This year has been trying, for everyone. We have friends, Ashley and Jed, with whom we’ve traveled with before. While we’ve talked and chatted, we have not seen them since the before the pandemic shut down. So we planned a trip to North Carolina to see them.
Jed and Ashley
Now Jed is a Steeler’s fan, as you can see. No one is perfect and we don’t hold that against him. Ashley is bubbly and always has a smile. They always light up a room. And they both like wine and they travel up north from their home every few months to visit several of the wineries near the Blue Ridge.
They wanted to show off their favorites to us. While looking for a place to stay, Teresa found a cabin (Old farm House) at Carolina Heritage Vineyards that had two bedrooms, perfect for two couples. Now, there were hotels around, but if you look, many wineries have cabins too. It is nice to wake up in the morning and step out onto your porch and enjoy the view.
Time to relax
We set off for a long weekend. We were so excited to see each other again. We got in on Friday evening. Most of the vineyards were closed and after the drive, we just wanted to sit and relax and catch up. We still needed to grab a few groceries and dinner. We stopped at Speedy Chef and then hit the Walmart before heading “downtown” for drinks.
Our “cabin” was actually a converted farmhouse and the owners were super nice, and they had a dog. Neither Teresa nor I had stayed in a vineyard/winery before and did not know what to expect. The farmhouse was roomy and comfortable.
We got up the next morning, got our coffee, and watched the sunrise. It was calming to be in the mountains again and see the clouds drift in and out of the valleys. As each of us got up and about, Jed cooked breakfast for us and we got dressed to head out.
They call this God’s country
Enjoying the peaceful fall colors
Our first stop was the town of Elkin. It looked much different in the day than it had the night before. It is a relatively small town and knows how to host tourists in the evening. During the day, though, it had a mountain town feel. We walked around seeing the waterfall, the old church and took a “peaceful” break.
Selfie at Jolo
Our next stop was Jolo. Not all wineries require reservations, but this one did. It is rated #1 of the top 7 wineries (outside of California) on TripAdvisor, a fact they are very proud of. JW, the owner, was all about meeting his guests and showing off his food, his service, and his wines. There is a reason they are number 1.
We stopped here for lunch. Now I personally am not a huge wine drinker. I tend to like sweet wines and not dry ones. I don’t normally get a glass with a meal, usually reserving it for after we are done. It is just my palette I guess. I did learn something here at Jolo though. We had a glass of “Crimson Shadow” at lunch and while drier, it was still good. I found I liked the taste as we were eating. After lunch, was our actual wine tasting. What was nice was they let Teresa and I share the tastings. When I took a sip of it alone, I did not care for it as much. I guess that is what they mean when they say “pairs nicely with…”.
Our lucky number
Our next stop was Hidden Vineyard. The place, while “hidden” was lovely. While they were out of season, they had sunflower plants “drying” that we taller than Jed.
Now as I said, while my travel mates enjoy wine, it is not something I go out of my way for. I will try various types, but it does not matter if they are red or white, sparkling or still, if it is dry I tend to shy away. I think Jed took this as a challenge to find one that I would like.
While we were here, there were three other people at the “bar” tasting. We were talking with the person behind the bar and the owner. I thought I heard Christmas music and then someone’s phone went off. Then we hear someone cry out for help. It was not them, but someone stuck in the bathroom. Seems the door, a barn door on a rail got unseated and stuck and this woman could not get out. Several of us got up and we moved the door around and got it back on the track and got her out. As she emerged, she had tried calling and texting her friends. I told her that we were sorry, that I knew she was expecting some big burly fireman to come to her rescue, but it was just us. We laughed and she thanks us. She and her friends went their way, and then it was time for us to go on ours.
Next on the wine trail was Stony Knoll Winery. Again, Jed et all was determined to find a wine I would like. As we got out of the car, we smelled the scent of fresh fire. Outside the tasting room was a porch with an outdoor fireplace and it was going. Still, the weather outside was lovely with a moderate temperature (70’s) and clear blue skies. The leaves were not at their peak, we think we were about a week early. Still, it was fall and something Teresa and I had not seen in years being from Florida.
