Author: Ashe County Livery

Shooting Creek Vines is a small family-owned winery in Hayesville, NC, tucked at the foot of the Nantahala National Forest near the North Carolina–Georgia line. This is about as far west as High Country wine touring gets, and the payoff is a genuinely rural, working-vineyard experience built around one specific piece of land and a 170-year-old local legend.

An Unremembered Englishman’s Vines

Shooting Creek Vines was founded in 2017, when the family planted nearly 2,500 vines in four red varieties — starting with a cornerstone block of Syrah, followed by Merlot, Zinfandel, and Cabernet Sauvignon planted across the creek. A block of Chardonnay and Traminette followed in 2018. The name and story go back further: while researching why several nearby geographic features carry “Vineyard” in their name, the family found a single historical account of an “unremembered” Englishman who settled in the Shooting Creek community — founded in 1849 — and planted several small vineyard plots across the mountainside sometime between 1850 and 1870, only to disappear from the historical record a few years later without success. The winery has since gone looking for any surviving original vines in the surrounding terrain, hoping to graft and reproduce them as a link back to that earlier attempt.

The Land Itself

Shooting Creek’s owners are unusually specific about their soil and geology: they describe a “tate loam” and “french fine sandy loam” mineral soil full of quartz, marble, granite, limestone, and rounded river stones, which they collect and place beneath the vines so the rocks can absorb daytime heat and radiate it back at night — a practice they say produces spicy, full-bodied reds and crisp, semi-dry whites. They note the soil composition most closely resembles that of the southern Rhône region of France near Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The winery leans into growing European vinifera rather than easier hybrid grapes, which it frames as a deliberate choice to chase a more classic wine style.

The Setting

The vineyard sits at the coordinates the winery proudly cites on its own homepage — 35°02’20” N, 83°39’49” W — with a view of Vineyard Mountain and Vineyard Creek running through the property. It’s a real working vineyard with over 2,500 vines rather than a large event facility, and the tasting room is sized to match: modest, unhurried, and focused on the wine itself.

What Else Is Nearby

Hayesville is the seat of Clay County and sits on Lake Chatuge, a Tennessee Valley Authority reservoir created in the early 1940s by the Chatuge Dam — an earthen dam that was the tallest of its kind in the world until Egypt’s Aswan Dam was completed in 1964. The dam itself was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2017. Downtown Hayesville has a town square and the Peacock Playhouse, the only community theater in far-western North Carolina, founded in the 1980s. If your group is making the long drive out, building in time on the lake or around the Hayesville square rounds out the day.

Planning Your Visit

Be honest with yourself about the distance: Shooting Creek Vines is roughly 187 miles from Boone, about 4 hours and 20 minutes by car. This is not a spontaneous afternoon trip from the High Country — it’s a full-day (or overnight) excursion best planned well in advance, with the drive itself treated as part of the experience rather than an obstacle. The winery is open Friday through Sunday, noon to 6 p.m., from March through November, and by appointment only (call ahead) December through February — confirm current hours directly with Shooting Creek before you commit to the trip. Given the distance and the narrow, winding mountain roads on the way in, having one private vehicle and driver for the whole group is less about convenience and more about making a trip this long actually feasible.

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Sawyer Springs Vineyard & Winery sits on Sandy Hill Lane just outside Hendersonville, NC, on land the same family has farmed for six generations. It’s a small, family-run operation with a rustic tasting barn rather than a polished event venue, and that’s the point: the wine here is made by people who grew up on this ground, not a company that bought a view.

Six Generations on the Same Land

Sawyer Springs is family-owned and operated, with more than six generations cultivating fruits and vegetables on this Henderson County farm before it became a vineyard. The property’s oxen yoke and hand-hewn pine barn — built from timber grown on the land — still anchor the tasting room, and the winery leans hard into that heritage with the tagline “Dusty Boots, Stained Hands, Classic Wine.” The vineyard sits within the Crest of the Blue Ridge growing region, an area covering Henderson County that is often credited with giving its grapes their character.

