Author: Ashe County Livery

Round Peak Vineyards: A Napa Dream Replanted in the Blue Ridge Foothills

The story of Round Peak Vineyards starts with two couples who met at Davidson College. George Little and Lee Martin became friends as students, later married Susan and Janet, and the two couples discovered a shared love of good wine. A 1998 trip to Napa Valley turned that into a plan — they purchased the current vineyard site in Mount Airy, North Carolina in 1999 and planted eight acres across six grape varieties in 2000.

The Littles and the Martins ran the vineyard, winery, and tasting room until they retired and sold it in 2008. The new owners, Kari Heerdt and Ken Gulaian, had their own winding path here: they met in Cincinnati in 1998 while working at General Electric, moved to Charlotte in 2000, then relocated to Oakland, California in 2006 — where visiting the small family wineries of Dry Creek Valley planted a different kind of seed. When the chance to return to North Carolina and take over Round Peak came up in 2008, Ken left the corporate world behind for good.

The Wines of Round Peak Vineyards

Round Peak sits at 1,300 feet in elevation in the Yadkin Valley AVA, on a 32-acre property with 12 acres of vineyard producing all of the fruit for its wines. Every bottle is 100% estate grown and bottled — the winery brings in no outside grapes. Current plantings run to a dozen varietals, including Chardonnay, Vidal Blanc, Merlot, Nebbiolo, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Manseng, Tannat, Montepulciano, and Norton, with Chardonel, Chambourcin, and Touriga National coming online in the next couple of vintages.

The winery pours under two labels. Round Peak covers the traditional side of the house — dry varietal wines and blends, with reds barrel-aged at least 14 months in French oak and neutral barrels, and whites kept crisp in stainless steel. Skull Camp, made from the same estate fruit, is the easier-drinking, dry-to-sweet line meant for casual sipping. Round Peak also produces its own ciders and beer on-site.

The estate-only approach is worth pausing on. Plenty of Yadkin Valley wineries supplement their own fruit with grapes purchased from other growers, especially in lean vintages. Round Peak’s decision to hand-pick everything from its own 12 acres, every year, means the wine list stays smaller than some neighboring wineries — but every bottle on the shelf genuinely reflects this specific hillside and its micro-climate.

Planning Your Visit

Address: 765 Round Peak Church Road, Mount Airy, NC 27030
Tasting Room (April–December): Sunday–Thursday 12pm–5pm, Friday 12pm–8pm, Saturday 11am–6pm
Tasting Room (January–March): Friday 12pm–8pm, Saturday 11am–6pm, Sunday 12pm–5pm

• Tasting Flights — a self-paced sampling of Round Peak’s dry wines or Skull Camp’s easier-drinking blends, served on the covered patio or inside.
• Cabin Stays — overnight cabins on the property for anyone who wants to linger past last call.
• Disc Golf — a course on-site, good for filling time between pours with a group.
• Weddings & Private Events — the property books as a wedding and event venue; ask ahead for dates.

A few practical notes we have learned from bringing groups here: Round Peak is both kid- and dog-friendly, so it is an easy stop for a mixed group. The covered patio is the spot to ask for — it faces the vineyard rows and catches the evening light. Because hours shift seasonally and Round Peak occasionally hosts live music or private events, we always call ahead to confirm the tasting room is open to the public before building it into a route. Budget at least 90 minutes here; longer if your group wants to walk the vineyard or play a round of disc golf.

Where Round Peak Fits in Your Tour Route

Round Peak sits in the Round Peak Church Road area southwest of Mount Airy, close enough to Serre Vineyards that the two are an easy same-afternoon pairing. From there, Surry County’s cluster of wineries around Dobson and State Road — including Golden Road Vineyards and Shelton Vineyards — are a short drive further south, which makes this corner of the Yadkin Valley good for building a route that never doubles back on itself.

Plan on roughly 1.5 hours per winery plus drive time between stops. Most Yadkin Valley tasting rooms open at 11am or noon, so an early start pairs well with Round Peak’s Saturday 11am opening.

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• Request a free quote — or call (336) 484-1350

Roaring River Vineyards: A French-Inspired Winery Built Around a Historic Gristmill

In 2001, Tom and Joséphine Silvey were living in Charlotte and looking for a weekend retreat when they found a riverside property in Traphill, North Carolina, along the East Prong of the Roaring River. For Joséphine, who grew up near France’s Champagne region, the rolling hills felt like home. The couple bought the land intending to build a simple weekend cottage — but when Joséphine asked Tom to plant a few grapevines to remind her of France, he signed them both up for a viticulture seminar at Surry Community College and came out with, as she puts it, stars in his eyes.

What followed was nearly two decades of long-distance labor: the Silveys were living in Orlando at the time, driving back and forth, hauling supplies, and sleeping in a mobile home while they cleared land and planted vines. Tom’s job brought the couple to Rural Hall, NC in 2011, and from there the project accelerated. Their first grape harvest came in 2013; Tom retired from a 43-year career at Siemens in 2017; and in the summer of 2018 the couple moved into their forever home overlooking the vineyard. On Bastille Day, 2016, fittingly, they opened the Wine Tasting Room and Chez Joséphine Restaurant.

