Winery Escapade Weekend 46

This past weekend was a lot of fun! Friday night we checked out a new restaurant in downtown Spartanburg called Mezcal. It was really nice and the food was great. We then checked out the new wine bar, Bond Street Wines, also in downtown Spartanburg. We met some fun people and had a very nice Merlot there.

Saturday morning started with breakfast at The Crepe Factory. So very tasty! We then headed toward the Charlotte area. Took a short detour to the antique store in Grover. Found some very nice wine glasses, a neat ice bucket and a lovely antique ring for me.

From there we headed to Newton, NC to meet our friends Will & Pam at Catawba Farms Winery.

The tasting room has not been open very long, only since August, but man do they have several lovely wines, the 4 of us shared a bottle of the Peach for the Stars and the Puh-leezeling - both of which came home with us! We also shared a cheese plate that consisted of pita bread, pimento cheese, a beer cheese, and hummus that was so very good!. We WILL be going back!

On the property there is a lovely bed & breakfast called the Peacock Inn at Catawba Farms. We hope to get to stay there sometime. Room rates are very reasonable.

On the 34 acres of the Farms, there are peacocks, this is Henry

bunnies,

 goats,

pigs,

chickens,

one rooster,

2 cats - Sister Kitty & Lily Mouse

and one horse whose name is Major Tom

Michael (pictured with the rooster), one of the partners, was kind enough to let us meet all the animals on the property & tell us some of the history of the property and the winery.

We spent quite a while here, looking at animals and enjoying time and wine with our friends. I strongly recommend this winery to anyone who loves good wine, fun with friends and animals.

This Weekend's Escapade - Week 38 2017

Friday night Jenni and I visited the local Greek Festival. We enjoyed some good Greek food,  such as Dolmades which are wrapped in grape leaves and I enjoyed a Greek beer called Mythos. Our plan for Saturday was Cypress Bend Vineyards and Little River Vineyards. Due to some traffic issues we didn't make it to Little River, so they'll be seeing us in the near future.

First allow me to say that in our travels this weekend, we came upon two different very bad wrecks. Please be careful out there, and please drink responsibly.  Cypress Bend Vineyards in Wagram is a good 3+ hour drive for us, though we certainly enjoyed the drive. 

Dan and Tina Smith officially opened the Winery in 2005. Lisa graciously poured our tasting. She explained that the vineyard property has been in Dan's family since the early 1800's. originally over one thousand acres, still eight hundred or so remain in the family. The Lumber River runs along the property, which has been passed down through generations of descendants. Growing Carlos, Noble, and Magnolia on site, only pure cane sugar is used to sweeten their wines. Winemaker, Nadia Hetzel, studied the craft in Germany.  Their new River Series of wines are named for John Charles White, poet and ancestor of the matriarch White family.  The winery has a patio for sitting outside and host events throughout the year. We took a bottle of the Reminiscence home with us. 

Utilizing the VinoWine app,  was obvious we'd never make it Little River before they closed, so we regrouped and headed to nearby LockLear Vineyard and Winery. This is one of those "hobby" wineries. Don't let that prevent you from stopping in and visiting with Charlie Locklear.  The vineyard has been planted since 2006 and the winery open about seven years. The winery serves Carlos and Noble in both semi-dry and semi-sweet along with a few fruit wines. The highlight though, was the Christmas in a Bottle. This is a mulled spice wine, already bottled. This ten dollar bottle of wine was quiet good, and certainly unique, so we took a bottle home with us. 

Leaving Locklear and after a bite to eat at some local diner, we made the decision to head to Concord as we knew Cabo Winery was open until 8pm on Friday and Saturday nights. Cabo is downtown Concord, and makes some really good and unique fruit forward wines. We sat at a table looking out onto Main Street and enjoyed a bottle of Bless Your Heart. Bless Your Heart is a Sauv Blanc with a zesty lime note and strong hints of coconut. Some of our other favorites are Hissy Fit, a strawberry Riesling, Honey Hush, a coffee port style, and Adams Apple, a Gewurtraminer with intense flavor note of green apple. 

Sunday I was on a mission. We headed over to one of our favorites, Baker Buffalo Creek Vineyard and Winery, just outside of Shelby, in Fallston,  N.C.  We have come to know C.D. and Anne at Baker Buffalo Creek pretty good over the past few years, and it is always great to catch up. I was there for one reason though, to get a bottle of the newly released Cab Sauv aged in bourbon barrels for 4 months. I'll have a review of this wine in the near future.  C.D. had on a previous visit, before the wine was bottled, allowed us to taste it right out of the barrel. It has just the right note of bourbon on the finish.  Each bottle sells for $24, though with supply limited, I highly recommend picking up a bottle as quickly as possible. 

Couldn't help picture a bottle once I got home. 

C.D. Baker "Aged in Bourbon Barrels"  Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

Have always loved this old gas pump on the property at Baker Buffalo Creek. A reminder that this was once a working dairy farm. 

Love sitting outside relaxing with a bottle of wine. During the cooler months the fire pit is always lit and quite warm and cozy. 