What to Taste

Sawyer Springs pours a rotating list of small-batch, hand-bottled wines built around minimal intervention — the winery says it aims to let the grapes “speak for themselves with minimum interference and additives.” The lineup spans reds like Zinfandel, a Zinfandel-Cabernet blend called Midnight Special, and a mineral-driven red called Black Rock, alongside whites and a Riesling (Lemuel), a rosé (Sandy Hill), and fruit-forward options like Sipping Sunset. The winery has also marketed several of its bottlings as award-winning, though it doesn’t post specific competition names or years on its wine pages, so treat “award-winning” as the winery’s own claim rather than something independently verified here. As with any small producer, exactly what’s pouring changes with the season — check their current wine list before you go.

The Setting

The farm itself is the draw as much as the wine. Sawyer Springs has preserved its farmstead specifically to keep its history visible — visitors are greeted by the original barn frame, built from pine grown and milled on-site, rather than a built-for-Instagram tasting pavilion. It’s a working farm first, and the tasting room feels like an add-on to a family operation rather than the other way around. The winery also runs a blog covering seasonal events, so if you’re the type who likes to plan around a specific weekend theme rather than just showing up, it’s worth a quick check before you lock in a date.

What Else Is Nearby

Sawyer Springs sits close to downtown Hendersonville, which has its own walkable Main Street of shops, restaurants and galleries, and is roughly 20–25 minutes from Asheville depending on route. Because the winery is a modest, standalone stop rather than a full destination in itself, most groups pair a Sawyer Springs tasting with a Hendersonville lunch or a stop at one or two nearby Henderson County wineries to fill out an afternoon.

Planning Your Visit

This is a real trip from the High Country — Sawyer Springs is roughly 95 miles and about 2.5 hours from Boone by car, more from Banner Elk or Blowing Rock depending on route and season. That distance makes it a full-day outing rather than a quick afternoon errand: plan to leave in the morning, build in time for lunch in Hendersonville, and treat the drive itself as part of the day rather than a chore to rush through. Sawyer Springs’ posted hours are Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 6 p.m., but hours, tasting fees and availability change seasonally, so confirm directly with the winery before you go. For a group making the trek from Boone or Banner Elk, having one driver for the whole day means nobody has to white-knuckle winding two-lane roads on the way home after a full day of tasting.

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Saint Paul Mountain Vineyards sits at 588 Chestnut Gap Road in Hendersonville, NC, on land the Ward family has farmed for generations. Saint Paul’s became the first vineyard and winery in Henderson County when it was established in 2008. It’s a genuine drive from the High Country — this reads as a full-day private trip rather than an afternoon stop — but it’s one of the more established, awards-decorated tasting rooms in western North Carolina wine country.

A Farm-First Winery, Established 2008

Saint Paul Mountain Vineyards’ own site describes itself as “A Taste of Home,” established in 2008 on farmland that has been in the Ward family for centuries. That framing matters here — this isn’t a winery built on land bought for the purpose; it’s a working farm where wine became the newest crop. The property sits within what the winery’s site and its High Country Wine Tours listing (sourced from the NC Wine & Grape Council) describe as the Crest of the Blue Ridge AVA, a federally recognized American Viticultural Area in the region.

What to Taste: French Vinifera and Estate-Grown Wine

Saint Paul specializes in French Vinifera grapes, and the winery’s own site says its regional growing conditions allow for a wide range of varietals grown within the area — the HCWT listing cites 14 varietals specifically. Winemaker Tim Crowe, per Saint Paul’s own “Our Wines” page, brings more than 30 years of winemaking experience across three continents and four states to the estate. The winery describes itself as an Estate Winery, meaning its wines are grown, produced and bottled on the property, and states that its wines and ciders have won awards at the state, American Wine Society, and international level, including what the winery’s own site describes as four Governor’s Cup recognitions. Saint Paul also operates Appalachian Ridge Hard Cider as a sister brand and tasting room, giving visitors a cider option alongside the estate wines. As always, specific current pours and awards should be confirmed against Saint Paul’s own site, since offerings and any award-year specifics can change.

