Author: Ashe County Livery

Appalachian Mountain Brewery — AMB for short — is the brewery that opened Boone’s beer scene: its taproom at 163 Boone Creek Drive has been pouring since 2013, which the company itself credits as the town’s first. It sits an easy few minutes from downtown Boone, making it one of the simplest additions to a High Country wine day for anyone who wants beer and cider alongside the wine stops.

How it started

AMB was founded by cousins Nathan Kelischek and Chris Zieber, who built the brewery around their German heritage, a love of North Carolina, and a shared interest in the outdoors and environment. That founding story still shapes the brand: AMB brews “Appalachian inspired beer & cider with a Southern twist,” and the company has since grown beyond the original Boone taproom to add locations in Mills River and Old Fort, NC — but Boone remains the flagship, and the one closest to the High Country wine circuit.

What’s on tap

AMB keeps a rotating lineup of house beers and ciders, and the Boone taproom publishes an updated tap list on its site so you can check what’s pouring before you go. Recent lineups have included IPAs across several styles (a resinous Long Leaf IPA, a hazy Hilly Haze, a New Zealand-hopped Think About It), lighter session options like the Boone Creek Blonde Ale and Mount Krushmore Session IPA, a Honeydew Honeysuckle wheat ale, a Down South American Lager, a French-style Saison Du Blanc, and darker options like the Black Gold American Porter. Several of their beers have picked up award recognition — the brewery notes a GABF silver medal for one of its IPAs — though as with any brewery, the exact lineup rotates seasonally, so check AMB’s current tap list before you go if you have a specific style in mind.

Because AMB brews both beer and cider, it’s a useful stop for mixed groups where not everyone wants wine — cider drinkers and beer drinkers both have real options here, which isn’t true at every stop on a High Country tasting run.

The taproom experience

The Boone location functions as a full taproom and pub rather than a bare tasting counter — AMB’s site references food, spirits and non-alcoholic options alongside the beer and cider list, plus a regular calendar of live music and events booked through the brewery. It’s set up for groups to settle in for a while rather than taste-and-go, which makes it a good midpoint stop on a longer day rather than a first or last one.

Nearby and worth combining

Because AMB sits right in Boone, it pairs easily with other High Country stops without adding meaningful drive time — it’s the kind of stop you can slot into an afternoon that already includes a winery or two on the west side of town. AMB also gives back locally: proceeds from certain releases go to community organizations, a detail that fits the brewery’s broader “of Boone, for Boone” framing.

Planning your visit

AMB’s Boone taproom is close enough to downtown that it’s rarely the reason to build a whole day trip — it’s the stop you add because you’re already nearby. Hours and the tap list change, so check AMB’s site directly before you go, especially if you’re coming with a large group and want to reserve space in advance for an event or private gathering.

Groups that want to bookend a wine-focused day with something more casual often use AMB as the last stop of the afternoon — a place to sit outside, order food, and let the group unwind before heading back to a hotel or rental. It also works well as a starting point if your itinerary runs from Boone outward toward Banner Elk or Blowing Rock, since it’s an easy first pour before the roads get twistier.

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Most tasting rooms in the High Country pour grape wine. Alchemy Elixirs LLC — known on its own label as Alchemy Herbal Wine — pours something rarer: dry herbal mead, fermented from local honey and infused with plant medicine, made at a small production house in Black Mountain, NC, about ninety minutes to two hours south of Boone depending on your route. If your group has already worked through the vineyards closer to home and wants to taste something genuinely different, this is the detour worth making.

What Alchemy Elixirs actually makes

Alchemy’s core product is a metheglin — a dry herbal mead made by fermenting honey and then blending in an intentional mix of herbs, roots, fruits and bark. The maker describes it as an herbal tonic as much as a beverage, built to be “restoring” and “invigorating” rather than just sweet. That distinction matters if you’re expecting something like a dessert wine: this is closer to an herbal spirit in mead form, dry and aromatic rather than syrupy.

The lineup is built around named blends — Eternity, Heart, Love, Prosperity, Synergy and Tranquility are the current core products on their website — each built around a different herbal intention and flavor profile. The winery doesn’t publish detailed tasting notes for each blend online, so the honest way to find your favorite is to taste your way through a flight when you visit.

