. You can keep track of our progress over on our NC Wine Month 2015 Challenge page. –check out our new map, too!

Continue reading →

Sep

2015

NC Wine & Grape Month 2015 Intro

Last year we made a daily posting on the blog with either a wine or winery review. This year we’ll be using our social media pages and then posting a summary on the blog.

Head on over to our 2015 NC Wine Month Challenge page to see what we’ve been up to.

Check out our other NC Wine Month postings:

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Update: Originally this article referenced September as being the official month to celebrate North Carolina Wine. in 2020, the state officially changed it so that NC Wine Month is celebrated in May!

Sep

2014

September is North Carolina Wine and Grape Month

September is a special month here in North Carolina. Not only is the weather gorgeous, but it is also officially recognized as Wine and Grape month. Almost all of the 100+ North Carolina wineries participate in their own ways, offering delicious wines and a great experience. Trying to do all of the wineries in one month would be an amazing task. It might be doable, however it would take a multitude of planning, a strong determination to do it all, and don’t forget the designated driver (that’s a lot of wine).

Continue reading →

One of our favorite North Carolina Wine regions to visit is the area just south of Asheville surrounding Hendersonville, NC. There you’ll find 7 unique wineries and vineyards each with a distinctive setting. This region also hosts an American Viticulture Area known as the Crest of the Blue Ridge, Henderson County. We recently had the opportunity to make a quick visit to Hendersonville back in February 2024. The team at Visit Hendersonville arranged our visit. Our recent trip had us visiting four of the seven vineyards, staying in a cozy farmhouse rental, and enjoying dinner in downtown Hendersonville.

Downtown Hendersonville, Credit Sam Dean

Hendersonville is an easy drive from most cities within North Carolina. With the exception of the coast, you’re looking at about 2 hours for Charlotte or Winston-Salem and Greensboro, and up to 4 hours from the Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. It’s also an easy trip for out of state visitors, starting at just 1 hour from Greenville, South Carolina, 2 hours from Knoxville, Tennessee, and about 4 hours from Roanoke, Virginia.

When we arrived in Hendersonville, we had ample time before our check in, so we decided to stop in at Sawyer Springs Vineyard. This was our first time at Sawyer Springs and it was a great stop. At the time of this post, they offer a table side wine tasting or a wine flight to explore on your own. We decided on the wine tasting. They specialize in small batch wines that are crafted from fun or unusual grape varietals that you don’t find very easily.

Check in time was approaching so we made our way to the farmhouse rental where we stayed for the night. The Wallace House was originally built in the 1800s and completely renovated in 2019. This five bedroom and two bath house sleeps 12 people and is an excellent location for your next visit. The Wallace house is on the vineyard and orchard property of Saint Paul Farms which produces wines for Saint Paul Mountain Vineyards and ciders for Appalachian Ridge Artisan Ciders.

After checking in to the Wallace House, we met with Alan Ward of Saint Paul Farms to interview him for our March 2024 episode of Cork Talk! Alan talked to us about his family’s history in the area, why he got interested in growing grapes and apples, and all that he’s doing to try and improve the quality of North Carolina Wine and North Carolina Cider. After wrapping up the interview, we walked over to the tasting room for a quick wine tasting before dinner. We didn’t get a chance to visit the cider tasting room, but we’ve been in the past. It’s always fun and worth a trip!

Welcome to Saint Paul Mountain Vineyards

We wrapped up our tasting and made the quick drive into downtown to enjoy dinner at Postero Restaurant on North Main Street. Postero specializes in well crafted New American Cuisine fusing different cultures, local ingredients, and a love for food that makes this restaurant a must. While you’re in their dining room, take a look around in the corners and be sure to look up. You might just find one of the 20+ dinosaur figurines that are hidden throughout the building. This tradition started out as a small prank with and quickly ballooned into a feature of the restaurant.

After dinner we made our way back to the Wallace House (stopping for a quick ice cream at the Celtic Creamery). When we got back, we enjoyed the peace and quiet and tucked in for the evening.

Saturday brought with it another fun day of wine tastings. We started at Burntshirt Vineyards, only 4 minutes from our farmhouse at Saint Paul Farms. There we started with an interview for our May 2024 episode of Cork Talk with VP of Operations, Jeff Plack. Jeff talked us through the history and property at Burntshirt Vineyards and explained how he got into the wine business. Right after that, we enjoyed lunch at the on-site restaurant and wine bar, the Vintners Table. They offer thoughtful menu of food selections from small plates to larger sandwiches and entrees. If you’re not interested in food, you can still enjoy a tasting flight or wine by the glass or bottle. It’s a great setting to enjoy some wine and food and just relax.