The Setting and the Experience

Saint Paul’s tasting room centers on an open-air patio adjacent to the vineyard, with a stone fireplace for cooler months. The property runs an active, nearly year-round events calendar, with a steady rotation of live music acts and food trucks scheduled across both the Saint Paul vineyard location and the Appalachian Ridge cidery location, several nights a week during peak season. Saint Paul also operates an on-site five-bedroom farmhouse Airbnb for visitors who want to stay close rather than day-trip.

What Else Is Nearby

Saint Paul sits close enough to Point Lookout Vineyards & World’s Edge Meadery, also in the Hendersonville area, that a single day trip could reasonably include both tasting rooms. Downtown Hendersonville’s Main Street — a walkable stretch of shops and restaurants — is a short drive from the vineyard and makes an easy add-on before or after a tasting.

Planning Your Visit

Hendersonville is roughly 95 miles and about 2 hours to 2 hours 15 minutes from Boone by car, longer from Banner Elk or Blowing Rock, and longer still with seasonal traffic on I-26 and the Blue Ridge Parkway corridor. That distance makes Saint Paul Mountain Vineyards a full-day private excursion, ideally paired with Point Lookout or another Hendersonville-area stop to make the drive worthwhile. As of this writing, the winery’s posted hours run Sunday noon–6 p.m., Monday–Thursday 11 a.m.–6 p.m., and Friday–Saturday 11 a.m.–7 p.m., but hours, tasting fees and the live-music schedule change seasonally, so confirm directly with Saint Paul before you go — and check whether a ticketed or high-traffic event is scheduled the day you plan to visit.

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Point Lookout Vineyards sits atop Point Lookout Mountain at 408 Appleola Road, less than 10 miles from downtown Hendersonville and I-26. It’s one of the more dramatic settings in western NC wine country — an open-air tasting room at roughly 3,000 feet with panoramic mountain views — and it doubles as home to World’s Edge Meadery, giving visitors both wine and mead under one roof.

A Vineyard Built for the View

Point Lookout’s own site describes the property simply: the vineyard sits atop the southeast slope of Point Lookout Mountain, with 30-mile panoramic views, where morning sun and cooling mountain breezes help the vines produce what the winery calls stunning results. The site is candid that “the vines may not appreciate the scenery” — but the tasting room certainly benefits from it, with an expansive open-air layout built to take in the mountains rather than compete with them.

What to Taste: Wine and Mead Side by Side

Point Lookout’s own landing page (via High Country Wine Tours, sourced from the NC Wine & Grape Council) describes a lineup of 10 dry and semi-sweet wines. What sets this stop apart is World’s Edge Meadery, based at the same property, which produces mead made from honey wine in flavors that have included wildflower and orange blossom, apple, raspberry, tropical fruit, chamomile, and chai tea, per that same description. Recent posts from the winery’s own social feed reference current mead releases like Blueberry, Carolina Belle, Calm and Sweetheart back in rotation — a sign the mead lineup rotates and sells through rather than staying static. There’s also a coffee shop on site. As always, treat any specific wine or mead as subject to change and confirm the current tasting menu with Point Lookout directly.

The Setting and the Experience

Beyond the views, Point Lookout runs a active events calendar — the winery’s own event listings show a steady rotation of live music acts and food trucks scheduled through the season, plus larger gatherings like a multi-day “ReUnion Weekend” event. The vibe leans toward casual, ticketed evening shows as much as daytime tastings, so it’s worth checking their events calendar for what’s happening on the date you’re planning to visit — a quiet Tuesday afternoon tasting and a Friday night ticketed concert are very different experiences. If your group is after a relaxed tasting rather than a concert crowd, a weekday afternoon visit is likely to be a calmer experience than a weekend evening with live music booked.

