ICYMI: North Carolina Wineries Are the East Coast’s Best-Kept Secret
Craft beer has put North Carolina on the adult beverage map. With over 300 microbreweries and brewpubs, we stake claim to the largest craft beer scene in the South.
But there’s another ‘scene’ in NC that gets overlooked far too often: North Carolina wineries.
There are more than — get ready for it - 400 vineyards, and 200 wineries in the state.
Do you know how many grapes that is? A lot. It’s a lot of grapes.
Not only are there a lot of wineries; the wine is really good.
Here are just a few of the things that make the NC wine scene so special.
North Carolina isn’t just sweet wine, y’all
Thanks to a state divided into 3 regions, coastal, piedmont, and mountains, NC wine lovers can find an incredible range to choose from. There’s a perception that only sweet whites can be found fermenting in NC; this is absolutely untrue. You’ll find plenty of reds, whites, and blends, ranging from syrupy sweet to deliciously dry.
Perfect conditions for the perfect pour
North Carolina offers some of the most unique and special conditions for winemaking.
Case and point: Only areas with distinctive climates, soil, and elevations earn the prestigious designation of an American Viticultural Area. North Carolina is home to five of them, including Yadkin Valley — the state’s first AVA.
Even the most seasoned somm can find a North Carolina wine (or 12) to enjoy. They would also realize how special the ground on which they were standing is next sacred.
Meet your maker — your WINEmaker
Set foot into any tasting room in North Carolina, and you’re likely to find three things:
Incredible wine (obviously)
A small, intimate tasting room
The winemaker, personally meeting and greeting guests.
Wineries and vineyards here aren’t managed by big companies or groups who rarely pay visit. Wineries in NC are almost exclusively locally owned and operated, and it’s a pretty good bet that the owner is spending plenty of time on the property, watching their labor of love come to life and be enjoyed by guests.
Making wine approachable and fun
Again, most wineries and vineyards in NC are locally owned, and could be described as mom and pop shops.
And much like a mom and pop are more likely to make you feel welcome than a fancy, highbrow businessman, NC tasting rooms share a ‘drink as you are’ mentality. Winemakers want their wine to be enjoyed by all (who are 21 and older, of course) regardless of whether or not they know how to pronounce each and every blend or which nostril to smell with first.
North Carolina wineries offer a more approachable, casual, laid-back, fun experience; much like what you’d find at a microbrewery. Winemakers know you don’t have to know everything about wine to be able to enjoy it. Come, enjoy, and ask questions if you’re curious — but no pressure.
A community
Perhaps the most special thing about the NC wine scene? We’re truly all in this thing together. Wineries here want other wineries to succeed.
Winemakers and vineyard owners don’t see each other as competitors, but as community. Everyone is committed to the mission of making the NC wine experience incredible, and maybe someday, getting it on the map next to the microbrew scene.