N.C. wine trail just the ticket for a tasty getaway

Wines by Elkin Creek Vineyard are among the many that draw visitors to Yadkin Valley.

Wines by Elkin Creek Vineyard are among the many that draw visitors to Yadkin Valley. MARCIA BIGGS

North Carolina's Round Peak has 13 acres of vineyards and produces 10 French and Italian . SAM DEAN

Mount Airy, North Carolina, is the home of Miss Angel's Heavenly Pies, known for its Southern hospitality and delicious desserts. MARCIA BIGGS

Shelton Vineyards is owned by brothers Charlie and Ed Shelton, who opened the valley’s flagship winery in 1999. MARCIA BIGGS

J.W. and Kristen Ray moved to North Carolina with their children three years ago. Their JoLo Winery & Vineyards, a high-end boutique winery with 5 acres of grapes, already has won numerous awards. BILL RUSS

Round Peak Vinyards owner Ken Gulaian says the enterprise produces 10 French and Italian varietals and opened a craft brewery last year. “I guess you could say we’re busy,” he says.

In addition to tastings in the rustic elegance of the lodge, seen here, JoLo Winery and Vineyards offers gourmet dining at its restaurant, a garden patio with relaxing views, and a cozy cabin perfect for a romantic weekend. MARCIA BIGGS

BY MARCIA BIGGS

Tribune correspondent

Published: April 19, 2015

More Information

IF YOU GO

The Yadkin Valley is a 1½-hour drive north of Charlotte, North Carolina. I flew nonstop to Charlotte on US Airways and rented a car. I highly recommend the modern Hampton Inn & Suites in Dobson ((336)353-9400), where a standard room runs about $130 on weekends. The hotel offers complimentary breakfast, free bike rentals and shuttles to Shelton Vineyards. If you plan to visit wineries, other convenient towns for lodging include Elkin and Mount Airy. Be sure to have a good road map before you set out on your wine weekend. You will encounter many winding dirt roads that meander through the countryside, and it’s easy to get turned around. Don’t expect your cell or GPS to connect everywhere. You can find a great brochure with a map of the Yadkin Valley Wine Trail, including wineries, lodging, dining and nearby attractions, at www.yvwt.com or by contacting the Surry County tourism office at (877) 999- 8390. The main tourism website is yadkinvalleync.com. Coming events: ♦ The 14th annual Yadkin Valley Wine Festival is May 16 in Elkin, with live music, country crafts, food and tastings from dozens of local vineyards; go to www.yvwf.com. ♦ The 11th annual Yadkin Valley Grape Festival will be Oct. 17 in Yadkinville; go to www.yvgf.com ♦ The 26th annual Mayberry Days (www.mayberrydays.com) takes over Mount Airy from Sept. 23 to 27. Festivities include parades, guest appearances, musical performances, variety shows, children’s activities and a barbecue cook-off. Some 25,000 visitors are expected, so if you don’t like crowds, you should consider visiting at another time. Contact the Mount Airy Visitors Center at (800) 948-0949. ♦ Shelton Vineyards Harvest Festival is October 9 to 11, with local arts and crafts, live music, free tours, grape stomping, antique tractors and a variety of other family activities. Go to www.sheltonvineyards.com or call (336) 366-4724.

MOUNT AIRY, N.C. — The lush vineyards and rolling green hills are giving me a sense of déjà vu. Memories of wine-tasting in Napa Valley. People laughing, chatting, sipping on an outdoor patio. Brilliant bluebird sky. Could this really be North Carolina?

You better believe it. Surprise, surprise, surprise.

It’s Saturday afternoon on an unseasonably warm yet beautiful fall afternoon at Round Peak Vineyards in the Yadkin Valley of central North Carolina. Round Peak, along with nearly 40 other valley vineyards, is watching the weather forecast, anxiously waiting for a dip in temperatures to signal it’s time to harvest.

In the meantime, the crushpad (where the grapes are crushed) has been converted into an outdoor patio with picturesque vistas right out of a travel brochure. I settle in at the bar and begin sampling, along with a mix of friendly locals and tourists who have found their way to this idyllic spot in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Our bartender, who happens to be Round Peak owner Ken Gulaian, is happy to chat us up.

“We have 13 acres of vineyards and produce 10 French and Italian varietals under the Round Peak label,” says Gulaian, who with wife Kari moved to the region in 2008 from the San Francisco area. “We also produce a variety of semi-sweet and semi-dry blends under the Skull Camp label — and we opened a craft brewery last year. I guess you could say we’re busy.”

I am pleasantly surprised with every wine Gulaian pours. A semi-dry red blend of cherry, blackberry and raspberry has just the right fruitiness for my palate. A perfectly chilled rosé is dry, crisp and perfect for a hot afternoon. I even like the tasty beer samplings.

Divine Llama Vineyards in East Bend

WXII - Greensboro, NC

As much as I would like to while away the day in reverie at Round Peak, it’s time to move on. I am on a “winetinerary” along the Yadkin Valley Wine Trail, and the next stop is waiting just up the road.

