Category: Wine Tours

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.

Explore More from Ashe County Livery

• Yadkin Valley Wine Tours — Explore NC’s premier wine region
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• 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.

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

Golden Road Vineyards: From D.C. Consultants to Yadkin Valley Winemakers

Chad and Crista Guebert were working in IT consulting in the Washington, D.C. area when a child on the way convinced them it was time to leave city life behind. Towns like Blacksburg, Virginia and Charleston, South Carolina were on their radar — but a growing love of winemaking pulled them toward North Carolina’s Yadkin Valley instead. In 2017 they purchased the 25-acre property on Golden Road, just outside State Road, and by 2018 had taken over vineyard management themselves.

The site had actually been planted years earlier — the 25-acre parcel was acquired back in March 2010 by an earlier owner and is located about eight miles north of Elkin, just east of U.S. 21 and roughly five miles west of Interstate 77. Under the Gueberts, what started as a plan to simply grow and sell grapes to other wineries evolved into a full winery: in 2018 they kept their red grapes and had a local winery produce their first vintage, then opened their own tasting room the following year.

The Wines of Golden Road

Golden Road farms 5 acres of grapevines on its 25-acre hillside site in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, within the Yadkin Valley AVA. The lineup includes Cabernet Franc, Tannat, a rosé called Mountain Park Sunset, and a red blend called Go with the Flo — alongside other estate and sourced selections that rotate seasonally. The winery has built a reputation locally for approachable, well-made wines paired with a laid-back, sunset-watching atmosphere and frequent live music.

Because Chad and Crista came to winemaking as consultants-turned-farmers rather than lifelong vintners, the operation still carries a hands-on, figure-it-out-together feel: the couple worked directly with a nearby winery to produce their first vintages before eventually building out their own production, and they remain closely involved in the day-to-day running of the tasting room and vineyard rather than stepping back into a purely ownership role. It is the kind of small-scale, family-run operation where the people pouring your wine are often the same people who grew and made it.

Planning Your Visit

Address: 119 Wine Way, State Road, NC 28676
Phone: (336) 466-7264
Tasting Room Hours: Friday 2–7pm, Saturday 12–8:30pm, Sunday 12–6pm

Golden Road’s tasting room has a warm, wood-accented feel with an outdoor tasting area built around multiple fire pits — a setting that plays especially well at golden hour, which is very much the point of the name:

• Tasting Flights — sample the current wine and beer menu at your own pace in the tasting room or out on the patio.
• Live Music — Golden Road hosts frequent live music sets; Saturdays in particular tend to run later into the evening given the extended hours.
• Food Trucks — rotating food trucks are a regular fixture, so you can turn a tasting into a full afternoon or evening without leaving the property.

A few practical notes we’ve learned from bringing groups here: this is a pet- and family-friendly property with plenty of open space around the fire pits, and Saturday’s extended hours (running until 8:30pm) make it a good anchor for a later-afternoon stop on your route. We recommend budgeting at least 90 minutes to two hours, longer if live music or a food truck is scheduled.

Where Golden Road Fits in Your Tour Route

Golden Road sits north of Elkin in the State Road community, putting it within easy reach of the cluster of wineries in and around Elkin itself — a natural pairing given the short drive between them. Coming down from the High Country, this makes a good first or second stop before working south and east through the rest of the valley.

Plan on roughly 1.5 hours per winery plus drive time. Because Golden Road doesn’t open until early-to-mid afternoon most days, it pairs especially well as an evening stop after an earlier tasting elsewhere in the Elkin area, and its later Saturday hours mean a route that starts elsewhere in the morning can still end here with plenty of daylight, or twilight, left to enjoy.

Groups that want a longer day can also work Golden Road into a loop that starts near Elkin, moves north through the State Road area, and finishes back toward the interstate — keeping backtracking to a minimum while still hitting three or four tasting rooms.

