Wineries in the state have grown five-fold in the last decade and grape acreage has more than doubled, according to statistics from the N.C. Department of Agriculture Consumer Services. There are now over 100 wineries and more than 400 vineyards in the state, making North Carolina among the top five destinations for wine travelers and creating an annual economic impact of over $1.25 billion. And, of course, Polk and Henderson counties are within easy drives of the nation’s most visited winery, established in 1985, at Asheville’s Biltmore Estate.
When Dennis Lanahan wanted to establish a vineyard somewhere in North Carolina in the late 1990s, he visited Biltmore and spoke with the vineyard manager there who, he said, recommended Tryon or Hendersonville because of their thermal belt climates that are favorable to grape cultivation. Lanahan said that Biltmore’s manager also told him, “If you grow grapes, we’ll buy them.”
Lanahan found land in the Pea Ridge Road area of Tryon and, in 2001 cleared acreage for what would, a year later, become Mountain Brook Vineyards. He planted 7½ acres, and, this summer, introduced his first vintage of Chardonnay, with vintages of Pinot Grigio, Petit Verdot and a Bordeaux blend to
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