The story behind the label

Alchemy leans into its name on purpose. The people behind it describe the work as “part science, part philosophy,” tying the fermentation process to the alchemical idea of transmutation — turning a base substance (honey, herbs) into something transformed. It’s a small, intentional operation rather than a large production winery, and the brand voice throughout their site and social presence keeps returning to seasonality, wild-crafted ingredients, and a long tradition of women brewing medicinal meads for their communities. Whether or not the herbal-medicine framing is your thing, the wines themselves are the actual product, and they’re made with real honey and real botanicals sourced regionally.

The setting and what else happens there

Alchemy’s home base in Black Mountain functions as more than a tasting counter — the property hosts a recurring “Makers Market” (a rotating gathering of local music, food vendors, fiber artists, a plant nursery and herbal-beverage vendors) and occasional evening shows with local bands. If your visit lines up with one of these events, you get a tasting room, live music, and a small craft market all in the same stop, which makes the longer drive feel more like a destination and less like a single tasting-room checkbox.

Planning your visit

Because Alchemy is well outside the immediate Boone/Banner Elk cluster — this is a Black Mountain address, not a High Country one — treat it as an anchor for a full day out rather than a quick add-on between two nearby wineries. Groups doing a High Country wine day usually pair a stop like this with something else near the Asheville side of the drive rather than trying to loop it in with Boone-area stops in the same afternoon. As with any small producer, hours, tasting fees and current availability can shift with the season, so confirm directly with Alchemy before you commit a whole day to the trip.

For groups traveling together — a bachelorette weekend, a milestone birthday, a corporate outing — the appeal of a place like this is exactly that nobody in the group has to be the designated driver on unfamiliar mountain roads for a two-hour-plus round trip. That’s where having someone else behind the wheel changes the day from “an errand” to “an occasion.”

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MenaRick Vineyard & Winery: A Yadkin Valley Winery Built on Two Old-World Traditions

MenaRick Vineyard and Winery traces back to 2006, when Rick and Mena bought a piece of foothills farmland in Ronda, North Carolina to build a winery unlike any other in the Yadkin Valley. Rick grew up around winemaking in California; Mena grew up in Portugal, surrounded by her family’s vineyards. Together they set out to build something shaped by both traditions — “Bem Vindos!” (welcome, in Portuguese) is how they still greet every guest. The first 3.5 acres of vines went into the ground in 2008, and Rick — who had spent years building homes and doing construction — put those same skills into designing and building the winery and tasting room himself.

What sets MenaRick apart in a region full of familiar Bordeaux-style reds and native muscadine wines is its focus on Spanish and Portuguese varietals, a rarity in North Carolina. The winery has been recognized in TravelAwaits magazine’s roundup of the best wineries in North Carolina, and visitors consistently mention how personally Rick and Mena run the tasting room — pouring the wines themselves and sharing the story behind each one. One guest summed it up simply: “Great owners that are passionate about their wines, and who are fun and interesting to share a glass on the patio with.” Another described it as “an excellent little winery hidden away in the NC farm country,” making Portuguese-style wines that are “fuller bodied with depth and character” — unusual, and memorable, for this part of the state.

The Wines of MenaRick Vineyard & Winery

MenaRick farms 8 acres of vines on its 40-acre foothills estate, growing Syrah, Merlot, Chardonnay, Albariño, Grenache, Tempranillo, and Touriga Nacional — a lineup built almost entirely around Iberian grapes rather than the French-derived varietals that dominate most of the Yadkin Valley. The wines are bottled unfiltered, a choice the winery makes deliberately to preserve the full aroma and flavor of each grape. Guests often describe the reds in particular as fuller-bodied and more structured than they expect from a North Carolina winery — a reflection of the Portuguese and Spanish winemaking Mena and Rick grew up with.

Planning Your Visit

Address: 328 Luffman Road, Ronda, NC 28670
Hours: Friday & Saturday 11am – 5pm, Sunday 12pm – 5pm

MenaRick keeps its visit options simple and unpretentious:

• Guided Tastings — a seated or bar tasting through the current Spanish- and Portuguese-inspired lineup, poured by the tasting room staff (often Rick or Mena themselves).
• Wine Flights — a self-paced way to sample several wines side by side.
• Wine by the Glass or Bottle — for guests who already know what they like, or want to relax on the patio without a formal tasting.
• Picnic on the Grounds — MenaRick explicitly invites guests to bring a picnic and enjoy the vineyard view with a glass or bottle in hand.