Explore More from Ashe County Livery

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

Gioia dell’Amore Cellars: A Sisters’ Dream Born from Cancer, Kept Alive with Wine

The story of Gioia dell’Amore Cellars at Autumn Creek Vineyards starts around a kitchen table in 2013, when sisters Julie and Laura — along with their husbands, Dave and David — began dreaming about opening a winery together. In 2015, Julie was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. While living with Laura and David during treatment, the sisters kept planning: debating names over the kitchen table (Laura wanted the French “Joie de le Vie”; Julie, drawn to Italian wine and culture, pushed toward Italian) and taking wine assessment classes together at the Texas Wine School between chemotherapy sessions. The name they settled on, Gioia dell’Amore — Italian for “the Joy of Love” — became the winery’s mission statement: “Scatter Joy.”

Today the winery is owned and run by David and Laura Comer on a 96-acre farm in Mayodan, North Carolina — a property with dairy and tobacco farming in its past, where the original 1800s farmhouse and several historic outbuildings still stand alongside the vines.

The Wines of Gioia dell’Amore

The estate’s first Merlot and Chambourcin vines went into the ground in the late 1990s; today the vineyard also grows Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Traminette, Riesling, Montepulciano and Barbera, feeding a portfolio that spans dry whites, rosé, dry reds, sweet wines and limited-edition reserves. Among the current lineup: White Flirt, a méthode champenoise sparkling wine made from 100% North Carolina Chardonnay; Diamond Girl White, a heritage blend of Chardonnay, Viognier and Petit Manseng; Cherish, an estate-grown Traminette; and two estate rosés — First Blush and First Kiss — built from Chambourcin and Merlot. The wines have earned Gold, Double Gold, Silver and Bronze medals across major North Carolina competitions, alongside separate recognition for the winery’s venue quality.

What sets the portfolio apart from most Yadkin Valley producers is its range: rather than leaning on a handful of signature Bordeaux varieties, David and Laura have kept adding grapes as the vineyard has matured, so a single flight can move from a crisp Sauvignon Blanc to a heritage white blend to an estate rosé without repeating a grape. It is a portfolio built for exploring rather than settling on one house style — fitting, for a winery whose whole mission is built around discovery and joy.

Planning Your Visit

Address: 364 Means Creek Rd., Mayodan, NC 27201
Phone: (336) 548-9463
Tasting Room Hours: Friday 1–6pm, Saturday 11am–6pm, Sunday 1–6pm; Monday–Thursday by appointment

The tasting room is a warm, 2,000-square-foot space with a fireplace, courtyard and wrap-around deck overlooking the stream, pond and vineyard:

• Walk-in Tasting — five wines for $18, souvenir glass included, no appointment needed during posted hours. Novice or connoisseur, there is a flight for every palate.
• Weekday Tastings — Monday through Thursday visits can be arranged by appointment, booked from a week in advance up to same-day.
• Cabin & Suite Stays — two rustic log cabins and four luxury lodging suites sit within walking distance of the tasting room, each sleeping up to four, for anyone wanting to turn a tasting into a weekend.
• Weddings & Events — five venue settings across the property, from the intimate Barrel Room to the rustic-elegant Pavilion (up to 275 guests) with its stone fireplace and open timber ceiling, plus ceremony sites under 100-year-old oaks or beside the pond and gazebo.

A few practical notes we’ve learned from bringing groups here: the property regularly hosts live music, food trucks and craft beer alongside the wine list, so check the events calendar before you go — a Saturday visit can turn into an afternoon rather than a quick stop. Small snacks are welcome on days without a food truck; when a truck is on-site, guests are asked to support it instead of bringing outside food. We recommend budgeting at least two hours here given the grounds, the cabins, and the sheer amount of vineyard and pond scenery worth walking off a tasting.

Where Gioia dell’Amore Fits in Your Tour Route

Autumn Creek Vineyards sits in Mayodan, in Rockingham County near the Virginia line — well east of the core Yadkin Valley cluster, closer to the Stokes County wineries around Madison and to Winston-Salem than to Elkin or Boonville. That makes it a natural anchor for a route through the northeastern Piedmont rather than a stop tacked onto a core Yadkin Valley loop.

Plan on roughly 1.5 hours per winery plus drive time, and expect a bit more road between stops out here than in the tighter Elkin-area cluster — the payoff is a quieter, less-trafficked wine country experience.

Explore More from Ashe County Livery

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

Erik Martella Wines: A Chemist’s Fine-Wine Case for Muscadine

Erik Martella spent more than 20 years making wine for some of California’s best-known labels before he moved east — first back to his family roots in eastern Tennessee, then to North Carolina. He holds a master’s degree in chemistry and now lectures in Appalachian State University’s Department of Chemistry and Fermentation Sciences. In August 2024 he launched his own boutique label, Erik Martella Wines, with a wine dinner in downtown Elkin — and a somewhat unusual mission for a winemaker with his pedigree: proving that muscadine, the thick-skinned native grape most Southerners grew up drinking sweet, can be made into serious, dry, fine wine.

Rather than benchmarking against Europe the way most American wineries do, Martella built his label around Vitis rotundifolia — grapes native to the American Southeast that have historically been dismissed as a novelty. His “Workshop Series” applies old-world winemaking technique to Carlos (white) and Noble (red) muscadine, and the results have turned heads in the state’s wine community: his 2023 “Workshop Method No. 03” Noble won Best Muscadine Red at the 2024 N.C. Wine Competition.

The Wines of Erik Martella

Erik Martella Wines doesn’t farm its own vineyard. Instead, the fruit comes from Sanders Ridge Vineyard in nearby Boonville, a family farm of more than 150 years located in the Yadkin Valley AVA, where cool temperatures allow for an extended ripening period and grapes are hand-harvested in October. The wine itself is made at Windsor Run Cellars in Hamptonville, where Martella works alongside winemaking partners Elizabeth Higley and Kevin Elder.

The lineup centers on the two muscadine varieties Martella has focused on to date — Carlos and Noble — produced under the experimental “Workshop Method” label as the project explores different winemaking techniques. There is also a sparkling wine, a 60/40 blend of Carlos and Vidal Blanc (a French-American hybrid), fermented separately and blended for secondary fermentation in stainless steel. Awards have followed quickly for a label barely a few years old, including recognition in the N.C. Wine Competition for both the Noble and Carlos bottlings.

Planning Your Visit

Where to taste it: Erik Martella Wines is produced and poured at Windsor Run Cellars, 6531 Windsor Rd., Hamptonville, NC 27020
Windsor Run Tasting Room Hours: Wednesday – Saturday, 10am – 5pm; Sunday, 1pm – 5pm (no reservation required for groups of six or fewer)
Also available: The Wisdom Table, downtown Elkin

Because this is a boutique, small-batch label rather than a destination winery with its own venue, visiting takes a slightly different shape than most Yadkin Valley stops:

• Taste at Windsor Run Cellars — the working winery and distillery where Erik Martella Wines is produced. Ask the tasting room staff which Workshop Series releases are currently being poured.
• Order a bottle at The Wisdom Table — the downtown Elkin restaurant that hosted Martella’s launch dinner and still carries the label.
• Buy direct — the full current lineup is available for purchase through the Erik Martella Wines website for those who want to try it before or after a tasting-room visit.

A practical note we’ve learned from bringing groups through this corner of the valley: because this is a small, evolving label rather than a large tasting room with its own hours and event calendar, it pairs best as one stop within a Windsor Run Cellars visit rather than a destination on its own. Budget your normal hour to hour and a half at Windsor Run, and simply ask to taste through the muscadine program while you’re there — it is genuinely one of the more interesting stories in the valley to hear poured tableside.

Where Erik Martella Wines Fits in Your Tour Route

Windsor Run Cellars sits in the Swan Creek AVA around Hamptonville, in the same cluster of wineries as Laurel Gray Vineyards and not far from Sanders Ridge in Boonville — fitting, since Sanders Ridge grows the very grapes that go into the Erik Martella label. This part of the valley rewards a route built around two or three tasting rooms within a short drive of each other rather than long backroad transfers.

Plan on roughly 1.5 hours per stop plus drive time between wineries. Because Windsor Run doubles as the home of Erik Martella Wines, WRC Distillery, and Windsor Meadery under one roof, it is worth treating as a longer single stop rather than rushing through — there is simply more to taste there than at a typical winery visit.

Explore More from Ashe County Livery

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

Elkin Creek Vineyards: From Grist Mill to Wine Country Landmark

Mark Greene and his wife established Elkin Creek Vineyard in 2001, after purchasing the site of a historic grist mill built in 1896, set at the spot where two creeks join to form Big Elkin Creek. Mark built the winery and restaurant with help from a few friends and his five children — a true labor of love from the start. The winery bottled its first vintage in the fall of 2005.

