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March 2005-March 2006
Opening Day
Our tasting room opened March 5, 2005 offering five red wines and four white. Opening day
was the kick off for our outstanding new adventure. We had tremendous support from family and
friends. Over 350 loyal friends participated in opening festivities and purchased our wines.
Highlights
Accomplishments through the year included hosting birthday parties, bridal showers, individual
wine experiences with tastings of our wines and tours of our vineyard and winery. Visits from
special groups were highlights. The various points of origin of our guests were amazing. Guests
came from: California, Texas, Ohio, New Jersey, Michigan, Scotland, Japan and even Puerto Rico.
Our Wine
Our wine is fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks to develop unique individual verital fruit
flavors. We do not use oak barrels or oak chips as a means to flavor or age our wines. Only six
months into the year we had sold out of five of our nine original wines. Carolina Springtime was
added in early summer and lasted only a short time before it too was sold out. Our quantities
were small coming only from our 2 acre vineyard. Blackberry, Strawberry and Cabernet
Sauvignon were bottled late in the year. Strawberry and Blackberry wines are made totally from
locally grown fruits. No grape wines or artificial flavors are blended into our strawberry dessert
wine and our off dry Blackberry wine.
Haw River Wine Trail
Organizing the Haw River Wine Trail was a significant accomplishment and an economic boost
for each of the five participating wineries. There is strength in numbers. The sharing of ideas and
advertising costs plus steering visitors to our fellow trail members increased the exposer for all of
us.
With the Burlington Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Alamance County Cooperative
Extension as sponsors the Haw River Wine Trail applied for a Golden Leaf Foundation Grant.
Approval was received for the education segment of our proposal and for research to apply for
distinguishing this area along the Haw River as an American Venticultural Area (AVA).
Numerous sessions are planned for the coming year to help anyone interested in learning more
about growing wine grapes and other aspects of the wine industry. Topics, times, dates and
location will be announced soon.