The site itself carries its own history: it dates back to 1870, when the old Brewer gristmill and sawmill used the river to power their grinding wheels. Roaring River’s tasting room was built in place of that old gristmill, and remnants of the historic sawmill and cabin are still visible just across the water.

Tom and Joséphine have described their roles at the estate half-jokingly as “Secretary of the Exterior” and “Secretary of the Interior” — a reflection of just how hands-on the couple has been in building not just a vineyard, but a full riverside experience with lodging, event spaces, and dining layered in over the years.

The Wines of Roaring River Vineyards

The Tasting Haus at Roaring River Vineyards pours French-inspired estate wines alongside German-style, locally sourced beers. The wine lineup includes Traminette, Chambourcin, Chardonnay, Norton, and the winery’s fan-favorite Petit Rosé, produced in partnership with a local winery while the Silveys continued building out the estate. German-inspired food, shareables, and small plates round out the menu, designed to pair with whatever you’re drinking rather than compete with it. Regular events add another layer to a visit — from Sip & Solve wine bingo nights to the River Jams live music series featuring local performers on the covered porch.

Planning Your Visit

Address: 493 Brewer Mill Rd, Traphill, NC 28685
Phone: (336) 957-2332
Hours: Thursday 11am–6pm (May–October), Friday–Saturday 11am–6pm, Sunday 12pm–5pm

Roaring River is as much a destination as a tasting stop — the property includes vacation rentals booked through VRBO, an RV campground, and event spaces for weddings and private gatherings, all riverside. Outdoor dining spaces are pet-friendly, so both people and dogs are welcome by the water, and the covered porch overlooking the historic Brewer Mill site is a favorite spot for lingering over a wine flight.

A few practical notes we have learned from bringing groups here: the tasting room is closed Monday through Wednesday, so plan your visit for later in the week. We recommend budgeting at least two hours here if your group wants to eat at Chez Joséphine and take in the river views — this isn’t a quick tasting-and-go stop.

Where Roaring River Fits in Your Tour Route

Roaring River sits in Wilkes County in the foothills near Stone Mountain State Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway, close to a small cluster of wineries around Elkin and State Road — including Elkin Creek Vineyard, Grassy Creek Vineyard, and Golden Road Vineyards, all within a short drive. That makes it a natural anchor for a foothills-focused day rather than a stop paired with the wineries further south and east in the valley.

Plan on roughly 1.5 hours per winery plus drive time between stops. Given Roaring River’s limited Thursday–Sunday schedule, we recommend building the rest of your day’s route around its open hours rather than the other way around. And because the drive out to Traphill winds through genuinely scenic foothills country, we’d suggest treating the drive itself as part of the day rather than something to rush through.

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RagApple Lassie Vineyards: From Champion Show Calf to Yadkin Valley Winery

Frank Hobson is a third-generation farmer whose family has worked the same land in Boonville, North Carolina since the early 1900s, growing tobacco, corn, wheat, and soybeans. When the tobacco buyout of the early 2000s threatened to end that way of life, Frank and his wife Lenna made a decision: rather than sell the 114-year-old family farm to developers, they would plant grapes. In April 2000, they put five acres of vinifera vines in the ground, and by the time RagApple Lassie opened for tastings a couple of years later, it had become a full working vineyard and winery.

The unusual name comes from Frank’s own childhood: RagApple Lassie was his 4-H show calf, a registered Holstein born on the Hobson farm that Frank raised from a day old and went on to become the Grand Champion Show Calf at the 1957 North Carolina State Fair. A tobacco leaf still appears on the back label of every bottle — a nod to the farm’s roots, even as the majority of Hobson land remains planted in corn, wheat, soybeans, and tobacco alongside the vines.

Lenna Hobson has said in interviews that neither she nor Frank fully anticipated how much personal time the winery would demand — seven days a week, ten hours a day, in the early years — nor the way the wine business brought a wave of new friends and acquaintances hoping for a pour of their own. What has stuck with the Hobsons through it all is a sense of ownership over something they built entirely themselves, distinct from the family farming operation that came before it.

The Wines of RagApple Lassie

What began as five acres has grown into roughly 35 acres of vinifera grapes, producing up to 6,500 cases of wine a year, all from estate-grown fruit. The vineyard’s varietal list is unusually broad for North Carolina, including Pinot Gris, Viognier, Chardonnay, Traminette, Marsanne, Semillon, Malbec, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, and what’s believed to be North Carolina’s only estate-grown Zinfandel.

Winemaker Linda King, who came to North Carolina from one of Ohio’s largest estate wineries, has helped RagApple Lassie earn a reputation as one of the Yadkin Valley’s award-winning producers. Standout bottlings include Hobson’s Choice, a reserve Bordeaux-style blend, and First Blush, a Zinfandel-based blend that’s become a favorite for warm-weather sipping. Rockford Red, a semi-sweet red blend, has a loyal following among regulars, and the winery’s barrel-fermented Chardonnay has previously been bottled to coincide with celestial events, including a batch timed to the 2017 solar eclipse.