In 2011, the property passed to two couples who found each other through an unlikely connection: Nick and Jennifer White and Louis and Carrie Jeroslow all worked for the theatrical show Blue Man Group before taking over the vineyard. The Whites had actually married at Elkin Creek back in 2008, and years later, over countless sushi dinners in Las Vegas, the two couples discovered a shared vision for a place built around great wine, good food and quiet natural beauty. When Mark Greene was ready to move on, he chose them to carry the property forward. Today Nick runs the kitchen and grounds, Jennifer coordinates weddings and events, Carrie manages the cabins and books and officiates weddings, and Louis makes the wine and champions the Yadkin Valley AVA.

The Wines of Elkin Creek Vineyards

The estate’s four acres of vines grow Merlot, Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon, crafted into wines in generally European-inspired styles priced from about $20 to $36 a bottle. The Chardonel is made in a Burgundy style with a touch of French oak for mid-palate structure, while the Chardonnay follows a French Chablis approach — fermented and aged entirely in stainless steel for a lighter, crisper wine. A Niagara-grape Soft White and a Sangiovese round out a lineup that tends to sell through and rotate by vintage and season, so it’s worth calling ahead if you have a particular bottle in mind.

Planning Your Visit

Address: 318 Elkin Creek Mill Road, Elkin, NC 28621
Tasting Room Hours: Thursdays & Fridays 2pm – 5pm, Saturdays & Sundays 12pm – 5pm

Every Sunday, Elkin Creek fires up its wood-fired brick oven for made-to-order pizzas — hand-made dough, hand-crafted pies, but only 30 made each week, so reservations (with your full order emailed ahead of time) are required; a few walk-in pizzas are occasionally available. While you wait, enjoy a wine tasting or walk the grounds. Beyond pizza night, the property also hosts wine release and food-pairing dinners with guest chefs throughout the year, and Southern Living once called the kitchen “the best in the valley.”

If your group wants to stay overnight, Elkin Creek has four intimate, creek-side cabins tucked in the woods a short walk from the historic mill, waterfall and vineyard — each with a full kitchen, stone fireplace, soaking tub and private porch. A few practical notes we have learned from bringing groups here: because the tasting room only runs limited afternoon hours Thursday through Sunday, build your visit around those windows, and if Sunday pizza is part of the plan, reserve it well in advance since it sells out. We recommend budgeting at least two hours here given the grounds, the mill, and the creek walk are all worth the time.

Where Elkin Creek Fits in Your Tour Route

Elkin Creek sits in the town of Elkin, about an hour north of Charlotte and only twenty minutes from the Virginia border — putting it near several other Surry County-area wineries, including Carolina Heritage Vineyard & Winery right in Elkin, Grassy Creek Vineyard just up the road in State Road, and Stony Knoll Vineyards in nearby Dobson.

Plan on roughly 1.5 hours per winery plus drive time. Because Elkin Creek’s tasting room hours are limited to afternoons Thursday through Sunday, it works well as an anchor stop for a Surry County-focused day rather than an early-morning first stop.

Explore More from Ashe County Livery

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

Eden Oaks Vineyard: A Century-Old Tobacco Farm Reborn

In 2014, Roy and Sandra Lowe bought a vacant, century-old farm property near Ronda, North Carolina, not knowing it would become a vineyard. The house dates to 1910 and had been a working tobacco farm for generations — the original tobacco barn, corn crib, smoke house and stable barn are all still standing on the property. It was their son Todd who first pointed out the obvious while they worked on the front porch: “Mom, do you realize you’ve purchased a vineyard?” Sitting inside the Swan Creek AVA, the land made sense for grapes, and Roy planted the first vines in 2015.

The name Eden Oaks honors two things at once: the Lowes’ granddaughter, Eden, and the many century-old oak trees scattered across the property. It is very much a family operation — son Todd, his fiancée April, and grandchildren Andrew, Eden and Amber are all part of running the place, alongside a herd of goats the family affectionately calls their “furry weed eaters” and a line of Beagle and Jack-A-Bee dogs the Lowes breed and raise on-site.