A few practical notes we have learned from bringing groups here: MenaRick is a small, family-run operation, so the pace is unhurried and conversational rather than a scripted tour — expect to actually talk with the people who make the wine. Because the tasting room is only open Friday through Sunday, this is a winery you need to plan around rather than fit in on a whim. We recommend budgeting at least an hour here, longer if you bring a picnic and want to sit out on the porch overlooking the vines — several visitors specifically mention the porch view as a highlight.

Where MenaRick Fits in Your Tour Route

MenaRick sits in Ronda, right in the cluster of wineries around Elkin and the Surry – Wilkes county line, one of the most winery-dense corners of the Yadkin Valley. That makes it easy to pair with a couple of neighboring tasting rooms on the same day without much drive time between stops. Because its hours are limited to Friday through Sunday, we typically build a MenaRick visit around one of those three days and route the rest of the tour to match.

Plan on roughly 1.5 hours per winery plus drive time. Most tasting rooms in this part of the valley open between 11am and noon, which lines up well with MenaRick’s own Friday and Saturday 11am opening — a good reason to make it a first or second stop of the day. Because the wines here lean so heavily on Spanish and Portuguese grapes, it also makes a nice contrast stop if the rest of your day is built around more classic Cabernet- and Chardonnay-focused wineries — guests often tell us MenaRick’s Albariño or Touriga Nacional was the wine they remembered most from the whole tour.

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Medaloni Cellars: A Family Winery in the Heart of Yadkin Valley

Medaloni Cellars sits on twenty rolling acres just ten minutes outside Winston-Salem, in Lewisville, North Carolina — close enough for an easy afternoon trip, but far enough to feel like a proper escape into the Yadkin Valley wine country. Owner and winemaker Joey Medaloni built the winery around a simple mission: craft boutique wines that reflect the region while making every guest feel like they are coming home. “From our vineyards to the barrel to the bottle, we share our passion for wine, connecting hearts and homes with each exquisite sip,” is how Medaloni describes it, and that hospitality-first philosophy shows up everywhere on the property, from the tasting bar to the sunset views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Beyond wine, Medaloni Cellars has become a genuine destination — a venue for weddings, family reunions, birthday parties, and private events, with on-site lodging so guests can extend the visit into a full weekend getaway. Guests describe a private barrel-room tasting booked for a 60th birthday party as an unforgettable, personal experience, complete with a rustic-elegant setting, multiple glassware pairings, and a knowledgeable server walking the group through the wines — the kind of hospitality that keeps people coming back for out-of-town guests and repeat celebrations alike.

The Wines of Medaloni Cellars

Medaloni pours an unusually broad boutique portfolio for a winery this size, organized into Signature and Flight series. Whites include Traminette, Sauvignon Blanc, Valvin Muscat, Petit Manseng, Kerner, Vermentino, Chardonnay, and Viognier. Reds run from Merlot and Chambourcin to Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, an MJ Red Blend, Sangiovese, Carignan, and Zinfandel. Rounding things out are a Muscadine Noble, a Skin-Contact wine, a rosé, and several sparkling options including a Sparkling Red and a Sparkling Rosé. It is a lineup built for exploration — guests looking for a classic Cabernet and guests looking for something they have never tried before both find something here.

Planning Your Visit

Address: 9125 Shallowford Rd, Lewisville, NC 27023
Hours: Wednesday & Thursday 4pm – 8pm, Friday 12pm – 8pm, Saturday 11am – 6pm, Sunday 12pm – 6pm (private events available Mondays and Tuesdays)

Medaloni does not take reservations for standard tastings or flights — there is plenty of room for walk-ins — but the seated and private experiences do require booking ahead:

• Guided Tastings — includes a souvenir wine glass. A selection of the winery’s most popular whites, rosés, and reds, poured at the tasting bar.
• Self-Guided Flights — includes a souvenir wine glass. Choose your own wines, served in a carry wine tower so you can sit anywhere on the property.
• Premier Tastings — for two. Reserved seating, five wines in a Riedel glass to keep, paired with a charcuterie board. Reservations required.
• White Wine & Cheese Board Tasting — for two. Five white wines with a cheese board pairing. Reservations required.
• Red Wine & Charcuterie Board Tasting — for two. Five red wines with charcuterie. Reservations required.
• Private Tasting Experience — for groups of 4–8. A guided barrel room tasting with charcuterie, by reservation only.

