We are thrilled to formally announce our newest wine competition.
The first North Carolina Mead-Cider-Fruit Wine Competition is scheduled for May 24th, 2021.
The inaugural North Carolina MCF Wine Competition will be held at The Lodge at Flat Rock.
The North Carolina MCF will seek to generate increased awareness of all North Carolina commercially licensed producers of Mead, Cider, and Fruit Wines!
Jenni and I have been working on this event for the last year are ready to share the news!
We are beyond thrilled to announce the North Carolina MCF is sponsored by the North Carolina Wine and Grape Growers Council.
Our Medal Design!
Stay tuned as we set out in the next few weeks to visit many North Carolina Mead-Cider-Fruit Wine producers and promote this exciting event.
North Carolina commercially produced Meads, Cider, and Fruit Wines, will be judged be highly qualified panels of certified judges. Meads by certified mead judges and ciders by certified cider judges.
Members of the Press, commercially licensed Producers, potential Sponsors, and even potential judges may contact us via email at WineryEscapades@Gmail.com for additional details pertaining to the first ever North Carolina MCF!
Entry forms are assessable at WineryEscapades.Com Click Here ➡️ NCMCF
Pickup of entries by us or our associates available in Western North Carolina, Greater Charlotte area, and in the greater Raleigh vicinity. Contact Dennis at 864-357-1435 to coordinate pickup.
We enjoyed a visit to Jeter Mountain Farm. An apple orchard just outside of Hendersonville, North Carolina. Perfect to coincide with North Carolina Cider Week!
Jeter Mountain Farm
Jeter Mountain Farm is only open during Apple Harvest season. The farm offers hayride tours of the orchards, a large event center, plenty of green space to spread out, a food truck on site, live music, freshly harvested apples and pumpkins, a farm/gift store, apple cider donuts, and a Hard Cider Tasting Barn!
The farm was extremely busy on our visit, yet with so much space it didn’t really feel overly crowded. Though I did have to stand in line for my cider tasting. I survived.
The cider poured is from Flat Rock Cider Company based out of Dana, North Carolina, just the other side of Hendersonville. The final cider is produced entirely from Jeter Mountain estate grown apples but still fermented at Flat Rock Cider Company. For $10 you get to taste all six ciders on tap and keep the commemorative logo cider tasting glass.
Flat Rock Cider Company
First pour was the Flat Rock traditional hard apple cider. This cider is not extensively filtered and there still looks as traditional fresh pressed apple cider. This one is semi-dry at 6% ABV. I enjoyed it and found it to be well balanced with crisp acidity. I would judge it high bronze to low silver.
The next pour was the Flat Rock Cranberry. This one is 6% ABV. Continuing with the lightly filtered process, this one does exhibit a beautiful cranberry color. The fruit is added after fermentation, yet this does cranberry justice. Nice nose and good flavor. I would score this one as a bronze medal winner.
Third pour was the Flat Rock Pineapple. Honestly, taste as if a keg of pineapple juice was dumped in a questionable batch of cider. It did have an expressive pineapple taste. 6% ABV. It probably drinks better on a hot summer day. I would not medal this cider.
The fourth pour was the Flat Rock Blackberry. Talk about extreme polar differences. The blackberry show perfect balance of tartness and Apple crispness. 6% ABV. This pour is the star of the show! I’d judge this one as a high silver medal winner.
Fifth pour of my tasting was Flat Rock Hopped Cherry. This one is fairly true to it’s description, hops are prevalent on the tongue with cherry detectable on the nose but not overpowering. I enjoyed this one and would judge it as a low silver medal winner.
The final pour of my tasting was the Jeter Mountain Farm original. Traditional cider produced from the estate blend of freshly pressed juice. This one a little hotter at 7.2% ABV. Shows nice crispness with a hint of tartness. This one drinks really easy. I’d judge it as a high bronze to low silver medal winner.
Freshly Harvested Apples
The entire farm makes for a fun outing. Perfect for families and cider lovers as well.
And what would a visit to an apple orchard be without apple cider donuts! They are making them fresh all day… and when purchased they are still hot! We took a half dozen home…after enjoying one freshly made hot donut right onsite!
Apple Cider Donuts Fresh and Hot Delicious Donuts!
A perfect Fall day get-away to an apple orchard in the mountains including hard apple cider, apple cider donuts, and purchasing freshly harvested apples.
Apple Orchard
While I am a certified competition judge for cider, admittedly I am not yet competition experienced as such a judge. That said, I’d highly recommend visiting Jeter Mountain Farm to partake in your own hard cider tasting of the offerings from Flat Rock Cider Company.
Non Vintage (on bottle) though of the 2019 harvest.
Tryon Foothills wine region of Western North Carolina.
Color of glimmering sunshine.
Bright expressive nose of pineapple, papaya, peach, tangerine, pink grapefruit, and banana,
Bright and full bodied.
Bold flavor profile of banana’s foster, grilled pineapple, papaya, freshly squeezed lemon, green melon, plantain, star fruit, and finishing with depths of wet stone and minerals.
14% ABV
That’s not a typo, 14% yet masterfully balanced by it’s crisp acidity.
Open for Business! Our Winery Escapades Store is open for business! WooHoo🍷🍷 Stocked with fun practical wine themed products, you can browse the entire store at the below link.
We can’t forget our teachers….and yes we certainly know during these challenging times our teachers need that wind-down wine time! This 12oz tumbler is a perfect gift for your educator friends or family members! ➡️↙️➡️↙️ I Teach Therefore I Wine
Last Saturday Jenni and I were fortunate to enjoy visiting our 150th North Carolina winery. Our number 150 was Pilot Mountain Vineyards.
Sure, that is certainly a lot of different wineries. The Website VisitNC.Com estimates about 200 plus different wineries across the state. Many that we have visited have closed over the years and of course new ones have opened. Therefore, not so easy to know an exact number operating at any given time. Nevertheless, we know there remain several for us still to explore.
Cupcakes commemorating 150
The very first North Carolina winery the two of us visited together was Burntshirt Vineyards in Hendersonville. Burntshirt will always have a special place in our heart. The toast wine in our wedding was the 2015 Meritage from Burntshirt.
But, more on number 150. We were greeted by owners Mark and Kari. We enjoyed a tasting at the 20 foot long bar. The owners just a few years back purchased the property, which has been a working vineyard for some twenty years.
View from the bar at PMV
The vineyard is six acres under vine consisting of eight different French Viniferous varietals. Our tasting included two Chardonnays, a Viognier, a cranberry infused blend, a Cab Franc Rosé, and I was pleasured to sample the estate grown Mourvèdre. We chose to enjoy a bottle of the Cab Franc Rosé and catch up with our friends and fellow bloggers Jennifer and Dathan of Triangle Around Town.
Triangle Around Town
Kari explained that last year with the threat of significant bad weather, the Cabernet Franc had to be harvested early. The juice just didn’t darken to their liking, so about ten percent Viognier was blended in to produce a Rosé. The result is a substantial Rosé with expressive red fruit on the nose and subtle earthy flavor notes balancing a crisp fruit finish.
The winery offers substantial indoor room and also outdoor patio seating. First, the view of Pilot Mountain is simply gorgeous. The winery also offers overnight accommodations in a bed and breakfast setting overlooking the lower vineyard. This one is a must visit in the Yadkin Valley.
Pilot Mountain
Along the way to one hundred and fifty, we’ve enjoyed many exciting adventures and met some of the greatest people. We met our great friends Will and Pam at Shadow Line Vineyard in Granite Falls.
Hanging with the Besties!
We’d be remiss not to mention a few of our favorites along the journey. Parker-Binns Vineyard in the Tryon Foothills is one we consider our home base. You can catch us there most Sundays. Mountain Brook Vineyards is likewise a favorite close to home. We loved our visit to Sanctuary Vineyards near the Outer Banks. Love the wine Sanctuary is producing. another fun trip we started near Jacksonville and visited many wineries as we drove back West across the state. Let us encourage you to grab a NC Wine Guide, download the VinoWineApp and start discovering on your own!
So forth we go, with number 200 in mind! We’ll see you on the wine trail!
Wine Competitions and Marketing! 