The Vineyard and What’s Growing at Eden Oaks

Eden Oaks describes itself candidly as a “labor of love” and a “work in progress.” The property is planted with grapevines alongside elderberries, fruit trees, roses and herbs, and Roy is happy to walk guests through the vineyard and explain what’s growing and how the different varieties are coming along. The family is currently working toward opening an on-site wine and antique shop — it isn’t open yet, so this isn’t a tasting-room stop in the traditional sense, but a working vineyard-in-progress with real Yadkin Valley history behind it.

What is open and running today is Fireside Espresso, a coffee business Todd and April started on the property, serving coffee, cappuccino, frappes, iced lattes and lattes to visitors relaxing among the vines.

Planning Your Visit

Address: 3145 Mathis Mill Road, Ronda, NC 28670
Location: two miles off US Highway 421, nine miles off Interstate 77

Because Eden Oaks doesn’t yet have a public tasting room, the best way to visit is to call ahead at (336) 984-4434 and schedule your stop — the family also hosts live music and front-porch karaoke for special groups on occasion. The property has two RV campsites with 50-amp service and water, plus six tent sites, all with fire pits, picnic tables and firewood provided (additional RV sites and a dump station are in the works), and the whole property is family and pet friendly, with walking trails through the woods to a spring box and the creek.

A few practical notes we have learned from bringing groups here: this is best treated as a scenic, historic add-on to a Yadkin Valley day — a chance to walk a real working vineyard, see century-old tobacco farm buildings, meet the goats, and grab a coffee from Fireside Espresso — rather than a wine-tasting stop. Call ahead before building it into your itinerary, and budget 45 minutes to an hour for the visit.

Where Eden Oaks Fits in Your Tour Route

Eden Oaks sits in the Swan Creek AVA near Ronda, close to several well-known Yadkin Valley wineries — by the family’s own estimate, Raffaldini Vineyards and Winery, Piccione Vineyards, Midnight Magdalena Vineyards, and several others are all within 15–20 minutes. That makes Eden Oaks an easy, scenic stop to add onto a day built around those tasting rooms rather than a stand-alone destination.

Plan on roughly 1.5 hours per winery for your tasting-room stops, plus drive time, and treat Eden Oaks as a shorter add-on rather than one of your full 90-minute stops given its current work-in-progress status.

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

Dragon Glass Winery: Turning Overgrown Land Into a Stokes County Destination

In October 2019, the 20-acre property that would become Dragon Glass Winery was purchased in Madison, North Carolina, with a clear ambition: transform it into a rustic tasting room, vineyard and wedding venue. The land had to be cleared before any of that could happen, and after several years of work, the tasting room officially opened in May 2022.

Dragon Glass sits in beautiful Stokes County, minutes from Hanging Rock State Park and the Dan River, and the winery leans into that outdoorsy setting — wine tastings, food trucks, live music, and entertainment are all part of the regular rhythm here, whether you book ahead or simply show up.

The Wines of Dragon Glass Winery

Dragon Glass focuses on locally sourced and estate-produced Muscadine wines, offering both white and red styles crafted from grapes suited to the North Carolina climate. Every vine is tended from the start of the growing season through harvest at peak ripeness, and as the vineyard has become established, the winery has continued expanding its plantings while holding to the same production standards.

It’s a smaller, still-growing operation — the winery is candid that they are in an expansion phase — which means the wine list reflects a focused Muscadine program rather than a long roster of European varietals, in keeping with their mission of gathering folks around locally produced wine, food from local vendors, and live entertainment.

Planning Your Visit

Address: 2182 Bethesda Church Road, Madison, NC 27025
Wine Tasting Hours: Wednesday 5pm – 9pm, Friday 5pm – 11pm, Saturday 1pm – 11pm, Sunday 1pm – 6pm

Dragon Glass books wine tastings Wednesday through Sunday, either as a scheduled visit or a walk-in. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays typically feature live music and food trucks alongside the tastings, so it’s worth checking their events calendar before you go if your group wants to time the visit around a particular performance. The winery also hosts weddings, with packages starting at $2,000 and including use of the outdoor covered venue and the winery’s tasting room, plus all wine and beer needs for the event.