A few practical notes we have learned from bringing groups here: Medaloni welcomes leashed dogs on the covered patio and outdoors (though not inside the tasting room), and it is a genuinely family-friendly stop for well-behaved kids. Outside food is welcome both outside and in the tasting room, though outside alcohol is not permitted. If your group is ten or more, it is worth having the winery know in advance, even though reservations are not required for standard tastings. We recommend budgeting at least ninety minutes to two hours here — longer if you are booking one of the seated pairing experiences, since those are meant to be lingered over.

Where Medaloni Cellars Fits in Your Tour Route

Medaloni sits on the eastern edge of the Yadkin Valley wine trail, just across the Yadkin River from the dense cluster of wineries around East Bend and Hamptonville. That makes it a natural stop to pair with one or two of those wineries on the same day, especially since Medaloni’s afternoon-into-evening hours (opening at noon or later most days) work well as a second or third stop after a morning tasting elsewhere in the valley.

Plan on roughly 1.5 hours per winery plus drive time between stops. Because Medaloni does not open until midday on most days, it is a good anchor for the back half of a tour rather than a sunrise start. If your group is celebrating something specific — a birthday, an anniversary, a girls’ weekend — we often recommend making Medaloni the final stop of the day and booking one of the seated pairing experiences in advance, so the tour ends with a slower, more indulgent pace rather than another quick tasting-bar stop.

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Lazy Elm Vineyard & Winery: A Family Farm Turned Yadkin Valley Retreat

Lazy Elm Vineyard & Winery sits on a 43-acre farm on Danner Road in Mocksville, North Carolina, just three miles north of I-40 and a mile east of Highway 601 — close enough for an easy detour, yet quiet enough that you would never guess an interstate is nearby. The winery takes its name from the shade tree at the heart of the property: the invitation here has always been simple — grab a couple of glasses and a bottle, find a spot under the elm, and slow down for a while.

Roughly 5.5 acres of the farm are planted in vines, mostly French and Italian varietals, set within the Yadkin Valley AVA — North Carolina’s first federally recognized grape-growing region. In recent years, Lazy Elm has also sourced additional Yadkin Valley AVA fruit from a vineyard in neighboring Surry County to round out its lineup. The tasting room offers both indoor and outdoor seating, and the winery has always encouraged guests to bring snacks and settle in rather than rush through a tasting. It is a smaller, low-key alternative to some of the Yadkin Valley’s larger estate wineries — the kind of place where a Saturday afternoon can disappear without you noticing.

The Wines of Lazy Elm Vineyard & Winery

Lazy Elm specializes in dry red wines, alongside a rotating selection of rosés and fruit wines. The estate lineup has included varietal Cabernet Franc and Merlot, along with the winery’s signature house blend, Damn Yankee — a Cabernet Franc and Merlot blend whose proportions shift from vintage to vintage at the winemaker’s discretion, so no two bottlings taste quite the same. Lazy Elm also makes a limited-production Dry Rosé, produced by drawing off juice from red grapes at crush time rather than pressing whole clusters — a technique that lets the winemaker dial in exactly how much color and body each vintage gets. Beyond the core red and rosé lineup, Lazy Elm has released small-batch fruit wines over the years, including a sweet apple wine made entirely from North Carolina-grown apples, sourced in years when supply allowed. It is a lineup built around approachability: pours meant for relaxing under the elm rather than working through a formal tasting flight.

Planning Your Visit

Address: 523 Danner Road, Mocksville, NC 27028
Hours: Currently open the second full weekend of each month, Saturday and Sunday, 12pm – 6pm; outside of those dates, visits are by appointment only

Lazy Elm changed its operating schedule as of January 2026, so this is one stop where checking the calendar before you go really matters:

• Second-weekend tastings — Lazy Elm now opens to the public only on the second full Saturday and Sunday of each month, 12pm to 6pm.
• By appointment — outside of those dates, the winery will do its best to accommodate visitors who call ahead.
• Indoor & outdoor seating — bring snacks and settle in at a table inside or out under the shade of the namesake elm.

A practical note we have learned from bringing groups here: because Lazy Elm’s public hours are now limited to one weekend a month, we always confirm the current schedule and call ahead before building a route around this stop, and we recommend groups do the same. When the timing lines up, budget at least an hour to an hour and a half here — long enough to work through a flight and enjoy the shade without feeling rushed.