Viticultural landscape

In recent years, something’s been brewing in them thar hills, and it’s not moonshine. Across North Carolina, wineries have been increasing steadily in three viticultural areas that provide the ideal climate, elevation and soil for growing grapes. Savvy entrepreneurs are taking a leap of faith by turning farmland and former tobacco fields into vineyards. Today, more than 400 vineyards and 100 wineries dot the state.

The Yadkin Valley became North Carolina’s first federally-approved American Viticultural Area (AVA) in 2003. The result has been the emergence of an agricultural industry that is bringing increasing numbers of jobs and “wine vacationers” to this region throughout the year.

“The wineries have really had an impact, not only in increased tourism but also in increased restaurants and lodgings, like bed and breakfasts and cabins,” says Jessica Roberts, director of tourism for Surry County, which is home to most of the Yadkin Valley wine operations.

Helping fuel the Yadkin Valley wine economy, Surry Community College (SCC) in Dobson is the only college on the East Coast that offers a two-year degree program in Viticulture and Enology (winemaking). With its own vineyards, state-of- the-art laboratories and winery, SCC is cranking out a steady supply of graduates who remain in the region to work.

Count J.W. and Kristen Ray among the new wave. After purchasing 80 acres of wooded property in the shadow of Pilot Mountain, the couple and their two children moved from the Fort Lauderdale area three years ago. J.W. spent several years studying winemaking, then designing and building and planting. Today, he owns JoLo Winery & Vineyards, a high-end boutique winery with 5 acres of grapes that already has won numerous awards in regional wine competitions.

In addition to tastings in the rustic elegance of the lodge, JoLo offers visitors a five-star gourmet dining experience at its End Posts restaurant, an outdoor garden patio with relaxing views, and even a cozy cabin perfect for a romantic weekend. Special wine dinners and tasting events are almost always sold out.

“We are living the dream,” says J.W., a successful entrepreneur whose background in hospitality helped propel his vision to reality. “The plan was to create a very personalized and upscale boutique winery with high-quality wines and a five-star dining experience. The response has been phenomenal. We get people from Winston-Salem, Raleigh, Charlotte, as well as out of state, who are hearing about the Yadkin Valley and want to experience it.”

Like most in the region, Ray is planting grapes that grow well in Burgundy, France, where the climate and elevation are nearly identical, he says. Typical grapes grown in the region include , , , sangiovese, , , , and petit verdo. Ray has even chosen to age his wines in French oak barrels.

From Mayberry to Merlot

In the past, the area’s main claim to fame — and tourism dollars — was golf, fishing and Mount Airy, the hometown of actor Andy Griffith. The fictitious town of Mayberry in the popular 1960s television series “The Andy Griffith Show” was modeled after Mount Airy, which in turn created an enduring identity to match. Annual events like Mayberry Days each September, classic car shows and music concerts, and gift shops packed with Mayberry memorabilia, make this town a magnet for nostalgic baby boomers and families looking for a wholesome vacation destination.

I enjoyed exploring Mount Airy for its old-fashioned charm and Southern hospitality. I can claim without a doubt that the planet’s best handmade pumpkin ice cream and sonker (a traditional North Carolina fruit cobbler) can be found at Miss Angel’s Heavenly Pies. It’s here where I even got to shake hands with the real Floyd, who despite his advanced age continues to hold court at Floyd’s Barbershop up Main Street.

From Mount Airy, it’s just a 15-minute drive to Round Peak Vineyards.

There are 33 wineries and vineyards on the Yadkin Valley Wine Trail, and most are within an hour’s drive. Some wineries are just minutes apart. For this trip, I made home base in the town of Dobson, which is not only centrally located but also the home of the venerable Shelton Vineyards. The highly- respected Shelton brothers, Charlie and Ed, opened the valley’s flagship winery in 1999 and paved the road for viticultural designations across the state.

Shelton Vineyards is now the largest family-owned estate winery in North Carolina, with 130 acres of grapes. A tour and tasting departs every half hour and includes a visit to the 33,000-square-foot winery. Visitors can meander along walking trails, set for a spell on the benches and swings on the lake, or dine at the highly-rated Harvest Grill.

My dinner at Harvest Grill was a highlight of the trip, with excellent food, wines and service in an upscale atmosphere. Chef Paul Lange offers sophisticated comfort food and a menu that changes seasonally to take advantage of regional produce, dairies and farms.

Not far from Dobson is the historic town of Elkin, which is ideal for an afternoon of browsing antique shops and a stop at Brushy Mountain Winery. With its artsy jazz club ambiance, this intimate wine bar is all about charming — and a delightful surprise for its knockout red wines. As owner Jason Wisemen told us, the Brushy Mountain wines have more depth and character than other valley wines because they are more mature, some aging since 2007.

With so many wineries on the Yadkin Valley Wine Trail, choosing which to visit during one weekend can be a real challenge. The final solution, though, seems to be easy. Y’all come back now, y’ hear?

Marcia Biggs is a freelance travel writer living in Safety Harbor.