Asheville, North Carolina
Vineyards in Tobacco Country
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“We
have a river. We have a chateau. We have the land. We have no vineyard. Every
French chateau has a vineyard.”
–
William A.V. Cecil
When one thinks about drinking wine from America, you think
California, Washington State, or Oregon, though what few people do know, even
those living in the states, is that wine is grown and produced all over the
place, in all 50 states. When you think about wine growing in Europe the first
places that come to mind are France, Italy, and Germany, but what about Austria,
Croatia, