We start our discussion on the Yadkin Valley in North Carolina with this great piece from Leisure Group Travel:

https://leisuregrouptravel.com/tasty-discoveries-await-travelers-in-yadkin-valley-wine-country/

Episode 0031:

Wine Reads – January 13, 2022

Winter was delayed here in the Finger Lakes, with a fairly wet but warm fall and early winter, by our standards at least, which lulled us into a sense of complacency. Yesterday, however, we had a high of 10° and we’re looking at a few days next week with lows in the negatives. Fortunately most of the vineyards look to be hilled up. In cold regions like this we have a practice called hilling up, where using our tractor, we take some of the dirt from under the vine and pull it up over the base of the vine in a mound. This is meant to protect the graft union, that portion of the vine where native roots stock is grafted onto vitis vinifera. This little bit of a dirt blanket, helps to protect the vine and that extremely susceptible and tender graft Union.  

As I mentioned in our previous wine reads, for the first time in many, many years, I’ve planned some trips, some expeditions to far-flung wind regions throughout the United States. I return on Friday from the Yadkin Valley, in North Carolina. I had the opportunity to taste with some truly remarkable producers. Farmers growing grapes in North Carolina face additional growing pressures I don’t really need to think about in the Finger Lakes, and are experimenting with varietals on a very wide scale. The sheer number of different vinifera varietals the folks are growing in North Carolina is impressive. A wide range of French grapes, Italian grapes, and even some Spanish grapes, are being successfully produced in this 1.4 million acre AVA. I have a full report that I’m working on that will be up soon.  Our look at North Carolina will start with a travelogue, both on our podcast and on our YouTube channel, which will examine the breadth in the variety that you will find in this particular corner of North Carolina. That report will be followed by several episodes of interviews with producers in the region. These producers are all very different, and all very unique. Each have their own special niche when it comes to the North Carolina wine industry.

Next week, I’m off to Texas Hill Country, and will be attending the Texas Hill Country Wine Symposium.  I’m really looking forward to sharing my thoughts on this region.

As I’ve mentioned countless times, but I’ll do it again for our new listeners, my wife is from Toulouse, in southern France. We visit her family as often as we can, and every time we do we always take several days, more if we can, and visit many of the different wine regions throughout the South of France. Places like Limoux, Madiran, Bergerac, Gaillac, Fronton, and dozens of other small wine regions that don’t necessarily appear on the radar of American wine drinkers. I’ve always loved an underdog story. I also love the authenticity that you find in small, particular places that are proud of their unique situation, and terroir. Likewise with American wine, I’m attracted to these frontiers. From places like Hermann Missouri, Michigan, Ohio, Idaho, and Pennsylvania, I simply love to explore what folks in our craft are doing in places that aren’t always top of mind for the average American wine consumer or distributor.

With that said, this week’s wine read is actually an older article, one I found when I wanted to provide a sort of and prologue to our upcoming episode on the Yadkin Valley. It’s a look at the region through the eyes of a journalist, and though it outlines some wineries I didn’t visit, and quite frankly some that weren’t even on my radar for my visit, one of the things that I have found in the aftermath of my visit to North Carolina, is that there is far too much that has not been on my radar in this state. It’s an interesting place, ideally situated to grow as a wine region, and one which I think will enter the larger conversation of American wine in the years to come. As American wine consumption becomes more mature, I think what we will begin to see is a bit of what we see when I visit Europe. People begin to learn the specific regions, the types of wines they produce throughout the continent, And select those wines for the appropriate food pairings. America is a great and large country, with so many different potential outcomes for the styles of wines people choose to make. 

To exploit the very best of what we have to offer in this country, we must dig deeper. I dream and see a time when we look at America for all of its diverse viticultural contributions. The point is this, we need to embrace the idea of what different regions in this country are doing well. We need to support these growers so that they continue to explore and figure out what it is their land can provide us with that best suits their place. Jqn 13, 121

Today’s Wine Reads is entitled “TASTY DISCOVERIES AWAIT TRAVELERS IN YADKIN VALLEY WINE COUNTRY.”  It comes to us via Leisure Group Travel.com, and was written by Randy Mink, Senior Editor.  The link is at the top of the show notes and right before the article below, so check out the article and support this publication.  

https://leisuregrouptravel.com/tasty-discoveries-await-travelers-in-yadkin-valley-wine-country/

Tasty Discoveries Await Travelers in Yadkin Valley Wine Country

CLUSTERED AROUND MOUNT AIRY, DOBSON, ELKIN AND OTHER TOWNS IN NORTHWESTERN NORTH CAROLINA ARE MORE THAN 45 WINERIES, EACH WITH THEIR OWN STORY TO TELL.

