{"id":2045,"date":"2017-09-07T11:30:52","date_gmt":"2017-09-07T15:30:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/?p=2045"},"modified":"2024-08-25T20:34:28","modified_gmt":"2024-08-26T00:34:28","slug":"grandfather-vineyard-winery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/index.php\/grandfather-vineyard-winery\/","title":{"rendered":"Grandfather Vineyard &#038; Winery"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>We recently had the opportunity to visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.grandfathervineyard.com\">Grandfather Vineyard &amp; Winery<\/a> in Banner Elk, NC. \u00a0It had been a year or more since we had last visited. \u00a0It was good to taste again, take in the beautiful mountain scenery, and just relax!<!--more--><\/p>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-2045 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-full'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/biru-wp-20170805t130511gmt-0400-jpg\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"1280\" src=\"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T130511GMT-0400.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-2052\" srcset=\"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T130511GMT-0400.jpg 960w, http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T130511GMT-0400-113x150.jpg 113w, http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T130511GMT-0400-225x300.jpg 225w, http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T130511GMT-0400-768x1024.jpg 768w, http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T130511GMT-0400-840x1120.jpg 840w, http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T130511GMT-0400-687x916.jpg 687w, http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T130511GMT-0400-414x552.jpg 414w, http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T130511GMT-0400-354x472.jpg 354w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-2052'>\n\t\t\t\tGrandfather Mountain\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/biru-wp-20170805t123823gmt-0400-jpg\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"1280\" src=\"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T123823GMT-0400.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-2050\" srcset=\"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T123823GMT-0400.jpg 960w, http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T123823GMT-0400-113x150.jpg 113w, http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T123823GMT-0400-225x300.jpg 225w, http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T123823GMT-0400-768x1024.jpg 768w, http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T123823GMT-0400-840x1120.jpg 840w, http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T123823GMT-0400-687x916.jpg 687w, http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T123823GMT-0400-414x552.jpg 414w, http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T123823GMT-0400-354x472.jpg 354w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-2050'>\n\t\t\t\tWatauga River\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/biru-wp-20170805t114843gmt-0400-jpg\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"1280\" src=\"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T114843GMT-0400.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-2049\" srcset=\"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T114843GMT-0400.jpg 960w, http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T114843GMT-0400-113x150.jpg 113w, http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T114843GMT-0400-225x300.jpg 225w, http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T114843GMT-0400-768x1024.jpg 768w, http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T114843GMT-0400-840x1120.jpg 840w, http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T114843GMT-0400-687x916.jpg 687w, http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T114843GMT-0400-414x552.jpg 414w, http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T114843GMT-0400-354x472.jpg 354w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-2049'>\n\t\t\t\tPicnic Table by the Watauga River\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/biru-wp-20170805t114825gmt-0400-jpg\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"1280\" src=\"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T114825GMT-0400.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-2048\" srcset=\"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T114825GMT-0400.jpg 960w, http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T114825GMT-0400-113x150.jpg 113w, http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T114825GMT-0400-225x300.jpg 225w, http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T114825GMT-0400-768x1024.jpg 768w, http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T114825GMT-0400-840x1120.jpg 840w, http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T114825GMT-0400-687x916.jpg 687w, http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T114825GMT-0400-414x552.jpg 414w, http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T114825GMT-0400-354x472.jpg 354w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-2048'>\n\t\t\t\tTerraced Vineyard\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl>\n\t\t\t<br style='clear: both' \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<h1>History<\/h1>\n<p>Grandfather is owned by Steve and Sally Tatum. \u00a0The Tatums live on the property. \u00a0They purchased the land where the winery and vineyard sit in 1998. \u00a0The first planting of wine grapes happened in 2003. \u00a0It should be noted that this was the first planting of wine grapes in the mountains of northwest North Carolina. \u00a0The Tatums&#8217; son, Dylan, is the winemaker. \u00a0Dylan&#8217;s wife, Nicole, is the tasting room manager, so it&#8217;s a family run operation. \u00a0Fruit is sourced from the vineyard onsite, other area vineyards within the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.federalregister.gov\/documents\/2016\/10\/27\/2016-25970\/establishment-of-the-appalachian-high-country-viticultural-area\">Appalachian High Country AVA<\/a>, the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ncwine.org\/wineries\/yadkin-swancreek\">Yadkin Valley AVA<\/a>, and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lodiwine.com\">Lodi<\/a> in California.