NC Swan Creek AVA - Dobbins Creek

NC Swan Creek AVA - Dobbins Creek
July 31st, 2015

North Carolina has four separate AVAs (American Viticultural Area).  An AVA means that the wine comes from a specific area that has certain soil, water, and weather climates that make it unique.  Some AVAs are subsets within another AVA.   The 4 AVAs for North Carolina are:

1.  Yadkin Valley - Wiki - Yadkin Valley AVA
2.  Swan Creek - Wiki - Swan Creek AVA
3.  Haw River Valley - Wiki - Haw River Valley - AVA
4.  Upper Hiwassee Highlands - Wiki - Upper Hiwassee Highlands AVA   (a shared AVA that straddles the North Carolina and Georgia state border.  Also it is Georgia's first AVA.)

DOBBINS CREEK VINEYARDS
TASTING ROOM

The Swan Creek AVA is contained within the Yadkin Valley AVA and represents a micro climate that exists near the Swan Creek and the Blue Ridge Mountains.  From downtown Winston-Salem, you can drive there in just under a half hour.

DOBBINS CREEK VINEYARDS
TASTING GLASS

DOBBINS CREEK VINEYARDS
JUST A FEW OF THEIR WINES

There are 5 Wineries that make up the Swan Creek AVA.  You could visit all of them in one day, but why rush it?   In this case, it is about the destinations, and not the journey.  And while they each share a common terroir, they also have a unique point of view on wine and spirits.


We'll feature each one over the next couple of weeks, starting with Dobbins Creek Vineyards.

DOBBINS CREEK VINEYARDS PORCH

Dobbins Creek Vineyards  - Dobbins Creek Vineyards has a definite feel of a mountain lodge with lots of views.  Its location is the highest elevation of the five wineries, at almost 1,400 feet.  The long porch provides views around the Yadkin Valley, and you can see all the way to Winston-Salem on a clear day.  It's the place to meet once you've had your tasting and want to select a wine to share and sit a while.

You're likely to run into Charles King, the owner who started the winery with its first plantings in 2002.  Now 13 years later, they have a wide selection of wines that will help fill up your glasses for any occasion.   Enjoy your wine tasting at the wine bar, where 100 year old Cherry wood was harvested from the land to build the bar.  Then go outside and take in some more of the views, knowing that all the wines are estate grown and what you see is what you drink.

Glen Manor Vineyards - Virginia is for (Wine) Lovers

Glen Manor Vineyards, Shenandoah Valley Virginia
July 23rd, 2015

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GLEN MANOR VINEYARDS' TASTING ROOM

My wife and I were recently on a road trip that brought us through Virginia.  We always prefer to drive through Virginia on Highway 81 or 77 instead of Interstate 95 because of the views in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  The Shenandoah Valley and surrounding mountains are spectacular, and you'll feel like Maria in the Sound of Music as you head spins around trying to take in the landscape.  Red Barns, rolling hills, cattle, and patchwork fields will collectively make you feel relaxed, even if traffic has come to a halt.

GLEN MANOR VINEYARDS - ENTRANCE

While planning for the trip through Virginia, we asked one of our extended family members from the area if there were any wineries we should visit around Winchester.  Glen Manor Vineyards was on their list of places to visit.  It's a short trip off of Highway 81 and only 90 minutes from Washington, D.C.  If you live in D.C., it's a perfect day trip to get away from the city's heat.

GLEN MANOR VINEYARDS - TASTING ROOM

When you arrive at Glen Manor Vineyards, you'll be greeted with the rolling hills that provide the vineyards with great drainage.  The cool airflow from the hills also helps to keep the vines healthy and dry naturally.  The cool breeze also helped us to relax and enjoy some of Glen Manor's wines.  The farm has been in their family for over a century, and fourth generation Jeff is the "farmer" who tends to their grapes.  After having worked for years at Linden Vineyards just around the corner, he's learned that great grapes make great wines.

GLEN MANOR VINEYARDS - HODDER HILL

All the wines here are estate grown, and that means that every drop comes from the two vineyards planted on the hillside, right out the tasting room windows.  The staff was very welcoming and knowledgeable on the work that goes into each wine.  Our host was Ashley, who gave us a lesson on the vineyard and her family's history in the area.

GLEN MANOR VINEYARDS - RELAX AND ENJOY

Watch as she deftly explains the wines and the pours the literal fruits of Jeff's labor into our glasses.  The short video on YouTube will give you a sneak peak at what you'll see and taste at Glen Manor Vineyards.  OurWineFlights.com - Glen Manor Vineyards

Vynecrest Vineyards and Winery - We've made friends in PA

Vynecrest Vineyards and Winery

July 4, 2015

Happy 239th Birthday United States of America!

Vynecrest Vineyards and Winery
Lehigh Valley, PA AVA

A great way to say celebrate is to add a few bottles of wine to the picnic table.  Wine shouldn't be considered high brow - it's an age old drink that helped with celebrating many occasions.  In fact, it is told that Portuguese Madeira wine was used to toast the signing of the Declaration of Independence.   If wine was popular with both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson to celebrate then we're OK with it too.

Vynecrest Vineyards
Tasting Room

We have a couple of bottles we're chilling for this weekend from Vynecrest Vineyards and Winery in Pennsylvania.  While driving back South, we stopped for a break at the Welcome Center just as we crossed into Pennsylvania.   The Welcome Center provided us with information on wineries on the Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley Wine Trail.  So we decided to check one out on our way through the Keystone State.

We were welcomed at Vynecrest Vineyards and Winery,  just outside of Allentown and only about 10 minutes off Highway 78.  Established in 1974, the property overlooks the rolling hills of the Lehigh Valley, an AVA that was granted to the region in 2008.  The views are spectacular and the welcome from their staff was equally warm and friendly.

Vynecrest's iPad Player Piano
Downstairs in Tom's Vyneskeller

With over 40 years of history, they know what grows well in the area.  They are proud of their dry, red Chamborcin, which is regional star for this AVA.  Also, their flagship red is their Lemberger, which will go well with burgers from the grill.  Too bad we weren't there on the weekend, because downstairs they have an iPad Baby Grand Player Piano and Jazz on the last Sunday of the month.

Vynecrest Vineyards and Winery
Tom's Vyneskeller with views

Vynecrest Vineyards and Winery
Tom's Vyneskeller

So if you can't make it to Breiningsville, PA this weekend, look to your own backyard and check out the winery that you have been meaning to visit.  And if you can get to Vynecrest Vineyards and Winery, do it.