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

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

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

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

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

The Wines of RagApple Lassie

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

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

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

Planning Your Visit

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

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

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

Where RagApple Lassie Fits in Your Tour Route

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

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

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

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Ashe County Livery provides luxury wedding transportation, wine tour shuttles, and airport transfers throughout North Carolina’s High Country.

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