What Else Is Nearby

Because Point Lookout sits just outside Hendersonville, it pairs naturally with a broader Hendersonville-area day — downtown Hendersonville’s Main Street, with its shops and restaurants, is a short drive away, and Saint Paul Mountain Vineyards is close enough geographically to combine into the same outing if your group wants to visit two tasting rooms in one trip. Given how close the two properties sit to each other and to downtown Hendersonville, a single day trip built around this corner of Henderson County can realistically include a winery, a meadery pour, lunch or dinner downtown, and still leave time for the drive home.

Planning Your Visit

Hendersonville is a real drive from the High Country — roughly 95 miles and about 2 hours to 2 hours 15 minutes from Boone by car, more from Banner Elk or Blowing Rock, and longer still if summer or fall traffic on I-26 and the Blue Ridge Parkway corridor slows things down. That makes Point Lookout best planned as a full-day private trip rather than a quick afternoon stop — especially if you want to add Saint Paul Mountain Vineyards or another Hendersonville-area stop to the same day. As of this writing, Point Lookout’s posted hours run roughly noon to 6 or 8 p.m. depending on the day, but hours, events and tasting fees change, so confirm directly with the winery before you go, and check whether a live-music event is scheduled the evening you plan to visit.

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Nottely River Valley Vineyards sits at 1150 Old Culberson Road outside Murphy, NC, in the far southwestern corner of the state — closer to Georgia and Tennessee than to anywhere in the High Country. That distance is real, and worth being upfront about: this is a full-day round trip from Boone, not a casual afternoon stop. But for anyone building a longer wine excursion into far-western NC, Nottely River is a genuinely small, family-run winery growing European-style wine grapes on a working farm that’s been in the same family since 1820.

A 93-Acre Family Farm Turned Vineyard

Nottely River Valley Vineyards, LLC is family owned and operated, established in 2008. The vineyard and winery occupy 10 acres of a 93-acre farm that has been in the same family since 1820 — more than two centuries of continuous ownership. The vines were planted with high-density spacing, and the first harvest happened in the fall of 2011, with the 2011 vintage released on November 1, 2012 — meaning it took roughly three years from planting to a bottled wine reaching the tasting room, a normal timeline for a new vineyard finding its footing.

What’s in the Ground: Old-World Grapes on Ancient Shale

The vineyard’s planting list, per its own “Terroir” page, includes Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Primitivo, Pinot Gris, Riesling, and the French hybrids Chambourcin, Chardonel and Seyval Blanc — a broad mix for a small operation, spanning reds, whites and hybrid varieties bred for the Southeast’s climate. The winery describes its site in unusually specific geological detail: the vineyard sits on a terrace that was once the bed of the Nottely River, now flowing in the valley 100 feet below, filled with river rock for drainage and underlain by a layer of sedimentary shale the winery’s site describes as more than 500 million years old. Nottely River’s own description of its winemaking philosophy emphasizes “minimal intervention” and wines “fashioned after the Old World-style, hand-crafted wines of Europe,” including a below-ground, gravity-flow winery building with geo-thermal cellar cooling. One highlight the winery calls out on its own site: a 2022 Old Vine “Karen’s Block” Chardonel that, per the winery’s account, beat two pricier California Chardonnays in a ten-person double-blind tasting. As always, treat current releases and pours as subject to change and check the winery’s own wine list before visiting.

A Small, Seasonal Tasting Room

This is not a large production winery with a big events calendar — it’s a small family operation with limited, seasonal hours. As of this writing, the winery’s own site lists its 2026 season opening April 24, with tasting-room hours on Fridays and Saturdays, noon to 6 p.m., and notes that visitors outside those hours can call ahead for an appointment. That kind of scaled-back schedule is worth planning around directly with the winery before you commit to a date, since hours and the season’s opening/closing dates shift year to year.

What Else Is Nearby

Murphy sits near the Nottely and Hiwassee river valleys and is a reasonable base for a longer far-western NC excursion. The John C. Campbell Folk School, a well-known crafts and folk-arts school, is located in nearby Brasstown, NC, just a few miles from the vineyard, and could be worth combining with a visit if your group has time to build out a full day in the area rather than a single stop.