Inside the Vintners Table at Burntshirt Vineyards

After finishing up our official tour, we had a little time before we needed to head back home, so we stopped in for a tasting at Marked Tree Vineyards. Marked Tree is only 7 minutes from Burntshirt Vineyards so we figured since we were in the neighborhood we needed to stop by. There we enjoyed an excellent tasting with lovely mountain views.

We wish we could have stayed longer and visited the other vineyards in the area, but we had to make it back home to check in on our cat Sami. Plus this way we have another excuse to make it back to Hendersonville very soon.

Below are some wine highlights from the vineyards we visited:

Wellington from Sawyer Springs – This Malvasia Bianca was light and delicate with floral notes and a grassy undertone all supported by bright and clean acids.

Centennial Farm Heritage from Saint Paul Mountain Vineyards – This Riesling has pear and lemon zest with that classic delicate petrol note. It was nicely balanced between citrus and mineral rich notes.

Vidal Blanc from Burntshirt Vineyards – This is a great wine that sits nicely between a Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc. It is grassy with lemon and lime zest with ample acids.

Reserve Chardonnel from Marked Tree Vineyards – This is a great alternative to a chardonnay. It is deep and golden with juicy acids and a toasty oak profile. It is super smooth with an overall note of vanilla and apples.

Special thanks to:

Alan Ward at Saint Paul Farms
Jeff Plack at Burntshirt Vineyards
Hailey at Marked Tree Vineyards
Becca at Postero
Leah Hughes King, Craig Distl, and Michelle Owens at Visit Hendersonville

Sponsored by Visit Hendersonville, https://visithendersonvillenc.org

Origins

According to the Cab Franc Day website, Cabernet Franc is believed to have been established in the Libournais region of southwest France sometime in the 17^th century, when Cardinal Richelieu transported cuttings of the vine to the Loire Valley. December 4th is the anniversary of Cardinal Richelieu’s death which is why we celebrate Cab Franc Day on that date.

Plantings Around the World

In addition to its native Basque region in France, Cab Franc is planted elsewhere in France in Bordeaux and most famously in the Loire Valley. There are also significant plantings in the Italy, Spain, Chile, and the US.

Cabernet Franc has gained a large footing on the East Coast of the US. It’s popular in the Finger Lakes and on Long Island in New York as well as Virginia. Cab Franc continues to gain footing in North Carolina as well. It’s one of our favorite varieties and pairs wonderful with North Carolina BBQ, either Lexington-Style or Eastern-Style.

In North Carolina

One of the largest planting of Cabernet Franc in North Carolina is the six acres at RayLen Vineyards in Mocksville. We reached out to winemaker Steve Shepard for some thoughts on growing Cab Franc in the Yadkin Valley of North Carolina. Steve tell us, “Cab Franc has been a work horse for us in that we utilize it in many ways.”

Steve goes on to tell us that RayLen’s vineyard is planted with 3 of the highest rated French clones, 214, 327, and 312. He gave us more detailed information on each clone:

Clone 214 is known to express raspberry and violet flavors and recommended not to exceed more than 50% of the planting.

Clone 327 recommended not to exceed 30% of the planting as it produces structured and powerful wines. Our block is 52% clone 214 and 48% clone 327. The fruit from these clones are used to produce Cab Franc varietal, and in blends Carolinius, Category 5, Eagle Select.

Clone 312 is known as a higher yielding than average so it sets the stage for a Rose. Our Cab Franc Rose is produced from this block, clone 312.

RayLen 2018 Cabernet Franc

Steve mentions that “Generally, Cab Franc in the vineyard preforms better than most other vinifera reds.” It is more tolerant of heat, wet and disease. In the winery, on bountiful years, Steve is able to separate the clones throughout the aging process before he establishes the final blend. He says, “It’s interesting to note the unique characteristics of each and how they knit together.”

In addition to RayLen’s Cabernet Franc varietal, Cab Franc based blends, and Cab Franc rosé, there are many other delightful Cabernet Francs in the state. Just a few of our favorites include (but not limited to) Cab Francs from Jones von Drehle Vineyards and Winery, Laurel Gray Vineyards, South Creek Vineyards and Winery, Hanover Park Vineyard, Burntshirt Vineyards, and Childress Vineyards.

Do you have a favorite Cabernet Franc? How are you celebrating?

#CabFrancDay #CabernetFrancDay #InTheWineLight

The Latest Episode of Cork Talk:

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Origins

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In North Carolina

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