From a patio overlooking vineyards and the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, I drank in the scenery while savoring my flight of four craft beers from the tap, beers so tasty that I couldn’t decide which one I liked best.

That’s right, beer. Though my adult son and daughter chose to sample the wines of Round Peak Vineyards, I decided to go rogue and try beers brewed by sister company Skull Camp Brewing.

Touring North Carolina’s Yadkin Valley wine region last fall, we came to learn that each of its 45-plus wineries has its own personality and quirks, its own style of winemaking and a unique story to tell. Most of the wineries are small and family-owned. All offer a relaxing experience enhanced by an easy-going Southern hospitality.

The Yadkin Valley of northwestern North Carolina extends from the Virginia state line to south of Winston-Salem, encompassing both the Blue Ridge foothills and the Piedmont. From its headwaters near the Blue Ridge Parkway’s Thunder Hill Overlook, the Yadkin River flows more than 200 miles southeast into South Carolina, making it one of the longest rivers in North Carolina.

The valley’s terrain and climate are similar to those of France’s Burgundy and Italy’s Piedmont wine regions. Wineries in the federally designated Yadkin Valley American Viticultural Area (AVA), not surprisingly, specialize in French- and Italian-style wines. The dry loam soil is ideal for growing European varietals such as Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Tannat and Riesling.

Yadkin Valley’s wine industry took off in the 1990s and has really blossomed in the last 15 years. New wineries crop up all the time. Many of them occupy old farms that once raised grain, tobacco or cattle.

PAIRING WINES AND BEERS WITH A ROUND OF DISC GOLF

Round Peak Vineyards produces 10 French and Italian varietals, using only grapes grown on the 13-acre property, which is just outside of Mount Airy. It is the Yadkin Valley’s northernmost winery.

Perhaps Round Peak is best known for its Nebbiolo, a red wine made from an Italian grape rich in tannins. Owner Ken Gulaian said, “There’s only two of us that grow that grape in North Carolina because it’s a bit of a challenging grape to grow. It’s probably the grape with the most tannins, which a lot of people know are antioxidants.”

Round Peak Vineyards Wine Tasting on Outdoor Patio

Round Peak Vineyards. Credit: VisitNC.com/Sam Dean

From our perch on the terrace attached to the tasting room, we had views of Round Peak and Skull Camp mountains. Meandering through the vines is an 18-hole disc golf course with baskets constructed of retired wine barrels and recycled bicycle wheels. People can rent discs or bring their own.

At sunset we had a chance to walk around the vineyards before retiring to our four-bedroom house, one of two vacation rentals at Round Peak (available through Airbnb and VRBO). Amenities include a fully equipped kitchen, screened-in back porch, two baths and multiple televisions. The walls are adorned in wine-themed decor.

Both homes (“cabins,” as they’re called) sleep up to eight, an arrangement that works well for families or guys/girls getaways. While the homes certainly would not accommodate a motorcoach tour, Round Peak welcomes bus groups for tastings and tours.

Earlier in the day, we had spent time in Mount Airy, which plays up its claim as the hometown of actor Andy Griffith. Star attraction is the Andy Griffith Museum, and shops on Main Street deal in souvenirs related to “The Andy Griffith Show,” the classic 1960s TV sit-com about a sheriff in the sleepy Southern town of Mayberry. Squad Car Tours takes tourists around Mount Airy in restored vintage Ford Galaxies, the kind Andy and his fumbling deputy, Barney Fife, drove in the show.

A SHADE OF GRAY

Haze Gray Vineyards, on a former corn and tobacco farm near Dobson, pays tribute to America’s military. The tasting room, which opened in December 2019, is painted haze gray, the color of U.S. Navy