Planning Your Visit

Be realistic about the drive: Murphy is roughly 195 miles and about 3 hours 45 minutes to 4 hours from Boone by car — this is the farthest-flung stop in the western NC wine country, not a quick jaunt. A trip to Nottely River Valley Vineyards only makes sense as a full-day (or overnight) private excursion, ideally combined with other far-western NC stops so the long drive pays off. Given the winery’s limited Friday/Saturday hours, confirm the season and hours directly with Nottely River before locking in a date, and build the schedule around their open days rather than the other way around.

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Noble Cider & Mead sits at 356 New Leicester Highway in West Asheville — a working cidery and taproom where the same building that presses the apples also pours the pints. It’s a full-day-trip destination from the High Country, not a quick detour, but for anyone who wants dry, orchard-driven cider (and increasingly, mead) in a laid-back taproom setting, it’s worth building an Asheville day around.

From a Homemade Press to Asheville’s First Hard Cider Company

Noble’s founder, Lief, started the company with a simple mission and very little cash. After cobbling together enough money to build an apple press and lining up a few connections at local orchards, the team set out to build what is considered Asheville’s first hard cider company. Noble was founded in what has been called the “Craft Brew Mecca” of Asheville, in North Carolina’s apple country, deliberately pairing the region’s long agricultural history with its more recent craft beverage boom. Today the small team behind the ciders includes Robin on sales and marketing, and Josh and Alivia making the ciders day to day.

What to Taste: Cider First, Mead Second

Noble’s flagship lineup is built around dry, apple-forward styles: The Standard Bearer (crisp and dry, described as “straight up apple”), The Golden Arrow (ginger), The Spice Merchant (chai), and The Village Tart (tart cherry), per the cidery’s own product pages. Seasonal releases rotate through the year — The Blue Bard (blueberry, spring), The Royal Peach (peach with hops, summer), The Journeyman (cranberry orange, fall) and The Friar Fig (figgy pudding, winter) — plus an ongoing lineup of small-batch and spritzer releases. Noble has also branched into mead, which its own site calls “our newest venture,” made simply from honey and water; recent releases include a Clementine session mead and a full-strength blueberry blossom honey mead. As with any working taproom, exactly what’s pouring shifts by the week, so check Noble’s current tap list before you go.

The Setting: A Working Cidery You Can Walk Into

The Cidery on New Leicester Highway is Noble’s original taproom and production facility — the tanks and canning line are right there while you drink. The company’s own site invites visitors to “drink our cider and see where it is made,” and the taproom leans casual: board games, free popcorn, a fire pit and patio seating outside, and a pets-and-kids-welcome policy that keeps things low-key rather than formal. Noble also runs a second, downtown Asheville taproom with a rotating tap list of its own. Both locations post current hours and “what’s on tap” lists on Noble’s website, which is worth checking since taproom hours vary by day (as of this writing, the Cidery is closed Mondays and keeps shorter hours midweek than on weekends).

What Else Is Nearby

West Asheville is a walkable, low-key strip of its own — a short rideshare or drive from downtown Asheville, the River Arts District, and the rest of the city’s dense cluster of breweries and cideries. Because Noble is inside Asheville proper, it pairs naturally with other stops on a broader Asheville day: a group could reasonably combine Noble with a downtown Asheville taproom or another western NC cidery on the same loop, rather than treating it as a single, standalone stop.

Planning Your Visit

Asheville is a genuine drive from the High Country — roughly 86 miles and about 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours from Boone by car, depending on route and traffic, more if you’re starting from Banner Elk or Blowing Rock. That distance means a trip to Noble Cider & Mead is realistically a full-day outing, not an afternoon add-on, especially if you want to pair it with other Asheville-area stops. Because the drive back involves interstate miles as well as winding mountain roads after dark, having one dedicated vehicle for the whole group is worth planning around — nobody has to be the designated driver for a three-hour round trip. Confirm current taproom hours directly with Noble before you go, since they vary by day and location.

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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. The winery building and tasting-room finishes were still being completed as of the most recent 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.

