Western North Carolina’s Wine Country is conveniently located an hour from Greenville, South Carolina and an hour from Asheville, North Carolina. Some like to call it the Napa of the East. Gorgeous rolling hills, beautiful venues for drinking wine, and the sweetest country shops are what visitors can expect when they visit these small mountain towns.
It’s the perfect way to spend a day, or weekend, and what’s best is they’re so close to each other you can visit many.
1. Sit Around a Firepit at Night and Drink Wine With Friends
Enjoy the cool mountain air at night around a communal firepit at Mountain Brook Vineyards in Tryon, NC. This is a small boutique vineyard with gorgeous property and vines that are all hand harvested. No reservation required, just come as you are. Bring a picnic or buy food there.
2. Wine Tastings
Wineries are all about the wine tastings. Sometimes they happen as a flight, where all the wines you’ll be tasting are presented at the same time. Other times you’ll enjoy one pour at a time.
3. Stomp Grapes With Your Feet
Besides drinking wine, or listening to live music, there are often lots of fun events at wineries. During the I Love Lucy celebration at Burntshirt Vineyards, guests can stomp grapes just like Lucy did.
4. Drink Wine in the Vineyards
The views of the mountains are amazing, so why not sit back and gaze at them while you enjoy our wine. Parker-Binns in Mill Springs is a gorgeous 40acre family run property with tasting room, fireplaces and outdoor firepit, along with lots of fun events throughout the year.
5. Buy Fun Stuff at Country Stores
Candles with a scent called peace, love and chicken grease, y’all? Country grocery stores, art galleries, and gift shops help create the charm of small towns. A favorite is the small railroad mountain town of Saluda, population under 800.
6. Eat BBQ
Mountain towns are known for BBQ, especially Flat Rock, home of Hubba Hubba Smokehouse. The outdoor patio is adorable, but if you’re lucky to sit by the woodburning firepit, sit! Especially on a chilly Fall day.
7. Taste More Wine
Sometimes the pours come one at a time, with an explanation of the wine as it’s poured. And since there are so many vineyards so close to each other in Western North Carolina, you can pretty much winery hop.
8. Ride the Carousel
Visit the Tryon Equestrian Center, just minutes away from some of the wineries. This international center was recently home to the world FEI games. Visitors can watch horses train, see the track they run on, and wander quite an impressive property of restaurants, bars, shops, and carousel too!
9. Watch Harvesting by Hand
While mechanical harvesting happens quite often these days, the smaller family owned vineyards still harvest by hand. For wine connoisseurs, this brings the whole picture together. Very vine to table.
Conclusion
You don’t have to love wine to visit a winery. Getting away to the rolling hills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and enjoying being in the midst of acre after acre of vines is reason enough. Along with wine tastings, vineyards often have live entertainment and a food truck. Some even have their own food for sale, and many guests bring picnics too.
The vineyards are easily accessible from the Asheville Airport (ASH) and Greenville Airport (GSP). And with hotels, air bnbs, and lots of bed and breakfasts, a getaway to the wineries of Western North Carolina is the perfect way to spend the day, or weekend.
Last Updated on February 26, 2020