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.
Wine Tour Transportation to Erik Martella Wines
Ashe County Livery provides private, chauffeured wine tour transportation to Erik Martella Wines from Ashe County, Boone, Blowing Rock, West Jefferson and across NC’s High Country. Our Erik Martella Wines trip-planning page covers drive times, tasting-room hours, group sizes and pricing.
Travel in a luxury SUV, sedan, or Sprinter van with a professional chauffeur — everyone in your group gets to taste, nobody has to drive. We only charge from pickup to your last drop-off, and every tour includes a complimentary cooler with ice and water. Plan your Erik Martella Wines tour or call (336) 484-1350.
Nearby wineries we also serve: Laurel Gray Vineyards · Sanders Ridge Vineyard & Winery · Elkin Creek Vineyards — or browse all 54 Yadkin Valley wineries we provide transportation to.
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
🍷 Planning a Wine Tour in the NC High Country?
Ashe County Livery offers private, luxury wine tour transportation throughout the Blue Ridge Mountains. Skip the driving and let our professional chauffeurs take you from winery to winery in comfort and style.
Serving Banner Elk, Blowing Rock, Boone, and all NC High Country destinations • (336) 484-1350
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