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• Ashe County Livery — Premium transportation in NC’s High Country
• Request a free quote — or call (336) 484-1350

Marked Tree Vineyard sits on Deep Gap Road in Flat Rock, North Carolina, at 2,300 feet on the Eastern Continental Divide, with the tasting room’s patio and lawn opening onto views of Mt. Pisgah to the north and Tryon Peak to the south. It’s a working vineyard built almost entirely by two people with no farming background, and the origin story is as much a part of the draw as the wine itself.

Two Friends, a Drone, and a Vineyard

Owners Lance Hiatt and Tim Parks bought the land in 2015, planted their first vines in 2016, and opened the tasting room in 2020. Neither of them came from a winemaking or large-scale farming background — by their own account, the whole venture started with a friend’s drone flight over the property that revealed a dramatic mountain view worth building around. The first money for the project came from selling 25 acres of timber cleared to make way for the vineyard, which also opened up the sightlines to Pisgah and Tryon that define the property today. Marked Tree has since been recognized as one of USA Today’s Top Ten New Vineyards in America, and at a recent NC Fine Wines Competition, every one of the winery’s ten entered wines won a medal. (Sources: Flat Rock Together and Marked Tree Vineyard’s own site.)

What to Taste

Marked Tree grows European vinifera and French-American hybrid grapes suited to the mountain elevation, and the winery describes its approach as producing dry, European-style wines with minimal oak influence. Varietals mentioned by the winery and by visitors include Chardonel, Vidal Blanc, Cabernet Franc and Gruner Veltliner — the Gruner in particular is one the winemaking team has described as an ongoing multi-year experiment in vineyard technique. The tasting room also pours rosés and sparkling wines depending on the season. The current pour list changes vintage to vintage, so check their site or call ahead for what’s open that day.

The Setting and the Experience

The property is set up for both indoor and outdoor tasting: a striking, open-concept tasting room with large doors that open onto a wrap-around patio in warmer months, plus a “great lawn” area with additional seating overlooking the vines. The long, winding entrance road up the hillside is intentional — the owners have said they borrowed the idea of a “surprise of arrival” from Biltmore Estate, so the view doesn’t reveal itself until you’re most of the way up. Marked Tree also runs a seasonal Chef’s Dinner Series, pairing multi-course meals with estate wines, and the tasting room is family-friendly with leashed pets allowed in designated outdoor areas (not inside).

What Else Is Nearby

Flat Rock and neighboring Hendersonville anchor the newly established Crest of the Blue Ridge AVA, and Marked Tree is one of several wineries in the immediate area, alongside historic Flat Rock attractions like the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site and the Flat Rock Playhouse. Downtown Hendersonville’s Main Street is a short drive away for lunch or shopping before or after a tasting.

Planning Your Visit

Flat Rock is genuinely far from the High Country — figure on roughly 2 to 2.5 hours each way from Boone, more if you take a scenic route through the Blue Ridge Parkway rather than the direct highway. That drive time makes Marked Tree Vineyard a full-day private trip rather than an evening outing: plan to leave Boone by mid-morning, spend a couple of hours at the vineyard (and possibly a second Hendersonville-area stop), and build in the return drive before dark. The vineyard’s regular tasting room hours have run daily, but hours, reservation policies and event schedules shift by season, so confirm directly with Marked Tree before your visit. Groups should also note the winding mountain access road up to the tasting room — not a drive you want split across multiple unfamiliar cars.

Related reading

• Marked Tree Vineyard Asheville: The Grape, a South Slope Tasting Room from a Flat Rock Estate Winery

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Marked Tree Vineyard’s Asheville tasting room, known as “The Grape,” sits at 14 Aston Street in the South Slope district — the same pour list as the winery’s Flat Rock estate, poured a short walk from Asheville’s dense cluster of breweries, restaurants and chocolate shops. For a group that wants a real Marked Tree tasting without the hour-plus drive out to the vineyard itself, this is the easier version of the same experience.

