Stony Knoll Vineyards: A 1896 Century Farm That Traded Tobacco for Wine

Stony Knoll Vineyards: A Century Farm Turns From Tobacco to Wine

Stony Knoll Vineyards sits on a North Carolina Century Farm that has been in the same family since 1896, when the ancestors of Kathy Coe bought a tract of land in southern Surry County. For most of the twentieth century the farm’s cash crop was tobacco — cleared by hand tools and domesticated animals in the early 1940s, and worked that way until the early 1980s, when the family shifted to cattle and hay. It was Van Coe, in the late 1990s, who had the idea to put the land into a very different kind of cultivation, with an eye toward preserving the farm for future generations.

In April 2001, 5.25 acres of grapevines went in where tobacco once grew — Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Syrah, Cabernet Franc and Niagara among the first plantings — and the tasting room and winery opened in 2004. Today Stony Knoll still describes itself simply as a multi-generational family farm that converted from tobacco to grapes, and that heritage is very much part of the appeal: this is a working Century Farm in the Yadkin Valley AVA, not a manufactured attraction.

The Wines of Stony Knoll Vineyards

The vineyard has grown from that original 5.25-acre planting to 10 acres of vines today, adding Merlot, Chambourcin, Viognier, Arandell and Corot Noir alongside the original varietals. The lineup spans dry whites, dry reds and sweet wines: a no-oak Stainless Steel Chardonnay and a Barrel Fermented Chardonnay split between neutral French and new American oak, a 2023 Viognier with honeysuckle and pear notes, and the Vintner’s Bliss Rosé made from 100% Chambourcin.

On the red side, the Chambourcin, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon anchor the dry lineup — the Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon are both aged three years in French oak. For guests who prefer something sweeter, Stony Knoll also pours a semi-sweet Red Table Wine, the strawberry-and-cherry Patricia Pink, and Ardella, a soft white table wine made from the American Niagara grape and named for a member of the family.

Planning Your Visit

Address: 1143 Stony Knoll Road, Dobson, NC 27017
Tasting Room Hours: Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 10am – 6pm
January & February (Winter Hours): Friday & Saturday only, 10am – 6pm

Tastings at Stony Knoll are simple and reasonably priced: a wine tasting or flight is $15, or $20 if you want to keep the glass, and wine by the glass runs $6 (the Cabernet Sauvignon is $8, and their limited-release MEBOS is $12). Cases are discounted 10% off regular pricing.

• Guided Tasting/Flight — sample the dry whites, dry reds, and sweet wines at your own pace.
• Wine by the Glass — a relaxed option if your group just wants to settle in on the property.
• Picnic on the Grounds — bring your own lawn chairs and a picnic; Stony Knoll also keeps a limited selection of snacks for purchase.

A few practical notes we have learned from bringing groups here: this is a farm first, so hours are tighter than at some of the larger Yadkin Valley wineries — note that Stony Knoll is closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and January/February hours shrink to weekends only, so it is worth confirming the calendar before you build it into a tour date. Dogs are welcome on the property on a leash but not inside the tasting room. We generally recommend budgeting about an hour here, longer if your group wants to spread out a picnic and enjoy the farm views.

Where Stony Knoll Fits in Your Tour Route

Stony Knoll sits in Dobson, in the heart of Surry County and a genuine cluster of Yadkin Valley tasting rooms — it pairs naturally with other Dobson-area stops rather than requiring a long drive between wineries. Because its hours are more limited than most, we like to anchor a route around Stony Knoll’s open days and build the rest of the day’s stops around it.

Plan on roughly 1.5 hours per winery plus drive time between stops, and confirm Stony Knoll’s current open days before locking in your itinerary. Because the tasting room here is smaller and more personal than some of the Yadkin Valley’s larger estates, we like scheduling it earlier in the day, when there is more time for the family running the tasting room to talk through the property’s history and the differences between the older varietals planted in 2001 and the newer additions.

For groups planning a full day of tasting, Dobson’s cluster of wineries means you can visit two or three stops without much time lost to driving between them — a real advantage over parts of the Yadkin Valley where wineries are spread farther apart. That makes Stony Knoll a good anchor stop for a Surry County-focused itinerary rather than a single stand-alone destination.

Explore More from Ashe County Livery

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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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