Where Lazy Elm Fits in Your Tour Route

Lazy Elm sits in Mocksville, in Davie County, close to the Davidson County line — the same general cluster as RayLen Vineyards, also in Mocksville, and Junius Lindsay Vineyard and Childress Vineyards, both a short drive away in Lexington. That makes this a natural anchor for a southeastern Yadkin Valley route rather than a stand-alone stop, and it is easy to pair a visit here with one or two of those nearby tasting rooms on the same afternoon.

Plan on roughly 1.5 hours per winery plus drive time, and because Lazy Elm’s hours are limited to one weekend a month (or by appointment), we recommend building your itinerary around Lazy Elm’s open dates first, then filling in the rest of the route around it.

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Junius Lindsay Vineyard: A Family Farm’s Last Great Chapter

The story of Junius Lindsay Vineyard (JLV) in Lexington, North Carolina starts more than a century before the first grape was planted. The Zimmerman family has farmed this land in Davidson County since 1896, when Junius Lindsay “Lindsay” Zimmerman and his wife Beatrice Estelle Evans first worked the soil, growing wheat, corn, and sweet potatoes across four generations. It was Lindsay’s grandson, Michael Zimmerman, who reimagined the family farm as a vineyard. After a sixteen-year career as a U.S. Foreign Service diplomat — postings that took him through Ethiopia, Ghana, Mexico, and Sweden — Michael fell in love with the wines of France’s Rhône Valley during his travels through Europe. He returned to the family farm in 1996, planted two acres of Viognier in 2004, and named the resulting vineyard after his grandfather.

In 2008, Michael built the vineyard’s now-signature open-air tasting room, designed by architect Don Ruth — still the only open-air tasting room in North Carolina. Michael passed away in 2024, and his twins, Aaron Zimmerman and Mercedes Zimmerman Davis, have carried the estate forward as co-proprietors in its fourth generation. In 2026, the family announced that JLV is winding down operations and will close permanently at the end of the year, closing out a twenty-two year run and a family farming legacy that dates back to 1896. For anyone who has wanted to visit, this is genuinely the last window to do so.

The Wines of Junius Lindsay Vineyard

JLV built its reputation on old-world, Rhône-style wines — a rarity in the Yadkin Valley, where French and Italian varietals more common to Bordeaux and Tuscany tend to dominate. Michael’s early plantings of Viognier expanded to include Syrah, Petite Sirah, Roussanne, and Grenache, all varietals rooted in the Rhône Valley of Southern France. The vineyard’s Triomphe, a blend of Petite Sirah and Roussanne, pays tribute to the Northern Rhône tradition of blending red and white grapes together — a technique Michael discovered on his travels and wanted to bring home. Other estate wines include the white blend Second Leaf (Sauvignon Blanc and Vidal Blanc), the off-dry Forget-Me-Not (Roussanne and Viognier), sparkling and still rosés, and the Petite Sirah/Roussanne red blend Metro. JLV’s wines have been featured by CBS 17 at a Luxe Chef Gala and covered by Town Carolina magazine as part of Yadkin Valley’s “new Napa” story.

Planning Your Visit

Location: Lexington, NC, on the Southern Gateway Wine Trail of the Yadkin Valley AVA — North Carolina’s first federally designated grape-growing region
Tasting Room Hours: Friday, 1pm – 8pm; Saturday & Sunday, 1pm – 5pm

A few things make a visit to JLV distinct from most Yadkin Valley stops:

• Open-air tasting room — North Carolina’s only one, with ceiling fans for warm months and vinyl curtains with heating added for fall and winter visits.
• Pet- and family-friendly — well-behaved, leashed pets are welcome throughout the grounds, and children of all ages are welcome, with games and coloring books on hand.
• Bring your own picnic — guests are invited to pack a picnic and relax on the grounds when a food vendor is not scheduled (outside alcohol is not permitted per NC ABC rules).
• Music in the Vineyard — a live music series that runs February through November, alongside a rotating calendar of seasonal events.
• Private events — the tasting room and grounds can be booked for engagements, bridal showers, and micro weddings, with signature packages built around exclusive access to the estate.

