While on our Fall Family Trip to North Carolina, we spent an afternoon at Banner Elk Winery. Banner Elk Winery is a small, local family owned winery that uses no pesticides on their grapes and uses only local ingredients. The winery is adjacent to a 25 year old blueberry farm – the blueberries are used to create their award winning Blueberry Ice Wine.
Mr. Sweet Greens and I sampled several different wines; Marechal Foch, High Country Rose, Seyval Blanc, Chardonnay, Banner Elk Red and Banner Elk White. We were interested in finding a few wines that would compliment Thanksgiving dinner and I was really focused on the whites – since they are my favorite!
The three wines that we fell in love with were, the Marechal Foch, a Cabernet Hybrid developed to grow at high altitudes and withstand cold winters. It is very fruity and will pair well with Thanksgiving dinner. The High Country Rose which is more off-dry with a fruity flavor – a Bronze Medal Winner. And the Seyval Blanc made from Appalachian Mountain grown French-American hybrid grapes, this wine is dry with citrus overtones – another Bronze Medal Winner. We picked up a bottle of each to serve with Thanksgiving dinner.
I really wanted to try the North Carolina Ice Wine, it’s a rare dessert wine made from Seyval Blanc grapes that have frozen while still on the vine. It’s a sweet, full-bodied wine, I think it would have been my favorite. Samples were not available since the North Carolina Ice Wine is super popular and they only had three bottles left.
During our visit, we were lucky enough to experience some of the grapes being pressed – Eben enjoyed a sample of the fresh grape juice. He also loved running around the beautiful grounds with Noodles and playing with another little boy visiting the vineyard. The property is amazing, complete with a lovely porch to sit on as you admire the beautiful trout pond, mountain ridge and vineyard. There is also a lovely Villa on the property that is perfect for weddings, honeymoons or family retreats.
+ Banner Elk Winery | 60 Deer Run Lane, Banner Elk, NC 28604 | 828.260.1790