Yadkin County, home to fourteen of the twenty-four wineries in the broader Yadkin Valley, has recognized Lenna Hobson’s role in the region’s wine story — she has written about the county’s wine industry for regional publications, and RagApple Lassie is frequently cited as one of the anchor wineries for visitors exploring the Boonville area.

Planning Your Visit

Address: 3724 RagApple Lassie Lane, Boonville, NC 27011
Hours: Friday through Monday from noon, with hours varying by season and events — call ahead or check their Facebook page to confirm
Phone: (336) 367-6000

The tasting room has a distinctly farm-country feel — think tractor-seat bar stools and a resident vineyard dog — and the tasting experience is relaxed and unhurried, with staff happy to walk you through the full range from crisp whites to bold reds to the winery’s semi-sweet blends. RagApple Lassie sits at roughly 1,200 feet of elevation under the western gaze of Pilot Mountain, which locals will tell you is the “Mount Pilot” of Andy Griffith fame.

A few practical notes we have learned from bringing groups here: because hours shift seasonally and around events, it’s worth a quick call before finalizing your route, especially midweek. We recommend budgeting about 90 minutes here — enough time to taste through the lineup and enjoy the tasting room’s easy, come-as-you-are hospitality.

Where RagApple Lassie Fits in Your Tour Route

RagApple Lassie sits in Boonville, in the heart of Yadkin County, alongside a tight cluster of other wineries — Sanders Ridge Vineyard and Winery is practically down the road, with Windsor Run Cellars and Hanover Park Vineyard just a short drive further into Yadkin County. That makes RagApple Lassie an easy anchor stop for a Yadkin County-focused day.

Plan on roughly 1.5 hours per winery plus drive time between stops. Because RagApple Lassie’s hours can shift with the season, we recommend confirming the day’s schedule before you build the rest of your route around it.

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Pilot Mountain Vineyards: Mature Vines and Mountain Views in Pinnacle, NC

The vines at Pilot Mountain Vineyards were first planted in 1996 by a previous owner — a scientist who, by his own family’s account, wanted to experiment with eight different French vinifera varieties on his 31-acre Pinnacle, North Carolina property. For years those grapes were sold off to other North Carolina wineries. Then, around 2020, husband-and-wife team Mark and Kari Barbar — a retired schoolteacher and a retired IBM executive — bought the estate and decided the mature vineyard deserved its own winery and tasting room, working with veteran winemaking consultant Linda King (formerly of RagApple Lassie) to get their first commercial vintages right.

The estate’s defining feature is its view: Pilot Mountain, the volcanic-plug landmark that has guided travelers through the Piedmont since the 18th century and became a National Natural Landmark and North Carolina State Park in 1968, rises directly behind the vines. Today the property has leaned further into hosting weddings and events, trading on that same dramatic backdrop for ceremonies and receptions.

Brides who have married at Pilot Mountain Vineyards consistently mention the same things in their reviews: the mountain views from the reception hall’s floor-to-ceiling windows, the ease of an all-inclusive planning process, and the option to stay in an on-site suite the night before and after the wedding. The Barbars built their all-inclusive package — covering everything from decor and catering to lighting, music, and parking attendants — specifically to take the stress out of vineyard weddings for couples planning from out of town.

The Wines of Pilot Mountain Vineyards

Pilot Mountain Vineyards farms 6 acres under vine on its 31-acre estate, growing eight French vinifera varieties: Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Mourvèdre, Syrah, Viognier, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, and Riesling. Viognier and Merlot make up the largest share of plantings, a nod to the previous owner’s personal favorites, and the winery’s barrel-fermented Chardonnay and estate Viognier have become its signature pours. The Barbars also produce a Cabernet Franc rosé and a cranberry-infused Viognier blend called Cranberry Delight.

Kari has said in interviews that if she had to choose just one grape to keep, it would be Viognier — the state grape of Virginia, and one that the Barbars think deserves more attention in North Carolina than the more familiar Chardonnay. That preference shows up throughout the tasting lineup, where Viognier appears both on its own and as the backbone of several of the winery’s blends.

Planning Your Visit

Address: 1162 Bradley Rd, Pinnacle, NC 27043
Tasting Room Hours: Friday–Sunday, roughly 12:30pm–5pm

The tasting room sits at a 20-foot bar with sweeping views of Pilot Mountain through the open doors, and there’s both indoor seating and an outdoor patio. If you’re planning a wedding rather than a tasting visit, Pilot Mountain Vineyards operates as an all-inclusive venue: packages vary by guest count and day of week, the venue holds up to 125 guests, and off-season micro-wedding packages are available for smaller groups.

A few practical notes we have learned from bringing groups here: because the estate is increasingly weekend-wedding-focused, it’s worth calling ahead before a tasting visit to confirm the tasting room is open rather than booked for a private event. Weather-contingency plans are built into the venue’s indoor spaces for wedding parties, which is a good sign of how seriously the Barbars take the guest experience even outside of tastings. We recommend budgeting about an hour to 90 minutes for a relaxed tasting with time to enjoy the view.

