We had the opportunity to close out North Carolina Wine and Grape Month 2018 with some of our fellow wine bloggers on a tour of three wineries/vineyards in the Tryon Foothills of Polk County. Our transportation was graciously provided by Ryan and Terri Watts of the Van In Black. The Van in Black is THE way to tour wine country. We highly recommend Ryan. He is the ultimate professional and takes great care of his guests.
Now on the the main event, wine tasting with fellow bloggers. Rather than a normal wordy blog, we’re going to let the photos do more of the talking. Some photos were provided by Ryan Watts. Ryan also runs Ryan Watts Photography. We appreciate the use of these photos.
Our first stop was Overmountain Vineyards where we had the pleasure of a tasting and tour with Sofia Lilly. Sofia is the one of the winemakers at Overmountain along with her father Frank. Frank stopped by to visit with us as well. Sofia also manages the vineyard and the social media presence for Overmountain. In addition to delicious wine, we also had delicious food from Olive Catering Company.
Tasting with the group 
View of the tasting room at Overmountain 
Tasting list at Overmountain 
Frank stops by as Sofia pours the next wine 
Brussel Sprouts from Olive Catering Company 
Vines in the background at Overmountain
Our next stop took us to Mountain Brook Vineyards for a tasting with owners Jonathan and Vickie Redgrave and winemaker Liz Pickett. Mountain Brook has just completed extensive expansions to its grounds.
The expanded facilities at Mountain Brook 
View of the remodeled tasting house at Mountain Brook 
Beautiful New Fountain and Lawn at Mountain Brook 
Tasting with Jonathan and Liz at Mountain Brook
We ended the day with Sunday Funday at Parker-Binns Vineyard. Kelly Binns was holding down the fort as owners, Bob Binns and Karen Parker-Binns, were on a well-deserved vacation. In addition to the great wines, we enjoyed wood-fired pizza. And since we were in a for hire vehicle with a designated driver, we did enjoy some Parker-Binns Rosé on the way back home.
Garden at Parker-Binns 
Tasting with Kelly at Parker-Binns 
Tasting list at Parker-Binns
Thanks to the Wine Mouths, Winery Escapades, and HD Carolina for joining us on this tour. We look forward to our next adventure with our fellow bloggers!
Cheers!