An Estate Winery’s Downtown Outpost

Marked Tree Vineyard’s main property is in Flat Rock, North Carolina, on the Eastern Continental Divide between Mt. Pisgah and Tryon Peak, where owners Lance Hiatt and Tim Parks planted vines starting in 2016 and opened their hillside tasting room in 2020. The winery later added a second, satellite tasting room in downtown Asheville’s South Slope neighborhood, describing it as a way to bring the same estate-grown wines to a more urban setting without requiring every visitor to make the drive out to Flat Rock. Marked Tree calls its 2024 vintage its eighth, and the winery has said each of the ten wines it entered in a recent NC Fine Wines Competition blind judging won a medal. (Sources: Marked Tree Vineyard’s own site, Vine to Wine Guide, MapQuest listing.)

What to Taste

The Asheville tasting room pours the same estate-grown lineup as Flat Rock — wines built from European vinifera and French-American hybrid grapes grown at the vineyard’s mountain elevation. Varietals that come up repeatedly in visitor accounts include Chardonel, Vidal Blanc and Cabernet Franc, alongside red blends like the Ghost House Red, described by regulars as a favorite pairing with cheese and chocolate. Marked Tree focuses on estate-grown and locally sourced North Carolina wines rather than bringing in grapes from outside the state. As with any tasting room, the exact wines poured on a given day shift with the season and inventory, so check ahead if you have a specific bottle in mind.

The Setting and the Experience

The Grape occupies a South Slope storefront near Asheville’s brewery district — visitor accounts note it’s roughly a three-minute walk from the French Broad Chocolate Lounge, making a wine-and-chocolate pairing an easy, informal add-on. The space has an urban, walkable feel that’s a deliberate contrast to the mountaintop estate in Flat Rock: no long winding driveway or “surprise of arrival,” just a tasting room you can duck into between other South Slope stops. Marked Tree has also hosted Chef’s Dinner events at the Asheville location, pairing multi-course meals from local chefs with the summer wine list. For large-party reservations in Asheville, the winery asks that groups call or email ahead.

What Else Is Nearby

South Slope is one of Asheville’s densest concentrations of breweries, cideries and small restaurants, all within easy walking distance of Aston Street. A stop at The Grape pairs naturally with a broader South Slope crawl, and downtown Asheville’s shops, galleries and the River Arts District are a short rideshare or drive away if your group wants to extend the day beyond wine.

Planning Your Visit

Asheville is roughly 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours from Boone by car, depending on route and Parkway traffic — a meaningfully shorter drive than the trip out to Marked Tree’s Flat Rock estate, which makes the Asheville tasting room a reasonable option for a High Country group that wants Marked Tree’s wines without a full mountain-vineyard excursion. Even so, this is still a round-trip of 3.5 to 4 hours of driving, so treat it as a full-day outing rather than a quick evening stop. Tasting room hours have recently run Monday through Thursday afternoons into evening, with later closes Friday and Saturday and shorter Sunday hours — but these change seasonally, so confirm current hours with Marked Tree before you go. With multiple South Slope stops likely on the itinerary, having one vehicle and driver for the day keeps a group together instead of scattering across downtown parking.

Related reading

• Biltmore Winery: Tasting Wine Inside America's Largest Home in Asheville, NC
• Mashburn Branch Vineyard: A 25-Year Macon County Vineyard Building Its First Tasting Room
• Marked Tree Vineyard: Estate Wines on the Eastern Continental Divide in Flat Rock, NC
• Deep Creek Winery: A Barn Tasting Room Near the Smokies in Bryson City, NC
• Eagles Nest Winery: A California-Style Tasting Room Above Elk Park, NC

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• Wedding Transportation — Luxury shuttles for your big day
• Wedding venues we serve — 40+ High Country venues
• Airport Shuttle Service — CLT, AVL, GSO & TRI transfers
• Airport shuttles by town: Boone · Blowing Rock · Banner Elk · West Jefferson · Linville · Beech Mountain
• Ashe County Livery — Premium transportation in NC’s High Country
• Request a free quote — or call (336) 484-1350

Johnson’s Legacy Vineyard is one of the newest names in Hendersonville’s fast-growing wine country, a family estate winery on Fred Orr Drive that opened its tasting room in May 2025 after four generations of the same family working the land. It’s part of a real agricultural story rather than a built-from-scratch tourist stop, and the setting — rolling vineyard rows framed by the Blue Ridge Mountains — is the kind of view that makes an afternoon drive from the High Country worth it.