Where Pilot Mountain Vineyards Fits in Your Tour Route

Pilot Mountain Vineyards sits in Surry County alongside several other wineries that share the same mountain backdrop, including JOLO Winery & Vineyards just up the road, Round Peak Vineyards near Mount Airy, and Stony Knoll Vineyards outside Dobson. It’s a natural fit for a Surry County-focused day rather than a stop on the Yadkin County side of the valley.

Plan on roughly 1.5 hours per winery plus drive time between stops. Since the tasting room here keeps a shorter Friday–Sunday schedule than many valley wineries, we recommend confirming hours before building your full-day route around it.

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Old Homeplace Vineyard: A 75-Year Family Farm Turned Lakeside Winery

The Stone family has farmed this land in Davidson County, North Carolina for more than 75 years — first as a tobacco operation, now as Old Homeplace Vineyard. Like many longtime tobacco families in the Piedmont, they found themselves needing a new direction for the land, and turned to wine grapes and an event venue rather than let the farm slip out of agricultural use.

The family describes Old Homeplace first and foremost as a working agricultural area and event center, and their guest policies reflect that dual identity: it’s a real farm that happens to welcome visitors, not a purpose-built tourist attraction. That framing carries through to the winery’s own marketing, which leans into practical, unpretentious language rather than polish — a fit for the laid-back, come-sit-by-the-lake experience regulars describe.

What makes the property especially memorable is its setting: the vineyard lies between a 1,200-acre lake and 48 acres of rolling pasture, giving the tasting deck and event lawn a waterfront backdrop that’s unusual for a Yadkin Valley-area winery. It’s a working agricultural operation first and a tasting destination second — guests are reminded on arrival that this is still a working farm, not a manicured resort, and that’s very much part of its charm.

The Wines of Old Homeplace Vineyard

Old Homeplace pours a wide range of dry, semi-sweet, and Muscadine-style wines. On the dry side, look for Henry Lee (a crisp white blend of Viognier, Pinot Gris, and Chardonnay), a lightly oaked Chardonnay, and a refreshing Sauvignon Blanc, alongside reds like a French-oaked Malbec, the Bordeaux-style Meritage blend Firefly, a classic Cabernet Sauvignon, and Full Moon, their Cabernet Sauvignon aged in bourbon barrels. The rosé, Tire Swing, blends Sangiovese and Cabernet Franc.

On the sweeter end, the winery makes a semi-sweet Riesling, a sweetened red blend called Lil’ Red Wagon, a Merlot-Riesling Sangria, and several Muscadine wines — including the playfully named Skinny Dippin’ and Crooked Rows-e’ — that lean into the Southern muscadine tradition rather than European vinifera.

The winery also markets a rotating selection of “award-winning wines” on-site, and its Sunday Fundays series brings local songwriters and musicians to perform on the deck overlooking the lake — a fixture of the weekend schedule worth checking before your visit if live music is part of what you’re after.

Planning Your Visit

Address: 623 McGee Rd, Winston-Salem, NC 27107
Tasting Room Hours: Friday 1pm–6pm, Saturday & Sunday 12pm–5pm (last call and last tastings 30 minutes before closing)

Two tasting formats are offered: choose 7 wines and keep the glass, or opt for a wine flight of four 3-oz pours, also with a glass to take home. There’s no tasting after 4:30pm on open days. The grounds welcome non-aggressive, leashed dogs and supervised children, though outside beverages and full coolers aren’t permitted — personal containers must be empty before entering. Live music on the deck overlooking the lake is a regular weekend feature, and the property also hosts weddings in its on-site barn.

A few practical notes we have learned from bringing groups here: this is a working farm with a limited tasting-room schedule (Friday through Sunday only), so it pays to build your visit around those hours rather than a weekday stop. Coolers and outside drinks aren’t allowed onto the property, so leave those in the vehicle, and remember that pets need to stay leashed and calm around other guests. We recommend budgeting about 90 minutes to two hours if the weather’s good and your group wants to linger by the water.

Where Old Homeplace Fits in Your Tour Route

Old Homeplace sits between Winston-Salem and Lexington, close to the small cluster of Yadkin Valley-area wineries around Lexington — including Curran Alexander Vineyards, Native Vines Winery, and Childress Vineyards — all within about 20 minutes’ drive. That makes it easy to combine with an eastern Yadkin Valley loop rather than the wineries further west and north in Yadkin and Surry counties.

Plan on roughly 1.5 hours per winery plus drive time. Because Old Homeplace only opens Friday through Sunday, it’s worth confirming that day of your trip lines up before building it into a weekday itinerary.

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Nomad Wine Works: High Point’s Urban Winery in the Catalyst Social District

In December 2022, childhood friends Dave Armstrong and Aaron Sizemore opened Nomad Wine Works in a stretch of downtown High Point once reserved almost exclusively for furniture showrooms. Dave, who already ran the popular bottle shop The Brewer’s Kettle, and Aaron, a printmaker-turned-brewer who had opened Radar Brewing Company in Winston-Salem, spent about a year searching for the right space before settling into High Point’s emerging Catalyst Social District. The result looks more like a crisp, contemporary coffee shop or brewery than a traditional tasting room — by design.