A practical note we have learned from bringing groups here: JLV asks that larger parties traveling together reserve at least two days ahead of a visit during regular hours, so we always confirm the date and headcount with the vineyard before finalizing a tour stop here. Because the open-air room and grounds invite lingering — especially with live music playing — we recommend budgeting at least an hour and a half to two hours at JLV, more if you want to picnic or catch a set from the Music in the Vineyard series.

Where Junius Lindsay Vineyard Fits in Your Tour Route

JLV sits on the eastern side of the Yadkin Valley AVA, in Lexington, the same Davidson County town that is home to Childress Vineyards and Weathervane Winery — making this corner of the valley an easy cluster to visit in one day without long stretches of driving between stops. Because JLV only opens Friday through Sunday afternoons, it pairs best with a weekend itinerary built around one or two nearby tasting rooms.

Plan on roughly 1.5 hours per winery plus drive time between stops, and check each winery’s current hours before you finalize a route — hours and availability change, and with JLV winding down through the end of 2026, this is one stop worth confirming and booking sooner rather than later.

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Jones von Drehle Vineyards: A Family Estate on 65 Blue Ridge Acres

Jones von Drehle Vineyards & Winery is a true family affair. Co-owners Chuck and Diana Jones, along with Diana’s sister Ronnie von Drehle and her husband Raymond von Drehle, began searching for the right property around 2007 and established the farm in 2008 on 65 acres of former pastures and woodland tucked into the south-facing foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains near Thurmond, North Carolina, just northwest of Elkin.

The winery itself was built in 2012, and the tasting room and patio look out over the estate’s 30 acres of vines — every bottle Jones von Drehle produces is grown on this single property, not sourced from outside fruit. It has become known around the Yadkin Valley for quality, dry, European-styled wines, many of which are poured in finer restaurants across North Carolina. The setting itself is part of the draw: the property rises along a south-facing slope of the Blue Ridge foothills, giving the vines strong sun exposure and giving visitors long mountain views from the patio and the amphitheater below the tasting room.

The Wines of Jones von Drehle

Of the estate’s 65 total acres, 30 are planted in classic Vitis vinifera varieties, including Merlot, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Viognier, Malbec and Petit Manseng. The winery leans into structured, food-friendly dry wines rather than sweeter styles, which is part of why its bottles have found their way onto restaurant wine lists well beyond the Yadkin Valley.

Because everything is estate-grown, the vineyard team controls the fruit from planting to bottle — each variety was placed in the section of the property best suited to it, a detail the winery is quick to point out when talking about its approach to quality. It is the kind of hands-on, single-site winemaking that tends to reward repeat visits, since vintages and small-lot releases can vary from year to year.

Planning Your Visit

Address: 964 Old Railroad Grade Road, Thurmond, NC 28683
Tasting Room Hours: Wednesday – Saturday, 11am – 5pm; Sunday, 12pm – 5pm; closed Monday & Tuesday

A visit to Jones von Drehle typically includes:

• Tasting room pours — a seated or standing tasting through the estate lineup, on the patio overlooking the vines whenever weather allows.
• The Stage @ Jones von Drehle — an outdoor amphitheater carved into the ridge just below the tasting room, used for concerts and events; check the winery’s own site for the current show schedule.
• Snacks and food trucks — light snacks are typically available, with food trucks on-site occasionally, particularly around concerts.
• Chloe Hall — an on-site special events venue for weddings and private gatherings, a nice option for High Country couples looking for a Blue Ridge backdrop within driving distance of home.

A few practical notes we have learned from bringing groups here: children and pets are welcome, but are asked to stay on the patio rather than inside the tasting room, so plan accordingly if you are traveling with kids or a dog. Reservations are recommended, especially if a concert is scheduled at The Stage, since those dates draw a crowd and parking fills up fast. Between the tasting, the patio views, and the amphitheater grounds, we recommend budgeting at least ninety minutes to two hours here — longer on concert nights, when it is worth simply staying through the show rather than trying to fit in another stop afterward.

Where Jones von Drehle Fits in Your Tour Route

Jones von Drehle sits at the northwestern edge of the Yadkin Valley wine region, on the rising slope of the Blue Ridge foothills near Thurmond and Elkin. It groups naturally with the small cluster of Surry and Wilkes County wineries in this corner of the valley, rather than with the bigger-name estates further south and east near Dobson and Yadkinville. For High Country groups, this corner of the valley is also the closest to home, which makes it a convenient first stop before continuing deeper into the Yadkin Valley or a relaxed standalone half-day trip on its own.