Getting ready to tour the vineyard in style
Once inside, we saw the two couples we had seen at the last winery. My being the outgoing person I am, I went over to tease them about us following them around. We all laughed and they said it was not uncommon. We chatted some more and when I returned to our table, Teresa had already gotten our flight. There was also some cheese and crackers to cleanse the pallet I am told. Jed had suggested one of the wines on our flight to be an “Ardella” and said he was sure I would like it. Well, he was not wrong. It was good, as was their mulled wine. Jed and Ash knew the owner and he offered to show us his vineyard in style. He shows off his vines, his 150-year-old pear trees, where he wants to expand, and more.
Good times, good times, good friends
Our final stop of the day was at Haze Grey Vineyards. Our “tour” from before had taken us past it and they have a nice wrap-around porch on their tasting room with live music being performed. This vineyard is dedicated to the military and their families.
As we walked around the porch to go inside, those same couples were sitting there enjoying the music. We just looked at each other and smiled. One of them said they had seen us in the 4×4.
Here I tried a wine slushy. Yes, it is not a “traditional” way to drink wine, but Becky gave me a sample of the chocolate one, and well, it was CHOCOLATE. Granted, it was made with a Merlot, but it was good.
Jed and Ash wanted to “vet” the places they took us to. They did not want us to have a bad experience, and I get that. But, we agreed that we would try this place called “Prime Thai“. They were renovating the inside so they had no dining room, so we got it to go and we went back to the cabin. Teresa was so exhausted after dinner that she fell asleep on the couch. Ashley, Jed, and I just sat and chatted for a few hours. It was nice to be able to talk about things, philosophies, games, people, places we have been or want to go.
Sunrise
The next morning, we got up and again, enjoyed the views of the sunrise. We got dressed and headed out for breakfast. This time we went to BreakfastTime. This was unremarkable, in my opinion. The wait was long, the service was mediocre and the food was about the same. Both Ashley and I ordered a platter with French Toast. I am not sure that they served us, but it was NOT “french toast”. Still, the rest was okay and we headed out to our next stop, Jones Von Drehle.
The Amphitheater
Jones Von Drehle winery was beautiful. They were building/expanding to have an entertainment center/amphitheater with seating for over 800 people. We got there on a special day. It was Chloe’s 13th birthday. Chloe is the dog and is so sweet.
As for the tastings, maybe it was because of the morning, or the breakfast, or the fact that most of the wines on our flight were dry, but none appealed to me. That is not to say they were not good (my travel mates liked them), they were not just for me. Still, the crisp and clean air was marvelous and I would love to come back when the amphitheater is open.
Jed wanted us to try McRitchie next. They do more than wines, but also do ciders. Now ciders I can get into. We get there and they have two dogs on the property. We love dogs and they loved getting scritch-scratches from us. We ordered cider flights and sat on the front porch. Of the three, I found their cherry one to be the best, and the “original” was not bad either.
Now we could not STAY at Carolina Heritage Vineyards and not stop there for a tasting. CHV is an organic vineyard, and Starla made sure we had a good tasting. I liked their mulled wine the best, though the others were good too. We also snacked on cheese and crackers. And Ashley discovered something, the cheeseboard. It is a cutting board that uses a fine wire to cut thin slices of cheese.
One of Elkin Winery’s finest pizzas
At Elkin Winery, they have good food
Finally, it was time to head to Elkin Creek Vineyard for dinner and wine. Nestled in the valley along the Big Elkin Creek, their kitchen offers some gourmet-style flatbread pizzas and other fresh offerings. Everything here was good and I found the wines to go well with the meal (again, something called pairings).
Elkin Creek
Memory stones (we found several)
After dinner, we drove around to Elkin Creek and explored the area.
It was picturesque, the creek, the old gristmill, the wedding arch. While walking, we even found some “memory stones”, rocks painted or written on and left in memory of someone loved.
We headed back to the cabin and as we drove up, we noticed the door open in the tasting room. It was clearly after hours. We stuck our heads in and the owners were relaxing. They invited us in and we chatted for a bit before retiring for the evening.
Monday came too soon. We all agreed we need to get together for more trips, or just to see each other. Ash and I talked about us all doing a trip to Italy and are working on plans for that in two years (major trips take time to plan). In the meantime, may some weekend trips or conventions can be put on our calendars.
Wonderful friends
