Back to Yadkin Valley Wineries Part 2

The first winery we visited for tastings on Sunday was Brushy Mountain Winery in downtown Elkin, NC. This tasting room is in the old Elkin canning company building and they base their wine labels on the old canning labels.  This is actually a really nifty spot, with a pretty bar and inviting seating/conversation area.  The most interesting thing is the exposure of old ads on the interior brick wall that was uncovered during their renovation of the building.  They offer different prices for the level of tasting you want to do and one level includes option to keep the glass.

• Foothills Folly Renovation Rosé – sparkling rosé, cherry, crisp, nice acidity, very light, not too sweet, good
• Chardonnay – steel and oak aged, very light, green apple, pear, good
• E&A Red – named for railroad, Chambourcin, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon blend, nice tartness, mellow, pretty decent
• Bugaboo Creek Red - Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon blend, very nice, mellow, good fruit, decent/mild tannins, like
• Red Bud Ridge Red - Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Chambourcin blend, dark fruits, berry, a little jammy, good mouthfeel
• Chatham Reserve Red - Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Chambourcin and Cabernet Sauvignon blend, more oaky than others, more tannic, dry
• Pour Mon Amour - dessert wine, port style

Uncovered Ads

Something to note is that Elkin Creek, Grassy Creek, Brushy Mountain and McRitchie are part of the original four wineries in this area and they offer a visitor "punch" card.  After you have done tastings at all four wineries you can return to any of one them for a free tasting. This offer never expires and we have collected 3 of the 4 "punches" over the last year and a half. We have actually already visited all four but when we were at Grassy Creek we were with a wine tour group and didn't know about the punch card.

The second stop for tastings was Adagio Vineyards. Adagio is operated by a husband and wife team with a significant interest in music because the wife is a classical violinist. Hence the name of the group and nearly all their wines being based on musical terms  The tasting room is set up to allow for musical performances which we got to experience in the form of a violin duet during our visit. Do not recall the tasting fee but did get to keep the glasses which are a very pretty stemless version.  Please note this place is brand new and I am sure the wines will better develop over time.

• Chardonnay (steel tank) – crisp, light, buttery, light oak, good
• Vivace – Traminette with a trace of Chardonnay, oily mouthfeel, some tart/sourness, citrus, green apple
• Chaconne – Merlot, Tannat and Petite Verdot blend and was described as “cherry, plum, smoke”, tasted sourness, empty, too light, not balanced
• Coda – dessert style made from Taminette, fruity, kiwi, good

Tasting room performance at Adagio

Final stop of the day was a revisit to Slightly Askew to re-taste some of their fruit wine options in order to stock up for summer beach outing.  Read about our previous visit here.  If you are looking for a nice fruit & real wine blend I think these are the best in NC and my favorites include Tattoo on the Beach (Banana Pineapple Viognier) and Drama Kween (Strawberry Banana Reisling Viognier).

Back to Yadkin Valley Wineries Part 1

Long time no blog...life gets busy. But as a promise to those who do ask about our winery visits I am back in the writing chair again to add notes about our Summer 2014 Wine Weekend. As a reminder, tasting notes that indicate “like” are wines that are better than typical NC flavors.

We had enjoyed the area of Elkin, NC in the past and decided there were enough wineries we still had not visited that we could certainly do another long weekend.

First up was what ended up being our favorite winery visit of the trip: Jones von Drehle Vineyards & Winery. The grounds are beautiful! We enjoyed the scenic drive through the property to get to the tasting room which has a lovely patio with lots of seating to enjoy the views. It was $8 to taste 8 wines and they give you a pretty glass as part of the deal. We thoroughly enjoyed our tasting for the interaction of the staff as well as the wine being good. Dan, nicknamed Lama-Dan due to his superior laminating skills of winery materials, was a joy to chat with and he snuck in an extra taste or two when hubby and I picked different wines to try. Chloe, lovable winery dog, was a sweet, welcoming addition.

This winery was also one of the ones that seems to have food truck vendors available on a decent basis but we missed timed our stop and didn't get to experience the food truck. It is a nice spot for a leisurely snack or lunch so we will certainly return to this vineyard on future visits.

• Tempranillo – plum fragrance, light tannins, good 
• Cabernet Franc – raspberry and violet notes, mild, tart, mellow in a good way, like 
• Merlot – currant flavors, good mouth feel, light, mellow, well balanced, good 
• Rock & Rail – Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot blend – like a Bordeaux style blend, good mouth feel, well blended, really nice, really liked (shared a couple of glasses after tasting) 
• Petit Verdot – hard to describe, the tannins were too green, needs aging, good 
• Rosa Dia – Provence style Rosé, light, fresh, drinkable, not sweet, very refreshing, like 
• Viognier – apricot, crisp, not very sweet, light, very refreshing, really like 
• Petit Manseng – acidic, heavier mouth feel, good 
• Old Railroad Red – Cabernet Franc and Merlot blend – not overly sweet but very much like a Lambrusco wine, was described as being for the person not sure if they want a sweet or dry wine. 

View from patio at Jones von Drehle

Next stop was MenaRick Vineyard & Winery. This is another possible picnic destination that was also gearing up for food during our visit but weren't quite ready to serve before we left. This winery uses the Spanish and Portuguese style of winemaking. A tasting is $8 with a stem-less style glass to keep. For those who are fans of the Portuguese style Vino Verde they have plans to release NC first’s attempt at this wine in the near future by picking chardonnay grapes early. They were out of several of their blends during our visit.

• Albarino – tasted both chilled and room temperature. Chilled could pick up on the citrus more, tart; room temperature it tasted more fruity, a little tart overall, good 
• Chardonnay – crisp, minor bourbon flavor due to yeasts used, butterscotch flavors, ok 
• Grenache – spicy, can smell the spices, clean, refreshing, good fruit, very enjoyable 
• Touriga Nacional – bold, very port like 
• Merlot – empty, tad light 
• Syrah – a bit sour, good mouth feel, good level of pepperiness, ok 
• Peach – chardonnay with added fruit, not too sweet, very light, very nice 
• Raspberry – great flavor, fizzy, fruity, refreshing, not too sweet, really liked 
• Blackberry – very fruity, tad sweet, good, tasted again with lemon to get a sweet/tart reaction

View at MenaRick

Final stop for the day was to revisit McRitchie where we bought a bottle each of their ciders.  Read about our tasting here back in 2013.