Plan on roughly 1.5 hours per winery plus drive time between stops. Because this stretch of the valley is more spread out than the Dobson wine cluster, we typically build a Thurmond/Elkin day around two or three wineries rather than four or five, so nobody feels rushed between the mountain scenery and the tasting rooms.

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

Hidden Vineyard: A Spontaneous Dream on Nine Acres Near Pilot Mountain

Some wineries take a decade of planning. Hidden Vineyard took two days. As the story goes, a group of wine enthusiasts were sharing a glass of wine when they decided, on the spot, to go buy a vineyard — and by July 5, 2017, they owned one, a small farm tucked between Dobson and Pilot Mountain in the heart of the Yadkin Valley AVA. What started as an impulsive weekend decision has grown into one of the most laid-back, welcoming stops on our Surry County wine tours.

The nine-acre property sits along a quiet road called Hidden Vines Lane, and the name fits: this is a working farm-turned-vineyard, not a polished estate, and that is exactly its appeal. The tasting room has an industrial-farmhouse feel with big windows and a porch full of rocking chairs looking out over the vines, with the peak of Pilot Mountain visible in the distance. It is part of the Surry County Wine Trail, a cluster of small, independently owned wineries scattered across the rolling farmland northwest of Winston-Salem, and it has built a reputation less on formality and more on being a genuinely relaxing place to spend an afternoon.

The Wines of Hidden Vineyard

Hidden Vineyard farms roughly nine acres of Vitis vinifera and French-American hybrid grapes, growing eight varieties: Chardonnay, Petit Manseng, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Chambourcin and Pinot Gris. That lineup leans toward Bordeaux-style reds and structured whites rather than the sweeter muscadine wines found at some Yadkin Valley stops, and the winery describes its own lineup on its website as “award winning wines.”

Beyond the tasting room pours, Hidden Vineyard runs a quarterly wine club for regulars who want their favorites shipped or held for pickup. Wines are available to taste and purchase on-site, and through an online store that also carries HV-branded merchandise for visitors who want to take a piece of the vineyard home.

Planning Your Visit

Address: 125 Hidden Vines Lane, Dobson, NC 27017
Tasting Room Hours: Thursday, 11am – 6pm; Friday & Saturday, 11am – 8pm; Sunday, 12pm – 6pm; closed Monday – Wednesday

A visit here is less about a formal, scripted tasting and more about spending an afternoon on the property:

• Guided tastings — walk-in tastings through the current lineup, poured in the farmhouse-style tasting room or out on the porch.
• Vineyard walk — an open trail runs right through the middle of the vines, with a view toward Pilot Mountain, plus a “kid’s silo” play area for younger visitors.
• Food trucks and snacks — rotating food trucks and pizza are typically on-site, so you can make an afternoon of it rather than just a quick pour.
• Live music — regularly scheduled on the property, especially on weekends.
• The Tobacco Cabin — a renovated 1890s tobacco barn on-site operates as an overnight rental just steps from the tasting room, for groups who want to stay over.

A few practical notes we have learned from bringing groups here: this is a family- and pet-friendly winery, and dogs are welcome both on the grounds and inside the tasting room, so it is a good stop if anyone in your party is traveling with a four-legged companion. Reservations are recommended for groups of six or more. Because there is no formal seated tasting to rush through, and the grounds genuinely invite lingering — the porch, the vineyard trail, the food trucks — we recommend budgeting at least ninety minutes to two hours here, longer if you catch live music or want to eat.

Where Hidden Vineyard Fits in Your Tour Route

Hidden Vineyard sits in Surry County on the Surry County Wine Trail, between the towns of Dobson and Pilot Mountain, which puts it within easy reach of several other Surry County wineries in one loop. It pairs naturally with a day built around Dobson-area stops rather than the wineries further east near Elkin or Yadkinville, and its casual, come-as-you-are atmosphere makes a nice contrast if you are also visiting one of the larger, more formal Yadkin Valley estates the same day.

Plan on roughly 1.5 hours per winery plus drive time between stops. Because Hidden Vineyard’s hours run later than most Yadkin Valley tasting rooms — open until 8pm on Friday and Saturday — it also works well as a relaxed final stop on a Surry County wine tour, after other tasting rooms have already closed for the day.