<\/p>\n<h1>Tasting<\/h1>\n<p>We were fortunate enough to have Nicole do our tasting. \u00a0She was very knowledgeable about the wines and let us sample pretty much what we wanted. \u00a0Here are our notes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>2016 Pinot Gris &#8211; The nose was floral with a crisp minerality on the palate.<\/li>\n<li>2016 Vidal Blanc &#8211; An Appalachian High Country wine, pear, apple, and melon showed on the nose. \u00a0The palate was tart and crisp with light melon notes.<\/li>\n<li>2016 Vermentino &#8211; These grapes were sourced from California. \u00a0Lemon and cream greeted you on the nose. \u00a0The palate was classic Vermentino.<\/li>\n<li>2016 Viognier &#8211; A nose that was floral and peachy transitioned to a palate of grapefruit and lychee fruit.<\/li>\n<li>2016 Chardonnay &#8211; The wine was barrel aged in French and American oak. \u00a0A buttery nose continued on the palate with light oak. \u00a0It finished crisp and had 1% residual sugar.<\/li>\n<li>2016 Pinot Noir Ros\u00e9 &#8211; Made from local and Willemette Valley, Oregon grapes, watermelon and strawberry showed on the nose and the palate.<\/li>\n<li>2015 Cabernet Franc &#8211; This wine was made North Carolina grown grapes. \u00a0Dark cherry, vanilla and bit of oak were the primary flavors.<\/li>\n<li>2014 ASU Scholar &#8211; A Yadkin Valley wine made with the Fermentation Sciences students from Appalachian State University, this was a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. \u00a0Cherry and oak predominated on this wine. \u00a0We bought a bottle!<\/li>\n<li>Legacy Cabernet Sauvignon &#8211; Made from fruit from local fruit, Yadkin Valley fruit &amp; Lodi, California fruit, the nose showed rich cherry and currants and was slightly floral. \u00a0The palate had tart cherry, currants, and a light cedar note.<\/li>\n<li>2015 Marechal Foch &#8211; Blackberry and blueberry notes greeted you on the nose of this Appalachian High Country AVA wine. \u00a0The palate had a nice acidity with a bit of oak and spice.<\/li>\n<li>Legacy Zinfandel &#8211; This was a classic Lodi, California Zin &#8211; jammy and smokey.<\/li>\n<li>Tempranillo &amp; Malbec &#8211; A blend of Tempranillo and Malbec from Lodi, California, this wine was a bit jammy with notes of cocoa, warm cherry, and vanilla.<\/li>\n<li>2016 Seyval Blanc &#8211; A Watauga County wine from the Appalachian High Country AVA, this wine had notes of apple, sweet honeysuckle, and mango.<\/li>\n<li>2016 Marquette &#8211; Served on draft, this Appalachian High Country AVA wine had notes of red currant, blackberry, and vanilla. \u00a0You can purchase a growler of this wine.<\/li>\n<li>2016 Merlot &#8211; Also served on draft and available for growlers, cherry predominated here. \u00a0It was a very nice Merlot.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"attachment_2051\" style=\"width: 235px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2051\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2051\" src=\"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T124256GMT-0400-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T124256GMT-0400-225x300.jpg 225w, http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T124256GMT-0400-113x150.jpg 113w, http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T124256GMT-0400-768x1024.jpg 768w, http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T124256GMT-0400-840x1120.jpg 840w, http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T124256GMT-0400-687x916.jpg 687w, http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T124256GMT-0400-414x552.jpg 414w, http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T124256GMT-0400-354x472.jpg 354w, http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BIRU-WP-20170805T124256GMT-0400.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-2051\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Barrel Room at Grandfather Vineyard &amp; Winery<\/p><\/div>\n<h1>Tour<\/h1>\n<p>Dylan was not available the day we visited, so Chris Denesha, one of the assistant winemakers, stepped in. \u00a0Chris is originally from the Sonoma, California. \u00a0He had stops in Spain and Southern Utah before coming to the High Country. \u00a0Chris started the tour in the vineyard just outside the tasting room. \u00a0He mentioned that Grandfather manages three other vineyards in the area and has 200 vines of Marquette planted just across the mountain from where we were standing. \u00a0Current plantings in the vineyard onsite are Chardonnay, Catawba, Marechal Foch, Cabernet Franc, and Pinot Noir. \u00a0Locust posts in this terraced vineyard came from trees that once stood where the vineyard was planted.<\/p>\n<p>After the vineyard, we made stops in the barrel room and the winery. \u00a0The barrel room has French, American, and Hungarian oak barrels. \u00a0Some are new. \u00a0Others have one or two years of use. \u00a0The winery is small. \u00a0It sits just behind the tasting room. \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/fermentation.appstate.edu\">Fermentation Sciences<\/a> students from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.appstate.edu\">Appalachian State University<\/a> in Boone often work with the Grandfather staff on wines and ciders.<\/p>\n<p>We wrapped us the tour and headed back into the tasting room to purchase wines and say goodbye to Nicole. \u00a0The next time you&#8217;re the High Country, be sure to stop by and check out Grandfather Vineyard &amp; Winery. \u00a0Grab a bottle and relax by the gently following Watauga River. \u00a0Tell them we sent you!<\/p>\n<p>Cheers!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We recently had the opportunity to visit Grandfather Vineyard &amp; Winery in Banner Elk, NC. \u00a0It had been a year or more since we had last visited. \u00a0It was good to taste again, take in the beautiful mountain scenery, and just relax!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[385],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-appalachian-high-country","has-thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2045"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2045\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2196,"href":"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2045\/revisions\/2196"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}