A Family’s Legacy, Bottled

Johnson’s Legacy Vineyard is a family-run estate winery with more than 100 years of agricultural tradition behind it, spanning four generations on the same land. The vineyard was established in 2018, and the winery didn’t open its tasting room to the public until May 2025 — meaning the vines had years to mature before the family started pouring wine for visitors. That patience shows up in a tasting room built specifically for the estate: vaulted ceilings, a large bar top, and a dual-sided stone fireplace that serves both the indoor room and the covered outdoor deck.

What to Taste

Johnson’s Legacy Vineyard’s current list is small and estate-focused, built around four wines: Samiam, a red blend the winery calls one of its most popular pours; Blue Bird, a white blend named for a family member; Traminette, a floral white with hints of spice; and Vidal Blanc, a fruit-forward white blend. All four are described by the winery as available exclusively at the tasting room, by the glass or bottle. As with any young winery, the lineup is likely to grow as the vines mature further, so it’s worth checking their current wine list before you go. You must be 21+ to purchase.

The Setting and the Experience

The tasting room sits inside the vineyard itself, with panoramic views over the rows and the mountains beyond — the kind of “Crest of the Blue Ridge” scenery that has made Hendersonville one of the fastest-growing wine destinations in western North Carolina. The indoor room and the covered outdoor deck are built to work together across seasons, with sliding doors connecting the two, so the venue functions well whether your group wants to sit by the fireplace or out on the deck. Johnson’s Legacy Vineyard also hosts private events — bridal and baby showers, corporate gatherings, reunions — in the same space, and keeps an events calendar for happenings open to the public; the winery points visitors to its Facebook page for the latest event details.

What Else Is Nearby

Johnson’s Legacy Vineyard sits within Hendersonville’s broader wine and cider scene, an area that has grown quickly enough to become known locally as the Crest of the Blue Ridge American Viticultural Area. A short drive puts you near several other tasting rooms in the Hendersonville/Flat Rock corridor, plus downtown Hendersonville’s Main Street shops and restaurants. If your group is making the drive down from the High Country, it’s worth building the day around more than one stop — the region has enough wineries within a 20-30 minute radius of each other to justify a full afternoon.

Planning Your Visit

Hendersonville is a genuine day trip from Boone — plan on roughly 2 to 2.5 hours each way by car, depending on route and Blue Ridge Parkway traffic in summer and fall. That distance makes Johnson’s Legacy Vineyard best suited to a full-day private outing rather than a quick after-work stop: leave the High Country mid-morning, tour a couple of Hendersonville-area wineries, and plan the return trip for evening. The tasting room’s hours (recently listed as open daily from noon to 7pm) and any tasting fees can change seasonally, so confirm directly with Johnson’s Legacy Vineyard before you go. For a group making the long drive together, having one vehicle and one driver for the whole day removes the stress of coordinating multiple cars on unfamiliar mountain roads far from home.

Related reading

• Addison Farms Vineyard: Four Generations of Family Farming in Leicester, NC
• Sawyer Springs Vineyard: A Six-Generation Family Farm Winery Near Hendersonville, NC

Explore More from Ashe County Livery

• High Country Wine Tours — Mountain winery shuttle service
• Yadkin Valley Wine Tours — Explore NC’s premier wine region
• Wine Loop Shuttle — Hop-on hop-off winery tours
• Wedding Transportation — Luxury shuttles for your big day
• Wedding venues we serve — 40+ High Country venues
• Airport Shuttle Service — CLT, AVL, GSO & TRI transfers
• Airport shuttles by town: Boone · Blowing Rock · Banner Elk · West Jefferson · Linville · Beech Mountain
• Ashe County Livery — Premium transportation in NC’s High Country
• Request a free quote — or call (336) 484-1350