A February Afternoon at the Vineyards

There’s not much better than waking up on a Saturday morning in February to a forecast of seventy degrees and sunny, especially when it is also wine club member pick-up day at Raffaldini, our favorite North Carolina winery.  But enough about Raffaldini, I have already boasted about their product in a previous blog.  All I can say is if you live in North Caroling or find yourself heading North or South on I-77 through this great state, you should stop in.  Our path that day extended beyond Raffaldini as it was a perfect day for winery hopping in Yadkin Valley, an hour north of Charlotte.

Raffaldini Vineyard and Winery

Our first stop was at Raffaldini to pick up our winter shipment of 3 bottles of Mezzogiorno, 2 bottle of Bella Misto, and 1 bottle of Girasole; participate in a member exclusive wine and food pairing; and listen to the winemaker talk about our shipment and the future of this beloved winery.  I can’t wait to dive into the Girasole, a dry rosé.  But the winemaker suggested aging it until around July.  Damn.  What I tasted in February was already good.  I can’t wait until July.

Raffaldini Winemaker Kiley Evans Lectures the Crowd

Our next stop was a long time not yet blogged about favorite – Laurel Gray Vineyards.  I remember my first visit to Laurel Gray.  The book cover judgment was unimpressive.  The tasting room is housed in what resembles a double wide barely feet from the road.  The interior was filled with potpourri and good ole country frills.  I couldn’t imagine anything other than sweet terrible wines – the kind that will give you a headache that lasts for days from the sugar.  The product however proved to be quite impressive.  They focus their wines to mirror French varietals, and for them, it works.  Yet, I noticed that I rarely find myself bringing home more than a bottle or two of their wines.  The reason?  Their product is just too dang expensive.  Compared to the rest of the wineries, they tend to be $5 more per bottle.  Don’t get me wrong, they make great wines, but at the prices they charge I can buy a much better bottle at the grocery store from other regions of the world.  On previous visits, the owner has talked about why his prices are higher.  The winery is small and they intend to keep it that way.  If I am remembering correctly, only about 25% of the land is planted with grapes and the rest is dedicated to soy beans.  I am all for buying local, but not when the quality doesn’t merit the price.  After all, when I pop open a bottle of North Carolina’s finest at a dinner party and it isn’t up to snuff with the meal I am making; well, the price of buying local is lost in translation.  Long story short, if you plant it; they will drink it!

Laurel Gray Vineyards

Of particular interest at Laurel Gray, I really like the Sultry.  It’s a perfect wine for BBQ.  It’s smoky little number with a bit of spice to its medium bodied red fruits – a very unique blend.  Their other two red blends are also notable – Scarlet Mountain and Windsor.  Both are very well balanced with the Scarlet Mountain being more fruit forward.  Of the three, I liked Windsor the best, but it wasn’t worth the price.  My wife liked the cabernet but I thought it was just okay like the rest in North Carolina.  The Chardonnay was definitely a crowd pleaser amongst Chardonnay fans, but the Viognier was not as good as previous vintages.

I think I’ll head that way towards Hanover Park Vineyard

A Little Front Porch Sippin’ – Hanover Park porch

Next we headed to two wineries we had not visited before – Hanover Park and Brandon Hills.  Hanover Park was cute.  The best words I can come up with to describe their wines are local and homemade.  That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t suggest stopping in on a wine tour.  In my opinion, unless the wine is made from Niagara or Concord grapes or resembles vinegar, it is worth sampling.  I actually think their Viognier could be something special, but they added oak to it.  The tannins from the barrels do not blend with the fruity nature of this white that grows so well in NC.  We came away with a bottle of Chambourcin and Michael’s blend (Cab, Cab Franc, and Merlot).  The Chambourcin is very typical of the region – medium bodied with a bit of a spicy finish.  The Michael’s Blend was a little too fruit forward for me but I’ll find a meal to pair it with.  We also tried the 1897 blend.  It was good but once again, like at Laurel Gray, not worth the price.

Hanover Park Vineyard

We ended our day at a new found favorite, Brandon Hills Vineyard.  We were feeling rebellious and went for the full round robin tasting – all ten wines.  It was well worth the time and money.  The tasting room itself is pretty new and nicely finished in wood, copper, and stone with a giant saltwater fish tank.  The tasting counter itself is actually a bar with stools.  This is a nice feature since most wineries force you to stand like the winery wants you to taste and run.  Here, we felt welcomed.   But, as previously pointed out, looks can be deceiving.  Bring on the wine!

Brandon Hills Vineyard

Brandon Hills Tasting Room

Finally, I sampled my first killer Viognier for the day.  I am not much of a white fan, but I have a spot in my heart for a well-produced Viognier, a French grapes that particularly well in North Carolina.  It was florally with hints of peach and apricots and, to my surprise, a very minute root beer undertone.  It worked: I bought a bottle.  And the reds, they got better with each wine from the Barbera to the Merlot to the Raptor Red Blend.  The smoothness of the Raptor impressed us and we added this bottle to our cart as well.  The blend is a mix of Cab Sauv, Merlot, Cab Franc, Petit Verdot, and Viognier.  Plus, some proceeds go the North Carolina Raptor Center.  They also had a dessert wine worth mentioning (I am not a dessert wine fan).  The Amaretto Amore is a red blend infused with Ameretto flavoring to create a truly unique wine.  The winery owner was present and served us homemade chocolate Crème Brule with it.  Yum.

Brandon Hills Tasting Bar – A Welcoming Wine Room!