A few practical notes we have learned from bringing groups here: because the later hours (especially Friday and Saturday nights running past 11pm) make this a great evening stop, it pairs well as the last winery of the day rather than a midday visit. Given the live music, food trucks and outdoor space, we recommend budgeting at least two hours if you want to actually enjoy the entertainment rather than just taste and go.

Where Dragon Glass Fits in Your Tour Route

Dragon Glass sits in Madison, in eastern Stokes County, a bit apart from the dense cluster of wineries in the Yadkin Valley proper — making it a good anchor for a day that also includes Gioia dell’Amore Cellars at Autumn Creek Vineyards in neighboring Mayodan, or a run out toward the Dobson-area wineries like Haze Gray Vineyards and Hidden Vineyard.

Plan on roughly 1.5 hours per winery plus drive time, and note that Dragon Glass doesn’t open on Mondays or Tuesdays, so build your route around a Wednesday-through-Sunday visit. Because it stays open late on Fridays and Saturdays, it also works well as a stop to end the day on rather than start it.

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

Dobbins Creek Vineyards: From Passion Project to Destination Venue

Dobbins Creek Vineyards began as founder Charles King’s passion project. After decades of studying winemaking, Charles carefully planted five and a half acres of vines on the east slope of Hemric Mountain in Hamptonville, and the winery officially opened its doors in spring 2007. His guiding philosophy — producing the finest quality estate grapes in the Yadkin Valley — still shapes the wine program today.

In 2022, Stephanie Rogol visited the property, met Charles, and fell for the land, the vines and the views. She purchased the vineyard with a plan to grow it into more than a tasting room: a true destination for wine, dining, live music and events. That combination of Charles’s original dedication to the grapes and Stephanie’s vision for the property is what visitors experience today — firepits and long-range mountain views on a 3,400-square-foot patio, alongside serious estate-grown wine.

The Wines of Dobbins Creek Vineyards

Dobbins Creek keeps production intentionally small — about 1,500 cases a year — from grapes that are handpicked and minimally processed on-site to preserve their character straight off the vine. The estate’s Riesling, the backbone of the white lineup, is planted on Hemric Mountain’s eastern slope, where well-drained loamy mica schist soil and cooler morning air build the acidity and minerality that show up in their Dry Riesling, Sweet Riesling, and White Rock (an old-world, Alsatian-style Riesling).

The rest of the ten-wine estate lineup includes Stainless and Oaked Chardonnay, Hemric Mountain Dry Rosé, Ram Cat Red, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Hemric Mountain Red, and the Legacy Meritage — a red blend created in honor of founder Charles King.

Planning Your Visit

Address: 4430 Vineyard View Lane, Hamptonville, NC 27020

Dobbins Creek is open daily in the afternoon (roughly noon to 5pm), though hours can shift seasonally and around events, so it’s worth confirming the current schedule before you go. Once there, you can choose a guided Wine Tasting of all ten estate wines ($18), a self-directed Wine Flight of four 2 oz. pours ($18), or wine by the glass ($14). They also mix wine cocktails on-site — a Riesling-based Wine-a-Rita, Hemrick Mountain Mule, Ginger Peach Bellini and Mojito, each $15.

Guests are encouraged to bring their own snacks and picnics (non-alcoholic beverages like water and soda are always fine too), or order a handcrafted charcuterie or cheese board on-site. Leashed, friendly dogs are welcome on the tasting lodge porch and patios. If your group wants to take bottles home, wine is sold by the bottle, by the half-case (10% off six bottles, mixed or matched) or by the case (20% off twelve bottles, mixed or matched) — a nice option if a few people in your group want to split a case between them.

A few practical notes we have learned from bringing groups here: the outdoor patio and firepits are the heart of the experience, so this is a great stop to slow down at rather than rush through — we generally recommend budgeting at least an hour and a half, more if there’s a live event or Sunset Movie Series screening happening that evening. Dobbins Creek also runs a regular events calendar, including outdoor movie nights on the lawn, so it is worth checking their events page before you book your date in case something is happening that your group would enjoy staying for.

