Goin’ to Carolina in my Mind

Actually, I’m going on Saturday. We are attending a lovely little garden wedding in Chapel Hill, NC, on Monday. We had originally planned on just driving down on Sunday and returning on Tuesday. From here, that means driving to Lexington and hooking a left to West Virginia. However, I started thinking about this yesterday and decided that maybe we should hit something fun along the way.
I have always wanted to see the Biltmore Estate, so we’re headed there first. (That would go straight down to Tennessee and hook at right at Knoxville, I believe.) I’m excited. There is, after all, a winery there. After a little bit of research, I turned up the fact that the Biltmore Estate winery is the most visited winery in the U.S. It cheats a little, in my opinion. After all, if that gorgeous castle wasn’t there, I don’t know if it would be quite the tourist draw.

We’ll be visiting both the estate and the winery. I hope to bring back a couple of bottles – maybe Cabernet Franc – to drink for the upcoming Wine Blogging Wednesday dinner. It looks like their Cab Franc is their strongest North Carolina wine, although a few of their top tier bottles are North Coast California. I’m more interested in the North Carolina bottles. Tonite I may head over to the local Party Source, where I know they carry the wine. I imagine they only carry the table wine, but its worth checking.

I note that the winery is celebrating 21 years of being open to the public. (Vines were first planted in 1972.) To celebrate, they’re having seminars on a daily basis, including

Everyday is a Celebration: Uncork the pleasures of sparkling wine as we reveal how bubbly pairs perfectly with pizza, grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup, and more. Daily, 2:00 p.m.

After spending the day at the estate and winery, we’re in for another 6 hour drive to Chapel Hill. I’ll be back on Wednesday with stories of Biltmore Estate Wines. Let me know if you have any experience with North Carolina wine!

Technorati Tags: North Carolina Wine, Biltmore Estate

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3 Responses to “Goin’ to Carolina in my Mind”

1. Bonnie says:

   May 11, 2006 at 5:03 pm

   Cabernet Franc is one of my favorites! I have tried many from Washington (where I live) and especially love the one from Columbia winery. I look forward to hearing about the Biltmore Cab Franc.
2. Trish says:

   May 12, 2006 at 4:24 pm

   My family went to the Biltmore Estate a few years back and loved it. I wasn’t able to go, but I look forward to hearing about it – and the wine. I didn’t realize it was the most visited winery in the U.S. Great little bit of trivia.
   PS-Thanks for the link. I’m happy to reciprocate for another Ohio wine blogger.
3. john busteed says:

   May 15, 2006 at 6:15 pm

   Their wine is not half bad. I had one of their reds – can’t remember which one – but I really liked it.