Herrera Vineyards French Broad Vignerons Expands

Fall 2015 WineArt &Food Onthe VineCarolina Wine Country News Welcome to Herrera Vineyards Harvest season in the Yadkin Valley French Broad Vignerons expands OnTheA publication of the Elkin Vine Tribune contents 3 Calendar of events Worldly wines, local flavor 4 at Little River Vineyards 8 Welcome to 8 Herrera Vineyards 12 Winery Index Harvest season 15 in the Yadkin Valley French Broad 18 Vignerons expand 19 Celebrate the season Hikers celebrate 15 20 new trail Winemaker’s Corner: EDITOR North Carolina, Wendy Byerly Wood 22 ahead of the curve CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Kitsey Burns Harrison Jennifer Sanders ADVERTISING DIRECTOR On the Holly Lamm ADVERTISING INQUIRIES Cover 336-835-1513 The juice from CALENDAR OF EVENTS harvested grapes at [email protected] Shelton Vineyards Fall 2015 Fall | is pumped into On The Vine giant tanks to begin 214 E. Main St. the fermentation Elkin, NC 28621 process. On The Vine is published quarterly Photo by Kitsey Burns by Civitas Media LLC. Harrison | On The Vine On The Vine | 2 Calendar of Events Oct. 25 to 3:30 p.m. Make four decorative orna- Drive, Elkin, will host Adagio Art • Adagio Vineyards, 139 Benge ments using a variety of materials and Coaster Class from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Drive, Elkin, will host Tasting Notes techniques. Class fee of $30 includes Participants will use their own photos from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. featuring live all supplies, instruction and a glass of to create custom tile coasters. Class fee music from violinists Suzy Perkins and wine. Advance registration required, is $30 and includes instructions and Jan Wahl. Jan will be playing one of class size limited. For information, visit materials to make four coasters and her hand-crafted violins and, after the www.adagiovineyards.com or call 336- a glass of wine. Advance registration performance, will demonstrate various 258-2333. required, class size limited. For infor- violin building techniques. Admission • Shelton Vineyards, 286 Cabernet mation, visit www.adagiovineyards.com is free. For more information visit Lane, Dobson, will host a murder mys- or call 336-258-2333. www.adagiovineyards.com or call 336- tery dinner at 6:30 p.m. with reserva- Nov. 21-22 258-2333. tions required. For more information, • Shelton Vineyards, 286 Cabernet Oct. 30 visit www.sheltonvineyards.com or call Lane, Dobson, will a holiday open • Weathervane Winery, 1452 Wel- 336-366-4724. house with free admission Saturday come-Arcadia Road, Lexington, will • Weathervane Winery, 1452 Wel- from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from host Halloween at the Winery with come-Arcadia Road, Lexington, will noon to 5 p.m. Also on Saturday at 6:30 Mark Tuttle of Boogie Nights. For more host its annual chicken stew and car p.m., a flavors of fall dinner will be held information, call 336-701-5235. show from noon until with free admis- with reservations required. For more Nov. 7 sion. For more information, call 336- information, visit www.sheltonvine- • Adagio Vineyards, 139 Benge 701-5235. yards.com or call 336-366-4724. Drive, Elkin, will host Adagio Art Nov. 8 Christmas Ornament Class from 12:30 • Adagio Vineyards, 139 Benge Continued on page 11 discover Devel ism opm r e ou n T t le A il u v t s h e o n r i t o y J Jonesville THE JONESVILLE WELCOME CENTER I-77 at Exit 82, in The Heart of the Yadkin Valley Tourism Specialists On Staff Monday-Saturday 8:30AM-8PM & Sundays 1PM-8PM - providing a wealth of information on the Yadkin Valley, its Wine Region and more! For more information, call the Jonesville Welcome Center at (336) 835-2000 On The Vine 336-835-6000 336-526-6777 336-835-9400 336-835-1994 336-835-3609 Go Anywhere – Stay Here! | Fall 2015 Fall 2015 | 00735244 3 Worldly wines Racking up bottles local flavor and awards, Little River matures with age By Jennifer Sanders For the Daily Journal MOUNT GILEAD — When entering the gates of the Little River Vineyards and Winery, the enchanting vineyards immediately steal the spot- light. Countless rows of different grapes make up the lush landscape. Vineyards grow on either side of the long gravel driveway that leads to a his- toric house perched at the top of a hill in the Uwharrie A row of award-winning wines sit on the bar of the tasting room at Little River Winery. Mountains. Little River Vine- yards is full of rustic elegance and charm. John Georgius fell in love with the rolling, panoramic views of nature’s artwork. Georgius enjoys the outdoors, so he purchased 330 acres in Mount Gilead for hunting, fishing and the sheer enjoy- ment of the vast countryside. It was his passion for