The name Nomad Wine Works came about almost by accident. Both founders grew up wandering the Triad, and when it came time to name the business, the word simply “arrived,” as Aaron puts it. It captures both their own restless path into the wine business and the winery’s un-vineyard-like setting: this is a producing winery built inside a downtown storefront, not out on acres of vines.

Before Nomad, Aaron had already built a career around fermentation: after a degree in printmaking and seven years designing fabric and rugs for the home furnishings industry, he pursued formal training in brewing and distillation and went on to open Radar Brewing Company in Winston-Salem. Dave, meanwhile, had spent years building a string of successful bottle shops around High Point. When the two longtime friends decided to combine forces, they spent about a year searching specifically for a space that could capture the spirit of a new kind of winery — and found it in a onetime furniture-showroom storefront in what has since become High Point’s Catalyst Social District, a downtown area increasingly filled with new restaurants, bars, and small businesses.

The Wines of Nomad Wine Works

Because Nomad operates as an urban winery rather than an estate vineyard, its focus is on the finished glass rather than acreage or varietal counts. The lineup includes wine, mead, and cider, with several rotating options on any given visit, plus local beer on tap and non-alcoholic choices for anyone not drinking. Their weaver mead has drawn particular praise from visitors, and the space itself — open, industrial, with rotating local art on the walls — has become as much a draw as the pours themselves.

Reviewers consistently note the friendly, patient service and the relaxed, unhurried atmosphere, whether you’re there for a quiet glass or one of the winery’s monthly trivia nights.

The interior leans contemporary-industrial, with rotating art installations from local artists giving the space a gallery feel alongside its bar. It’s a look and vibe that visitors say would feel at home in a bigger city — several reviewers have specifically compared it to wineries they’ve visited in California, New York, or Asheville — which is part of what makes it stand out in a region better known for rural vineyard tasting rooms.

Planning Your Visit

Address: 432 N. Wrenn St., High Point, NC 27260
Hours: Monday–Tuesday 2pm–9pm, Wednesday–Friday 2pm–10pm, Saturday 12pm–10pm, Sunday 12pm–7pm

Nomad is set up for easy, drop-in visits rather than scheduled tastings — there’s indoor and outdoor seating, and the space comfortably handles both small groups stopping in for a glass and larger gatherings. Food trucks and local vendor pop-ups are a regular feature, and the winery is pet-friendly, so four-legged visitors are welcome on the patio.

A few practical notes we have learned from bringing groups here: because it’s a working downtown storefront rather than a rural tasting room, parking is street-side or in a nearby public lot, and it can get lively on weekend evenings when live music or trivia is scheduled. We recommend budgeting about an hour to ninety minutes for a relaxed visit, longer if you plan to stay for food or an event.

Where Nomad Wine Works Fits in Your Tour Route

Nomad sits apart from the traditional Yadkin Valley wine country — it’s an urban winery in downtown High Point rather than a vineyard estate — which makes it a great change of pace stop rather than a straight-line addition to a rural tasting itinerary. The closest cluster of estate wineries, around Lexington, is roughly 20 minutes away, so Nomad pairs well as a first or last stop bookending a day spent among the vines.

Plan on roughly 1.5 hours per winery plus drive time if you’re combining Nomad with estate visits elsewhere in the valley. Because Nomad keeps afternoon-into-evening hours rather than the typical late-morning opening of most tasting rooms, it also works well as an evening stop after a full day of touring.

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Native Vines Winery: The First American Indian-Owned Winery in the U.S.

In 2005, Darlene Gabbard turned a homemade-wine hobby — born from an abundance of blackberries and apples on her family’s Lexington, North Carolina farm — into Native Vines Winery, the first American Indian-owned and -operated winery in the country. Darlene and her family are proud members of the Lumbee Tribe, the largest Native American tribe east of the Mississippi River, and the winery sits on a 36-acre farm along Highway 150 — itself the old Waxhaw Indian Trading Trail — bordered by Indian Grave Creek, where arrowheads still turn up in the soil during tilling.

What started as a way to use up backyard fruit has grown into a two-decade family business now run alongside Darlene’s daughter Victoria and granddaughter Ava. The name Native Vines began as a nod to the wild blackberry bushes growing across the property, and only later took on its deeper meaning as the winery’s Native American identity and story came into focus.

The Wines of Native Vines Winery

Native Vines offers a full line-up of vitis vinifera wines alongside a range of sweet fruit blends, all made in what Darlene calls an “Olde World Style” — clean, natural, and without a lot of chemical intervention. The lineup includes dry whites and reds such as Pinot Grigio and Pinot Noir, along with a Native Red that regular visitors often call their favorite. Two named bottlings that visitors frequently ask for by name are Sundance, a crisp dry white with notes of melon and pear, and Indian Summer, an off-dry Riesling with apple and pear character and a soft tropical finish.

