NC Wineries Near Charlotte (Asheville, Monroe: limousine, home, wedding)

[paulosfm]

As lovers of the grape, my wife and I like to visit wineries. We've been as far north as eastern Pennsylvania and bought some pretty good wines. The Virginia wines were O.K., but don't measure up to NC wines. While the Shelton vineyards, about 20 miles north of Statesville, produce some very good wines for a large commercial operation, we have been impressed with a small vineyard and winery in Yadkin County, off highway 421 that carries the label Laurel-Gray. It is hands-on family owned and operated. In the summer months, they have Friday night "Farm Fresh Friday" events where they serve specially prepared food from local farms paired with their wines and they discount the wines served at the events. My wife joined their wine club to get their year-round discounts and bottles of wine that goes to members as a perk of membership. She has belonged to other wine clubs in the Yadkin Valley area, including Shelton's, but the Laurel-Gray club and wines have been the best value for the money and quality. With over 400 wine producers in NC, Laurel-Gray was ranked the best in the state in 2009.

If readers of this site are interested in some good wines, they should take the hour drive up I-77 to Hwy 421(from south Charlotte/Matthews) and sample Laurel-Gray's wines. The wines are not sold in stores.

[flyingscotsman]

Sounds interesting, just found the website.

North Carolina, NC Vineyard and Winery

[eborg]

In looking for a wedding location me and my fiancee did a lot of wine tasting and vineyard visits in and around the Yadkin valley and it was awesome, there were so many great places. Gotta talk about some of my favorites

For taste, I'd have to say Buck Shoals was probably my favorite, and also probably the smallest. We picked it by random, it was a little place off the side of the road but it was great because they had so much ingenuity. They have a distillery and a honey making portion and they use both of those to infuse some of their wines and go really interesting directions with it. They also have a good selection of regular wines, but I really enjoyed the creativity they showed.
Buck Shoals Winery and Vineyard - A Yadkin Valley Winery

Shelton Vineyards was also really nice and they had a great tour that went through the history while going through a wine tasting at the same time. What was a big bonus for this place though was the great restaurant they had attached to it called Harvest Grill, good place to hit after lots of touring.
Shelton Vineyards .::. A premier NC winery in Yadkin Valley, NC

For looks, Raffaldini was absolutely amazing (and the future location for my wedding). Its an Italian villa perched on top of a hill over looking the country and the blue hills and its just beautiful. The wine was alright, but the view couldn't be beat.
North Carolina, NC Vineyard & Winery

Also a fun place that had the best pairings was Ragapple Lassie. They had cool little cheeses and chocolates and stuff to really pull out the great flavors in their wines. Its in a big metal building which was definitely different from the style of everyone else, but the people were fun and it was a very lighthearted environment.
Ragapple Lassie - Home

[lovehomesncdotcom]

There is a small vineyard in Monroe called Treehouse Vineyards. They have a yummy sweet white that I especially like called "Sweet Union". Look them up on facebook. They are always having music and events.

[etacarinae]

I pass a sign on hwy.49 depicting Uwharrie Vineyards , south on hwy.73. Regarding quality , IDK , because I dont drink alcoholic beverages. They may have some merit.

[janie215]

Im sure you have probably chosen a vineyard by now, but I would encourage you to try Morgan Ridge Vineyard. It is located outside of Lexington,NC. My husband and I have enjoyed their wines and the setting several times. The owners are great people too! They live on site right behind the vineyard and tasting room. They have some very tasty wines...really quite different than typical NC wines, and they have events called "Slide by Saturdays", where there is a really delightful buffet served...usually themed by the chef. Try it! We think you will like it!

[jaynaydee]

The Biltmore may have a winery. It's a tourist attraction so there's more to do other than the winery.
Vacations at America's Largest Home in Asheville, NC| Biltmore

[sundrop]

Weathervane Winery

[lovesMountains]

I like Rag Apple Lassie, just over an hour out of uptown Charlotte

Ragapple Lassie - Home

[missielgp]

Originally Posted by paulosfm

With over 400 wine producers in NC, Laurel-Gray was ranked the best in the state in 2009.

If readers of this site are interested in some good wines, they should take the hour drive up I-77 to Hwy 421(from south Charlotte/Matthews) and sample Laurel-Gray's wines. The wines are not sold in stores.

There probably are over 400 vineyards in NC, but there are less than 125 commercial wineries. NC's native grapes, the muscadine & scuppernong are the most prevalent for both types of vineyards. As a result, most people dismiss NC wines, since they think all are sweet. The industry has exploded since the late 90's (in 2002-there were only 22 wineries state-wide, in 2012 there are 38 in the Yadkin Valley Appelation alone).

French varietals have gained a big foothold and with 10 or more years of vine growth, wineries like Laurel Gray are indeed producing noteworthy wines. There are more wineries producing good wines than you will be able to visit in a single day.

I believe American Limousine has been conducting Yadkin Valley Wine Tours longer than anyone & probably was the originator of NC wine tours. They conduct a prix fixe as well as an hourly tour but don't do more than 14 people.