travel that led to his big dream of growing his own vineyard on that same land. A sign points visitors in the direction of the It was Georgius’ passion for vineyard’s tasting room. travel that introduced him to an unlimited variety of wines from different parts of the world. “His taste buds sparked at all the different flavors created Fall 2015 Fall | depending the on the grapes that were grown in different regions,” said Kim Ballenger, Georgius’ daughter. Ballenger’s father said Casey Mabe holds a goodbye to his lucrative and bottle of Infusion, which On The Vine won an award at the lofty career as an investment | 2009 Dixie Classic Fair. 4 banker and started growing grapes on his newly purchased WANT TO GO? property in 1991. Georgius Little River Vineyards and Winery could be called the founder at 1907 N.C. 73 W., Mount Gilead, is of Little River Vineyards and open year-round. Visitors can stop in Winery, which now sits on from 10 am. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays 1,350 acres. through Saturdays and 1-6 p.m. Sundays. Visit www.littleriverwines. Ballenger is not just Geor- com for more information. gius’ daughter, but she’s also the senior winemaker at Little River. The grape truly makes the wine, and she says this vineyard plants the best These small chardonnay grapes should grapes around. be ripe for picking by September. Photos by William R. Toler | Daily Journal “The Chambourcin grape is found in France, but in the 1960s it became more avail- able in the United States and Argentina,” said Ballenger. “The red wine also bears the name of the Chambourcin grape, which has a herbaceous aroma and works well blended into spicy dishes. “Two popular grapes from France are the Cabernet Franc and the Cabernet Sauvignon. The Little River Vineyards are already growing grape hybrids, like the Traminette grape, which is a cross between a French-Amer- ican hybrid and the German Gewürztraminer. One reason we started growing hybrids is because we don’t have to use as many chemicals to treat the grapes, and that’s healthier for The house sitting on the property was built in the 1870s. our consumers.” The process of making wine can be lengthy but important. First, the thousands of red and white grapes are handpicked by the six employees working at Little River. First, the white grapes go into a machine employees call “the shaker,” to separate the seeds, rinds and stems from the actual grape. “The white grapes are put in a stainless steel tank to ferment. The red grapes are also thrown into the shaker, then On The Vine put into a French oak barrel to ferment,” said Casey Mabe, the on-site events coordinator. For special batches of wine, Kim Ballenger uses a tech- | nique most have probably Fall 2015 never even heard of. “We use the dry ice tech- nique to help slow down | fermentation, inhibit bacteria Casey Mabe points out the vineyard’s youngest grapevines, 5-year-old chardonnay grapes. 5 growth, maintain the quality of the grapes and ultimately enhance the organoleptic quality of our wines. A winemaker from Mendoza, Argentina introduced us to the tech- nique.” said Ballenger. Fermentation can take months, but when the wine is ready, it’s filtered numerous times before being bottled to sell. Little River has won several lofty awards for its outstanding wines. One of its best and most purchased red wines, Synergy, won a silver medal in the East Meets West Competi- tion in 2014. Synergy also picked up a silver medal in the 2013 Grand Harvest Competition. In 2010, Little River Chardonnay won a silver medal at the North Caro- A chandelier hangs inside the barn, lina State Fair. Ballenger which is used for wedding receptions. recently entered her Big John’s Red into the Women Wine Makers competition. The vineyards also offer A barn and lodge a picturesque backdrop on the property for weddings and other are rented out events. for wedding and “I have weddings com- hunting parties. pletely booked every weekend from September to November,” said Mabe. She also sets up ven- ues throughout the state to showcase the wines. Big John’s Wine Wagon is a one and only in the world, she said. The black 18-wheeler looks typical on the outside, but the inside is a different story. The truck has two bars with chairs, hardwood floors and a copper ceiling with a chandelier and a flat-screen TV. The history is as deeply Fall 2015 Fall | rooted as the grapevines. A portion of the property is now recognized by the National Register of His- toric Places, including the main house and the On The Vine | Powell-Brookshire Barn. One of the bedrooms inside the lodge at the vineyard sits ready for the bridal party of a weekend wedding.

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