The winery’s most distinctive claim to fame, though, is its Green Tea Wine — believed to be the first of its kind, made from green tea rather than grapes. It has become something of a conversation piece for first-time visitors and a signature pour for the tasting room. Native Vines wines are distributed throughout North Carolina in grocery stores and wine shops, and can also be shipped nationwide.

Visitors often describe the approach itself as part of the experience: a gravel drive off Highway 150, marked by an arrowhead sign, leads past a farmhouse and grapevines to the tasting room and winery, with a farm dog just as likely to greet your car as a person. It’s an unpolished, working-farm atmosphere rather than a manicured estate — something longtime visitors say is exactly the point.

Planning Your Visit

Address: 1336 N. NC Hwy 150, Lexington, NC 27295
Hours: Tuesday–Friday 11am–5pm, Saturday 11am–6pm, Sunday 1pm–5pm
Tastings: choice of any 6 wines, no reservation needed

Seating is limited indoors, but there’s a welcoming outdoor patio and picnic tables for relaxing between pours. Native Vines also hosts free evening events with live music on the lawn from 7–10pm — worth checking their calendar before you plan a visit. A 15% gratuity may be added automatically for groups of 10 or more, and the winery asks that guests leave pets at home.

A few practical notes we have learned from bringing groups here: because seating indoors is limited, larger groups tend to spread out on the patio, so plan accordingly if the weather turns. Tastings run without reservations, but arriving earlier in the day gives you first pick of seating. We recommend budgeting about an hour to an hour and a half here — enough time to work through a tasting flight, hear the winery’s story from the staff, and browse the gift shop.

Where Native Vines Fits in Your Tour Route

Native Vines sits in Lexington, on the eastern edge of the Yadkin Valley wine region, in the same small cluster of wineries that includes Junius Lindsay Vineyard, Weathervane Winery, and Childress Vineyards — all within a few miles of one another. That makes it easy to pair Native Vines with one or two nearby stops without a long drive in between.

Plan on roughly 1.5 hours per winery plus drive time between stops. Since Native Vines opens at 11am most weekdays (and 1pm on Sundays), it fits comfortably into either a late-morning start or an afternoon leg of a longer Yadkin Valley day.

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• High Country Wine Tours — Mountain winery service
• Wedding Transportation — Luxury transportation for your big day
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Haze Gray Vineyards: A Navy Flight Officer’s Estate Winery in Dobson, NC

The name Haze Gray comes from the color of U.S. Navy ships — a fitting tribute from owners Deane and Becky Muhlenberg, whose family has long-standing military ties, including Deane’s three-decade career as a Navy flight officer. In 2015 the couple bought an 85-acre former corn and tobacco farm just outside Dobson, and that May planted their first five acres of grapes. A second phase followed in April 2016 with four more acres. The vineyard produced its first small harvest in 2017, and the winery and tasting room officially opened on December 19, 2019 — just months before COVID hit, a timing Deane and Becky have talked about candidly in the years since.

Haze Gray has built its identity around hiring and supporting veterans, earning the national HIRE Vets Medallion Award multiple times as the business has grown — a mission that’s as central to the winery’s story as the wine itself.

The Wines of Haze Gray

The estate farms nine acres of grapes across nine varieties on its 85-acre foothills property, and all of its wines are estate-bottled. The lineup runs from dry to sweet, with award-winning entries across the board — the winery’s Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Traminette, Chambourcin, Petit Verdot, Pinot Grigio, Rose and Cabernet Sauvignon have each medaled in competition in various vintages. A standout is Two Bells, a red blend of Chambourcin, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot that placed in the North Carolina Fine Wine Society’s Fine Wine Case among the state’s top winners.

Being estate-bottled matters to the Muhlenbergs: rather than sourcing bulk juice or finished wine to round out the portfolio, everything poured in the Haze Gray tasting room started as fruit grown on their own nine acres. For a winery not yet a decade removed from its first harvest, that kind of full control over the process — grape to glass, on one piece of ground — is still relatively rare in the Yadkin Valley, where many newer producers lean on purchased fruit while their own vines mature.

Planning Your Visit

Address: 761 Stony Knoll Rd., Dobson, NC 27017
Phone: (336) 374-1072
Tasting Room Hours: Thursday, Friday, Saturday, 10am – 6pm; Sunday, 12pm – 6pm; Monday – Wednesday by appointment

Haze Gray’s tasting room sits on a rise with a view of the Blue Ridge Escarpment from the front porch — a detail visitors mention often:

• Tastings — five wines, one-ounce pours, served in a crystal HGV glass.
• Flights — five wines, two-ounce pours, with a red wine tasting glass loaned for the visit.
• Reservations — not required for smaller parties, but recommended for groups of six or more, or if you’ve arranged a driving service for your visit.

A few practical notes we’ve learned from bringing groups here: Haze Gray offers a military discount for veterans (just let the tasting room know ahead of your order), and the porch views of the Blue Ridge Escarpment are one of the better vantage points in this part of Surry County — it’s also pet-friendly, so bring the dog if you’ve got one along. We recommend budgeting at least 90 minutes, particularly if you’re working through the full flight and want time on the porch.

