Mashburn Branch Vineyard is a working vineyard outside Franklin, North Carolina, run by John and Nancy Cantrell since 2000 — one of the earliest vineyards in Macon County, and, by the family’s own account, the first to sell wine grapes to Biltmore Estate Winery. It’s worth knowing upfront: this isn’t yet a polished tasting-room stop. It’s a real farm in the middle of building one, and that’s part of what makes it worth watching.
A 25-Year Vineyard Building Toward Its First Tasting Room
John Cantrell has been growing French hybrid wine grapes and muscadines at Mashburn Branch Vineyard since 2000, and the farm has recently added cider apple and pear trees to the mix. For most of that history, winemaking happened on a small, personal scale out of Cantrell’s basement, while the muscadine harvest went to the Franklin Farmers Market. That started to change with a series of grants from WNC AgOptions, a Western North Carolina small-farm grant program funded by the NC Tobacco Trust Fund Commission: an $8,000 award in 2023 helped Cantrell finish insulation, wiring, drywall and climate control on a dedicated two-story winery building, and a further $10,000 award in 2026 is funding the equipment — a stainless-steel sink, fermentation tank, transfer pump, apple crusher and bottling supplies — needed to start making wine on a commercial scale. (Sources: WNC AgOptions grant recipient pages, 2023 and 2026.)
Where the Wine Grapes Have Gone
Mashburn Branch Vineyard’s own description, via the North Carolina Wine & Grape Council, notes that it was the first vineyard in Macon County to sell wine grapes to Biltmore Estate Winery — a notable early credential for a farm that, at 3 acres of vines on 5 total acres, has stayed intentionally small. Rather than a large commercial operation, it’s grown as a family project across two-plus decades, with the current push toward a commercial tasting room representing the vineyard’s next real chapter rather than a rebrand.
What to Expect Right Now
As of this writing, Mashburn Branch Vineyard does not have a public tasting room open on a regular schedule. According to the WNC AgOptions program, the winery building and tasting-room finishes were still being completed as of the 2026 grant cycle, with commercial wine production expected to follow. In the meantime, visits to pick grapes, taste what’s available, or tour the vineyard happen by calling John Cantrell directly ahead of time. If you’re planning a trip specifically to taste wine in a finished tasting room, call first and confirm current status — this is a working farm mid-build, not a venue set up for drop-in visitors.
What Else Is Nearby
Franklin sits in Macon County in the far-southwestern corner of North Carolina, close to the Nantahala National Forest and within reach of other small Macon County farms and vineyards that have grown alongside Mashburn Branch over the past two decades. It’s also within a reasonable drive of the Asheville-area wine and cider scene if your group wants to build a longer loop through western North Carolina’s wine country rather than a single farm stop.
Planning Your Visit
Franklin is a serious drive from the High Country — figure roughly 3 to 3.5 hours each way from Boone, which puts a Mashburn Branch visit firmly in full-day, private-charter territory rather than a casual afternoon out. Given the vineyard’s current by-appointment status, any trip should start with a phone call to confirm what’s actually available to see and taste that day, and to set a pickup and return window that matches whatever John Cantrell can accommodate. For a group making a 6-plus-hour round trip, a single private vehicle with a professional driver means nobody’s making that drive twice in one day, and the return leg in the dark on rural mountain roads isn’t a concern.
Wine Tour Transportation to Mashburn Branch Vineyard
Ashe County Livery offers private, chauffeured wine tour transportation to Mashburn Branch Vineyard from Boone, Banner Elk, Blowing Rock, West Jefferson and across NC’s High Country. Our Mashburn Branch Vineyard trip-planning page covers drive times, visit availability, group sizes and pricing.
Travel in a luxury SUV, sedan, or Sprinter van with a professional chauffeur — everyone in your group gets to taste, nobody has to drive. Plan your Mashburn Branch Vineyard tour or call (336) 484-1350.
Other High Country wineries we serve: Marked Tree Vineyard · Johnson’s Legacy Vineyard · Biltmore Winery — or browse every High Country winery, cidery and meadery we provide transportation to.
Explore More from Ashe County Livery
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- Request a free quote — or call (336) 484-1350
🍷 Planning a Wine Tour in the NC High Country?
Ashe County Livery offers private, luxury wine tour transportation throughout the Blue Ridge Mountains. Skip the driving and let our professional chauffeurs take you from winery to winery in comfort and style.
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