Iron Gate Vineyards: We tasted all 14 selections at this site. Overall I would say that the wines here were very young tasting with more alcohol taste and not enough “flavor” or "body" behind that alcohol taste. So keeping that in mind our ratings are relative to the level of the wines at this location. The vineyard was only established in 2001 so I suggest visiting and or trying their wines in about 5 more years. The grounds of this location were absolutely beautiful and they had a very nice picnic spot.
- Brightleaf White (80% Viognier, 15% Sauvignon Blanc, and 5% Seyval Blanc) - very clean, bright, tart
- Sauvignon Blanc - had a granny smith apple taste and was tart
- Chardonnay - very light for a Chardonnay
- Pack House Red (70% Sangiovese, 15% Merlot, and 15% Chambourcin) - good, light, mild
- Merlot - mild with some pepper
- Chambourcin - heavier than Merlot and better, some spice
- Cabernet Sauvignon - strong, maybe better with age
- Country Blooming (Riesling) - bright but soft, good summer wine
- Rustic Blooming (50% Niagra, 50% Chambourcin) - sweet/sour, so not overly sweet
- Dixie Dawn (Sangiovese) - tastes of strawberry and would be a good sangria base
- Flue Fire (50% Niagra, 50% muscadine) - sweet
- Once In A Carolina Blue Moon (Traminette, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Seyval Blanc) - good mouth feel
- Green Apple - tasted like kool aid
- Blackberry - very nice, jolly rancher
Next on the trail was Glen Marie Winery in Graham, NC. We tasted all of their selections and classified this location as having lots of sweet wines. They do have a non-oaked Chardonnay which was somewhat interesting and pleasant. Sadly, of most appeal at this site were the two Alpacas: Twister and Willie, not their wines but this is another very young winery (2000) which should improve with time. The Daisy May wines are named after a dog that they had to give away.
- Chardonnay (no oak) - crisp
- Cabernet Sauvignon - light, good with chocolate
- Chambourcin - very good, very light
- Dallas Red (Blend of French Hybrids) - very dry, medium body but empty
- Sweet Marie (Blend of red and white wines) - sweet, not too cloy
- Carolina Springtime (Blend of red and white wines) - light, summer
- Summer Promise (Riesling based) - tasted like a Riesling
- Muscadine - not sweet, flavor of the grape but no sugar added
- Scuppernog - medium sweet, flavor okay, kind of tart
- Daisy May White - sweet
- Daisy May Red - peppery, maybe good for sangria
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| Twister and Willie |
Grove Winery near Burlington, NC was our next stop. This is one of those wineries where they limit your tasting to 6 wines but the vivacious host let us taste a lot more. When we thought we were limited in tasting I selected one white and a few reds and a dessert wine while Brad selected all six red wines. The wines overall were okay, not great. Again, they were relatively young and honestly a bit empty - not quite there yet. However, their Sangiovese is a very nice Super Tuscan style wine with a hint of spice. This location also had a non-oak Chardonnay which seems to be a trend in NC.
- Chardonnay (non oak) - tart, light
- Traminette 2006 (non-drought) - crisp, tart
- Traminette 2007 (drought) - fruity and sweet
- Dry Rose - very tart, dry
- Cabernet Franc - light, oaky
- Tempranillo - tart, young
- Merlot - good body with some pepper
- Norton (this is a native American grape) - medium body, tart and spicy
- Sangiovese - nice and spicy
- Rosso Dolce (blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauviginon and Niagara) - would be a good sangria base
- Symphony (blend, dessert style) - very metallic
- Nebbiolo (grape used in Italian Barolo wines) - dry
- Strawberry - very good
This primarily impacted the Yadkin Valley; however, some influence was also felt for vineyards near there. There was a late freeze in spring of 2007 that killed a lot of the traditional white wine grapes. For those lucky enough to have grapes that survived there was an notable difference in flavors and sweetness between 2007 and either the 2006 or 2008 whites such as Pinot Gris and Traminette. The 2007 Traminette wines were sweeter while the 2006 year wines were dry, almost tart. In the case of Pinot Gris the 2007 was very crisp while the 2008 was nice but not as crisp. And in many instances these very unique 2007 whites were quite limited in quantity owing to the yield loses during the freeze. After the freeze, 2007 was a very hot and dry summer which impacted the flavors of the red grapes in a very positive way. Many owners indicated that they felt their 2007 reds where the best they had ever made.
Stay tuned for Day 2 and more tasting notes.
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