Where Haze Gray Fits in Your Tour Route

Haze Gray sits on Stony Knoll Road just outside Dobson, in the same immediate cluster as Stony Knoll Vineyards and Shelton Vineyards, with Round Peak Vineyards a short drive away near Mount Airy. This corner of Surry County is one of the more tightly packed winery clusters in the Yadkin Valley AVA, making it easy to visit two or three tasting rooms without much time lost to driving.

Plan on roughly 1.5 hours per winery plus drive time. Haze Gray’s 10am opening on Thursdays through Saturdays makes it a strong first stop of the day in this cluster.

Because this pocket of Surry County has one of the highest concentrations of tasting rooms per mile in the whole Yadkin Valley AVA, it is also one of the easier areas to build a flexible route in — if one tasting room is busy or the wait is longer than expected, there is almost always another within a five- or ten-minute drive.

Explore More from Ashe County Livery

• Yadkin Valley Wine Tours — Explore NC’s premier wine region
• High Country Wine Tours — Mountain winery service
• Wedding Transportation — Luxury transportation for your big day
• Airport Transfers — CLT, AVL, GSO & TRI
• Request a free quote — or call (336) 484-1350

Hanover Park Vineyard: A France Honeymoon That Became a Yadkin County Winery

In 1996, newlyweds Michael and Amy Helton honeymooned in France and came home bitten by the wine bug. That fall they found an old farm in Yadkinville, North Carolina, and their company harvested its first grapes in 1999. Production grew quickly — from 375 cases to 1,000 by 2000 and an estimated 2,000 by 2002 — built around the farmhouse tasting room, parts of which date to 1897, and a barn built in the 1930s.

Hanover Park has since entered a new chapter under owner and winemaker Carlos Vizcaino, who brings a background as a chef and sommelier and European technique to the historic property. The vineyard still leans on its French inspiration: rather than the Bordeaux-and-Chardonnay approach common across the Yadkin Valley, Hanover Park has planted an unusually wide range of Rhône and Bordeaux varieties on its roughly 24 acres of farmland.

The Wines of Hanover Park

The estate’s eight acres of vines, trained on a lyre trellis system, grow an ambitious list of varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Mourvedre, Syrah, Grenache, Cinsault, Carignane, Chambourcin, Viognier, Marsanne, Roussanne and Chardonnay — a lineup that reads more like a Southern Rhône estate than a typical North Carolina vineyard. The Viognier has long been Hanover Park’s best-selling wine, outselling its Chardonnay two to one, and has been cited as a contender for North Carolina’s signature white. Tastings here are guided and hand-poured rather than pre-set flights — staff curate each pour to the guest, whether you’re in the historic farmhouse tasting room or settled outside in a quiet spot on the grounds.

That French-leaning grape list is also a point of pride for the team: while most Yadkin Valley wineries built their reputations on Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay, Hanover Park has quietly become one of the few places in the state where you can taste a Mourvedre, a Grenache or a Marsanne grown on North Carolina soil. It is worth asking the tasting room staff which of the Rhône varieties are currently being poured, since the lineup rotates with what is ready to release.

Planning Your Visit

Address: 1927 Courtney-Huntsville Rd., Yadkinville, NC 27055 (off Highway 601; tasting room is in the back of the historic white farmhouse)
Tasting Room Hours: Thursday, 12–5pm; Friday – Saturday, 12–6pm; Sunday, 1–5pm

A visit to Hanover Park is intentionally unhurried:

• Hand-Poured Tastings — most guests simply walk in and request a tasting, or ask staff to suggest one; groups larger than five should call ahead.
• Historic Farmhouse Setting — the tasting room occupies the rear of an 1897 farmhouse, with the original barn and grounds still very much part of the visit.
• Wine Club — Hanover Park has built a sizable wine club over the years and hosts member events, including a well-attended annual holiday dinner.

A few practical notes we’ve learned from bringing groups here: the property is picnic-friendly and welcomes outside food, though food trucks are often on-site during live music events and outside drinks are not permitted. Well-behaved dogs are welcome too, with plenty of shaded open space. We recommend budgeting at least 90 minutes to work through a guided tasting without feeling rushed.

Where Hanover Park Fits in Your Tour Route

Hanover Park sits right in Yadkinville, putting it within easy reach of several other Yadkin County wineries — Brandon Hills Vineyard is in the same town, and Laurel Gray Vineyards and Sanders Ridge Vineyard are each a short drive away in neighboring Hamptonville and Boonville. This makes central Yadkin County one of the more efficient clusters to build a route around.

Plan on roughly 1.5 hours per winery plus drive time. Given Hanover Park’s later Thursday opening and generally relaxed pace, it works well as a mid-afternoon stop within a two- or three-winery day in this part of the valley.

We often recommend pairing a visit here with one of the nearby Hamptonville or Boonville tasting rooms so guests can compare the more Bordeaux- and Chardonnay-focused wineries against Hanover Park’s Rhône-leaning approach in the same afternoon — it makes for a genuinely interesting side-by-side tasting conversation on the drive between stops.

