Cheers! Here's to getting to know North Carolina's expanding wine industry

Nov. 5—After a recent tour of Yadkin Valley's wine country, I may need to request a change in the photograph accompanying the miscellaneous ramblings that appear in this space, one substituting the pint of craft beer with a glass of vino.

That's because I was pleasantly surprised at the quality and variety of wine made in the Tar Heel state.

I've long been aware that North Carolina has a burgeoning wine industry. During her years as a graduate student at Western Carolina University, my wife helped pay her tuition by working at the then-newly opened winery at Asheville's Biltmore Estate.

During my time as a graduate student at WCU, I did a project on the North Carolina Wine and Grape Council, part of the state's Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, for a class on public administration and law.

That said, I've never considered North Carolina to be a wine state. Someone says North Carolina agriculture, and you think tobacco, Christmas trees, sweet potatoes and apples.

But, much as the craft beer industry has exploded in North Carolina, the same is true for wineries. And it's not just more wine; it's better wine. Gone are the days when a North Carolina vintage brought to mind the unpleasant bouquet of MD 2020, the fruity aroma of Wild Irish Rose or the brain-numbing impact of Thunderbird.

When friends suggested Margaret and I join them for a weekend exploring some of Yadkin's wineries, we were quick to accept. It didn't hurt that one of those friends is an oenophile. That's a fancy word for someone who knows a lot about wine, helping us understand such elements of the tasting experience as mouthfeel, balance, aroma and legs.

While familiar with IPA, lager, stout, pilsner and other beers, I'm less knowledgeable about wine. Sure, I know red from white, sweet from oaky, but I can't readily pull specifics about wine from my bunghole. That's not a reference to "Beavis and Butt-head."

As I learned, the bunghole is the opening in a cask through which wine is removed after it has aged. No TP necessary.

We hit five wineries during our getaway, starting with Silver Fork in Morganton and RayLen in Mocksville on day one before heading to our Airbnb in Elkin, in the heart of Yadkin Valley's wine country.

We sat under Carolina blue skies to sample a flight of Silver Fork's wines while watching children frolic on the lawn. That's when we discovered one member of our party, recently recovered from COVID-19, could not taste the wines.

To her, they all tasted like vinegar. At RayLen, the three of us who could taste enjoyed another flight, along with information about the vineyard from an attendant who had worked there since its founding.

Day two began with an ill-advised trip to Mount Airy to soak up some Andy Griffith charm. As it turned out, we picked a festival weekend to visit, and the streets were so clogged with traffic that we decided to get out of Mayberry before road rage kicked in and someone attempted a citizen's arrest.

Our next stop was Jones Von Drehle in Thurmond. There, we sampled wine from the 30-acre vineyard while chatting with one of the owners, a WCU alumna who traded in a career in nursing to launch a winery.

We finished up day two at Piccione Vineyard in Ronda, where we enjoyed another flight, live music and breathtaking long-range Blue Ridge Mountain views. We also had planned to visit nearby Raffaldini Vineyards, but we weren't the only ones taking advantage of the beautiful October day.

Everyone who didn't make it to Mount Airy's festival apparently decided to visit Raffaldini, as there were no tasting times available.

Concluding our tour as we headed back west on day three was Shadow Line in Granite Falls, where our taste-impaired traveler was finally able to enjoy a sample of the winery's product in the form of a seasonal fruit wine with the flavor of orange.

Each stop on our tour offered something different, with tasting rooms ranging from a glorified double-wide to a Tuscan-style manor. Most of the wines we sampled were satisfactory, a few were quite good and only a couple were duds. We all agreed that a follow-up trip was in order.

I have since learned that North Carolina has approximately 200 wineries. Five down, 195 to go. Challenge accepted.

Bill Studenc, who began his career in journalism and communications at The Mountaineer in 1983, retired in January 2021 as chief communications officer at Western Carolina University. He now writes about life in the mountains of Western North Carolina.