Where Dobbins Creek Fits in Your Tour Route

Dobbins Creek sits in Hamptonville, in the same corner of the Yadkin Valley as Shadow Springs Vineyard (also in Hamptonville) and within a short drive of RagApple Lassie Vineyards in Boonville and Divine Llama Vineyards in East Bend — making this a natural cluster to string together in one day rather than crossing the whole valley.

Plan on roughly 1.5 hours per winery plus drive time between stops. Because Dobbins Creek leans into a relaxed, linger-on-the-patio atmosphere, it works well as a mid-afternoon or later stop on your route, especially if your group wants to stay for sunset.

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

Divine Llama Vineyards: Where Wine Meets a Working Llama Farm

Michael and Patricia West started Divine Llama Vineyards in 2007, planting vines on their rolling 91-acre farm in East Bend, in the heart of the Yadkin Valley AVA. In 2019, friends Leslie Messick and Paul Baumbach joined the operation, and today the property is two businesses in one: a working vineyard and tasting room, and Four Ladies & Me Farm, the largest llama farm in the Southeast. It is an unusual pairing, and it is exactly why Divine Llama shows up on so many Yadkin Valley “must visit” lists — you can taste an estate red blend and then go meet the animals it is named after.

The winery describes its wines as nationally recognized and award-winning, and between the setting along Miller Creek, the view toward Pilot Mountain, and the llamas grazing just past the tasting room deck, it is one of the more distinctive stops we take guests to anywhere in the valley.

The Wines of Divine Llama Vineyards

The vines went into the ground in spring 2007, and the estate now grows four grape varieties — Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Chardonel and Traminette — across the property’s 91 acres. From those four grapes, Divine Llama produces eleven wines spanning five dry reds and whites, two semi-dry reds and whites, a sweeter white, a sweeter rosé, a semi-sweet peach-blended white, and a semi-sweet blackberry-blended red.

Several of the wines carry llama names as a nod to the farm side of the property. “In a Heartbeat” — named for one of the West family’s more decorated show llamas — is an off-dry blend of 2007 Cabernet Franc and Merlot, aged 18 months in a mix of new American, new Hungarian and used French oak. Merlina, named for Merlot’s “female companion” on the farm, is roughly 95% Merlot. Their single-varietal Merlot and Cabernet Franc are also aged 18 months in the same combination of French, Hungarian and American oak, giving the reds a distinctive coffee-and-chocolate character.

Planning Your Visit

Address: 4126 Divine Llama Lane, East Bend, NC 27018
Tasting Room Hours: Thursday, Friday & Saturday 12pm – 6pm, Sunday 1pm – 6pm (open year-round, including January and February)

There is no admission fee to visit. Rather than formal tastings, Divine Llama currently pours flights — four 2 oz. pours of your choice for $16 — on the tasting room deck. Food trucks show up periodically (check their Facebook page), and you are also welcome to bring your own food. Dogs are welcome around the tasting room and deck, though not down on the working farm around the llamas, and children are allowed as long as an adult over 21 supervises them throughout the visit. The winery is not currently renting its facilities for weddings or private events.

The signature experience here is llama trekking: a roughly two-mile guided hike with a llama companion along Miller Creek, with a break at the creek for photos, running most Saturdays and Sundays in spring, fall and winter, starting around 1pm and lasting two to three hours. Treks require advance reservations, participants must be at least 10 years old, and pricing is $50 per person for 2025 (rising to $60 in 2026). A few practical notes we have learned from bringing groups here: book the trek well before your visit since spots are limited, and build your tasting around the trek schedule rather than the other way around. Between the tasting flight and a llama trek, plan on budgeting at least two to three hours at this stop — it is not a quick tasting-room pour-and-go.

Where Divine Llama Fits in Your Tour Route

Divine Llama sits in East Bend, on the Yadkin County side of the river, within easy reach of several other Yadkin Valley wineries in the same corner of the AVA — including RagApple Lassie Vineyards in Boonville, Shadow Springs Vineyard in Hamptonville, and Medaloni Cellars in Yadkinville. That makes this cluster a natural half-day loop rather than a single isolated stop.

Plan on roughly 1.5 hours per winery plus drive time, and add extra time if a llama trek is on the agenda for this stop. Because Divine Llama doesn’t open until noon (1pm on Sundays), it pairs best as a midday or afternoon visit on your route rather than the first stop of the morning.

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