Can you tell in the picture that we were enjoying life? Yet, once again we finished off another weekend escapade.
Happy Weekend Wining!

Don't forget to check Groupon for winery tasting and tour deals.

Dennis

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Old Homeplace Vineyard - Winston-Salem, NC

I've got to be honest, pulling into Old Homeplace Vineyard, I wasn't sure what to expect. First thought though as we winded up the  gravel entrance road, this sure is beautiful property. The Vineyard and Winery lie on the banks of Lake Thom-A-Lex, between the towns of Thomasville and Lexington. Open just 7 months, owners David and Jill Stone have put a lot into making this place special. The property, long in Jill's family, is an old tobacco farm.

The tasting room is a renovated old farmhouse, with an absolute beautiful large back deck. The deck is shaded, overlooking the beautiful grounds, tire swing, and of course the lake. Perfect for relaxing and enjoying a bottle of their wine. The tire swing matches the logo of the winery, which was designed by Jill.  David mentioned that to his knowledge, they are the only winery in North Carolina located directly on a lake.  A fire pit also sits out in the yard, perfect for cool evenings.  Jenni and I relaxed on the deck and shared a bottle of the semi-sweet 2015 Riesling, which just won double gold at the North Carolina State Fair.

Adirondack Chairs and picnic tables are scattered about the back yard, several just by the shore of the lake. Several groups were relaxing in the yard enjoying a comfortable Saturday afternoon. A barn is also in process of being constructed, which will be used to host weddings and other fun events.

There is a bell as you leave, with a sign requesting to show them some love by ringing.  We couldn't pass without showing our love.

Horses and donkeys graze in the pasture beside the winery. Jenni couldn't resist giving the horses some love. This guy didn't seem to mind one bit.

Currently the vineyard is planted with muscadine and they are buying all North Carolina grown grapes to supplement. David is buying  some fruit from Georgia for the sweeter fruit wines.  Mark Friszolowski, winemaker at Childress Vineyards,  is consulting in the formulation of their wines. I couldn't help but to let the owners know as we were leaving, they've something special going. The property is simply beautiful, and the wines are certainly good. David mentioned that he and Jill, though both currently still working "real jobs," look forward to making the vineyard and winery their full time passion. I've no doubt, success of Old Homeplace Vineyard  is in their future.  

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10 Year Anniversary for Rocky River Vineyards and other Fun

We started our weekend with a second visit to Old Rock Quarry in Enoree after dinner since they're open until 8 of Friday and Saturday. While the attached picture is no so flattering of me, I wanted you to "meet" the two lovely ladies that own the winery, Debbie and Linda. To say we love these 2 ladies would be an understatement. They are so funny and sweet! I would encourage all of you to make the drive (short from Spartanburg, Greenwood and Columbia) to see these two. We shared a bottle of their peach, brought a bottle of that and a bottle of their Snap Apple Sassy home.

So Saturday was the 10th anniversary for Rocky River Vineyards so we headed up there. They had several vendors, a DJ and live music. They also had special commemorative glasses and t-shirts. We brought one of the glasses home. We shared a bottle of the Peace and Quiet which is a Niagara with just a touch of Merlot. We had a good time there. As always met some really fun people.

We then headed to Old Homeplace Vineyard. We had the greatest time here. The owners, David and Jill Stone, were so super sweet! The farm has been in Jill's family since 1945. It used to be a tobacco farm and the winery has only been open for 7 months but do not let that lower your expectations! The wines are fantastic! David said he had always wanted to have a vineyard/winery so when the opportunity presented itself, he did it. They both still work full time jobs, but are hoping to make this their full time job later on. Dennis and I shared a bottle of their Riesling that just recently won double gold at the NC Fair. As you can see from the pictures below, I made a new friend and they have a beautiful view. The picture of Dennis ringing the bell says, Thank you for visiting Old Homeplace Vineyard. We wish you well. Show us your love by ringing the bell. So of course we did!

We stayed the night in Burlington, NC and went to a couple of other wineries on Sunday. 

We started the day at SilkHope Winery. Oh my goodness! The lady that runs the tasting room was such a hoot! We didn't have a bottle or glass there, but we did bring home a bottle of their White Chambourchin American style (this was a first for us and boy did we like it! They have a French style as well that is also very good, we just preferred the American) and a bottle of the 2008 Chambourchin (so when people say a Chambourchin doesn't age well.... tell them you know someone who would argue that point). As we were leaving the owner, Wally. He's an older gentleman, was very nice to talk to for a little bit. 

We left there, got some lunch and then headed to Zimmerman Vineyards. I didn't get the lady that did our tasting's name (hopefully Dennis did) , but I believe she is one of the owners. They had several nice wines but we simply can't afford to take them ALL home. The view was lovely and wines were very good. We each had a glass of the White Persephone. They have 4 dogs that all needed a little bit of loving. I only managed to get a picture of one of them though and that picture, makes me think of an episode of Mad About You where Murphy was on the table, so of course I had to take the picture.   

#ncwine #ncwinemonth

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