Our Vineyard & Winery Operations
3,300 Elevation
Located at an elevation of 3,300 feet (the inspiration for our 3300 label series), overlooking the profile of Grandfather Mountain, and nestled on a 58°slope lies our estate hillside vineyard. Our vines were first planted in 2003 and have been growing strong across five acres ever since. The distinctive terroir, including the challenging level of elevation, creates a flavor profile unlike any other in the grapes grown here.
Sourcing Local
Since our inception in 2011, we have worked with growers from coast to coast to bring our patrons a wide selection of wines. Currently, we source roughly 65% of our grapes from the High Country and surrounding counties and roughly 35% come from out west. We built our new winery facility in 2022 which houses our tank room and barrel room. This is also where all the winemaking occurs. On our crushpad we have our crusher/destemmer and 2 different presses. The smaller of the two is ideal for small batch lots while our newer and larger press can process up to 3-4 tons at a time which has proven to be a helpful upgrade for us as we tackle the busy season of harvest. This past harvest (2024) we processed over 100 tons of grapes. Our new winery facility was built so that we can grow to 10,000 cases within the next few years. As it stands, we are currently producing around 6500 cases of wine.
What We Grow
While we are unable to grow all the grapes that you see on our menu, we do make our wines from grape to bottle right here on our property. Although yields of our true mountain fruit are typically smaller, our estate hillside vineyard is home to many different varieties of grapes. The lower and upper sections of our hillside vineyard consist of French American Hybrid grapes (Traminette, Vidal Blanc, Chambourcin, etc) while the middle is mostly Pinot Gris & Chardonnay. Still, our climate and size make it impossible to grow everything but you’ll find the grapes grown here maintain an unparalleled flavor and hold their own in blends with more well-known grapes.
Appalachian High Country AVA
An American Viticultural Area (AVA) is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States distinguishable by geographic features, with boundaries defined by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) of the United States Department of the Treasury.
The Appalachian High Country was recognized as an American Viticulture Area (AVA) in 2016. There are less than 200 AVA’s in the country! The Appalachian High Country AVA is a large 2,400 square-mile area spanning eight countries and three states.
Our Appalachian High Country AVA offers unmatched elevation, unparalleled flavors, and unique history. More than half of the vineyards in this AVA are located at or above 3,000 feet in elevation. Most of these vineyards are planted on slopes, meaning the majority of the work is done by hand opposed to machinery. With an elevation of 3,300 feet and our estate hillside vineyard, our flavor profile is unlike any other. Our fruit tend to be smaller in size and grown in areas with cooler climates and strong winds. The wind stress makes for a stronger vine, allowing grape skins to be thicker, adding more tannins and bolder flavors. With a total of 21 vineyards and 10 wineries in The Appalachian High Country AVA, each has their own story, wines, and ambiance. Our family-owned business started planting vines in 2003, opened the winery in 2011 and creating wine from grape to bottle on the property ever since.
Sparkling Wine Country
Through trial and error we’ve learned that hybrid grapes grow extremely well in the cooler climate and wines often end up with high acidity and bold fruit flavors. We think the High Country provides the perfect growing environment for grapes such as Chardonel, Vidal Blanc and Traminette. While these grapes are not commonly seen in sparkling production they make wonderful alternatives to a traditional style Champagne. Our winemakers foresee our AVA being known as sparkling wine country in coming years and thus we have been focusing our efforts on crafting sparkling wines with the perfect balance of acidity and sweetness. Currently, we produce 6-7 different sparkling wines a year made with hybrid grapes. These wines range from dry to sweet and white to rosé. Our Tasting Room Manager always says “ If there’s bubbles in your glass, it’s a good day!.”