Related reading

• Lazy Elm Vineyard & Winery: Now Open Just One Weekend a Month

Explore More from Ashe County Livery

• Yadkin Valley Wine Tours — Explore NC’s premier wine region
• High Country Wine Tours — Mountain winery service
• Wedding Transportation — Luxury transportation for your big day
• Airport Transfers — CLT, AVL, GSO & TRI
• Request a free quote — or call (336) 484-1350

Grandfather Vineyard: The High Country’s First Wine Grapes, Planted in 2003

When Steve and Sally Tatum purchased their Banner Elk property in 2000, Steve considered the usual mountain-land options — Christmas trees were the popular local crop — but a love of wine won out. In 2003 he planted the first wine grapes ever grown in the mountains of northwest North Carolina, on about five acres of the family’s 13-acre tract. Steve had owned Tatum Galleries, a furniture and interior design shop, for 30 years before the vineyard became more than a hobby. The winery opened its doors in May 2011.

Today it’s a family operation: son Dylan Tatum, a Surry Community College viticulture and enology graduate, is the winemaker, and his wife Nicole manages the tasting room. The couple met at the winery and married on its riverbank in 2017 — a fitting full-circle story for a High Country institution now well into its second generation.

The Wines of Grandfather Vineyard

Grandfather can’t grow every grape it pours on-site — the mountain climate has its limits — so the winery sources more than 65% of its fruit from the High Country and surrounding areas, with the remainder coming from out west. The portfolio leans toward dry reds and dry whites, but the Tatums “dabble in all things wine,” including sweet and sparkling styles; the winemaking facility currently turns out 6–7 different sparkling wines a year from hybrid grapes. The wines have won medals at competitions including the Dixie Classic Fair and drawn praise in an Italian wine competition — notable recognition for wine grown this far up in the Blue Ridge.

Winemaking at elevation is genuinely a different discipline than winemaking in the Piedmont, and Dylan’s formal viticulture and enology training shows in how the winery has approached that challenge: rather than fighting the mountain climate to force a single signature varietal, Grandfather has built a diverse program that leans into what actually ripens well at altitude, supplementing with fruit from elsewhere in the High Country and beyond. The result is a lineup that changes more from vintage to vintage than you’ll find at many valley wineries — part of the appeal for repeat visitors who like to see what’s new each trip.

Planning Your Visit

Address: 225 Vineyard Lane, Banner Elk, NC 28604
Hours: Monday – Saturday, 12pm – 6pm; Sunday, 12pm – 5pm (open year-round, seven days a week)

Grandfather sits along a trout stream in the heart of Avery County, and the visit experience reflects that mountain setting more than a typical Piedmont tasting room:

• Walk-Up Tastings — no reservations are taken; guests simply arrive and taste through the current lineup at their own pace.
• Guided Lateral Tasting — a tour of the winery followed by a lateral tasting of six flagship wines, paired with local charcuterie from Cut & Cured and local chocolate from Boone Chocolat — a nice option for a date or an easy, unhurried outing.
• Live Music & Food Trucks — check the event calendar for weekly live music, food truck visits and artisanal vendor pop-ups.

A few practical notes we’ve learned from bringing groups here: the property is kid- and pet-friendly, with plenty of open riverside space to spread out, but reservations aren’t accepted, so weekend afternoons can get busy during peak leaf and summer season. We recommend budgeting at least 90 minutes, more if you’re doing the guided lateral tasting with charcuterie.

Where Grandfather Vineyard Fits in Your Tour Route

Grandfather sits between Boone and Banner Elk — about nine miles from Boone on N.C. 105, roughly 3.5 miles from the intersection of N.C. 105 and N.C. 184 toward Banner Elk — making it one of the very few wineries actually located in the High Country itself. Most other Yadkin Valley wineries are a genuine drive south down the mountain, so we typically pair a Grandfather visit with a full High Country day rather than trying to combine it with a Yadkin Valley run in the same afternoon.

Plan on roughly 1.5 hours per stop plus drive time. If your group wants to extend the day toward the foothills, the closest Yadkin Valley wineries are a 45-minute to hour-plus drive down Hwy 16/21 toward Elkin and the Wilkes County wineries.

Because the drive down the mountain is part of the experience here, we typically build a Grandfather visit into a relaxed loop — a stop at the vineyard mid-morning or early afternoon, lunch in Banner Elk or Boone, and time built in for the scenery along N.C. 105 rather than treating it as a quick errand between other stops.

Related reading

• Stone Ashe Vineyard: Bordeaux-Style Wine on a Hendersonville, NC Bluff
• Nomad Wine Works: High Point's Urban Winery in the Catalyst Social District

Explore More from Ashe County Livery

• Yadkin Valley Wine Tours — Explore NC’s premier wine region
• High Country Wine Tours — Mountain winery service
• Wedding Transportation — Luxury transportation for your big day
• Airport Transfers — CLT, AVL, GSO & TRI
• Request a free quote — or call (336) 484-1350