Related reading

• Linville Falls Winery: Jack Wiseman's Life-Long Dream on a 40-Acre Mountain Farm

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

Zimmerman Vineyards: Randolph County’s First Commercial Vineyard

Zimmerman Vineyards opened its doors to the public on June 1, 2007, becoming Randolph County’s first commercial vineyard. The winery is family owned and operated, now managed by siblings Lauren, Shane and Adriaan Zimmerman along with their respective spouses, Megan Zimmerman and Alex Myers. While the wine itself is made off premises, it is produced exclusively from grapes grown on the estate — the fruit is entirely their own.

The winery’s wine labels carry a distinctive image: Sisyphus, the Greek mythological King of Corinth condemned to push a great boulder uphill for eternity. It is a deliberate, self-aware choice — the Zimmermans describe their own effort building the vineyard as mirroring Sisyphus’s struggle, with one important difference: their work has been goal-driven, and it has led them to the realization of a dream rather than an endless, fruitless task.

The Wines of Zimmerman Vineyards

Zimmerman’s estate-grown lineup carries the Sisyphus mythology through its names. On the white side, Sisyphus itself is a Bordeaux Blanc-style blend — crisp and neutral, with light acidity and flavors that lean toward lime or apple — while Persephone blends their white varieties into a table wine with citrus notes and a hint of sweetness. Rosé Rush is a light, effervescent rosé with citrus and red fruit character and a dry finish.

The reds follow the same Bordeaux-inspired approach: the red Sisyphus is a true Bordeaux-style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, while Heir of Hypnos is a light-bodied, unoaked red blend built to showcase pure red-fruit character. The red Persephone is a semi-dry blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot, best served chilled, and Aegina rounds out the lineup as a dessert wine with tropical fruit notes.

Planning Your Visit

Address: 1428 Tabernacle Church Road, Trinity, NC 27370
Hours (March – November): Saturday 12pm – 6pm, Sunday 1pm – 6pm
December – February: Closed for winter break

Zimmerman sits among the Uwharrie Mountains, and the flagstone terrace is the heart of a visit — from there you can take in the vines, gardens and surrounding mountainside while you taste. From April through October, the winery hosts “Songwriter Sundays,” with live original music from local musicians between 3 and 5pm alongside a glass of Zimmerman wine or a local Goose & The Monkey beer.

• Terrace Tasting — taste the estate lineup on the flagstone terrace overlooking the vineyard.
• Songwriter Sundays — live music April through October, 3–5pm.
• Charcuterie Boards — Goat Lady Dairy cheese, meat, crackers and grapes, available to pair with your tasting.
• Picnics Welcome — bring your own food to enjoy on the grounds during normal business hours.

A few practical notes we have learned from bringing groups here: Zimmerman only operates Saturdays and Sundays, and closes entirely for winter break from December through February, so this is very much a warm-weather stop to plan around rather than a year-round option. Leashed pets are welcome on the terrace and grounds (with proof of current vaccinations) but not inside the tasting room, and outside alcohol is not permitted since ABC regulations prohibit it — though the on-site Goose & The Monkey beer selection covers anyone in your group who prefers beer to wine. We recommend budgeting at least ninety minutes here, longer on a Songwriter Sunday when the music makes it easy to linger.

Where Zimmerman Fits in Your Tour Route

Zimmerman sits in Trinity, in Randolph County, which puts it closer to the Lexington-area wineries than to the Surry County cluster most High Country wine tours focus on. Childress Vineyards and Junius Lindsay Vineyard in Lexington, and Weathervane Winery a short drive north, all sit within easy reach of Zimmerman — making this eastern corner of the region its own natural mini-route.

Plan on roughly 1.5 hours per winery plus drive time between stops. Because Zimmerman is only open Saturday and Sunday afternoons (and closed entirely in winter), we recommend confirming it is in season before anchoring a whole day’s route around it.

Zimmerman also hosts weddings on the property, with a package that includes fourteen hours of venue use plus a two-hour rehearsal window, bride and groom suites, a 20′ x 40′ event tent with string lights, and room for up to 100 guests — something to keep in mind if your group is scouting Piedmont wineries for an upcoming celebration rather than just a tasting day.

Related reading

• Saint Paul Mountain Vineyards: Henderson County's First Winery, Still Family-Run

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
• Harvest Season in Yadkin Valley: Best Wineries for Fall Grape Harvest Events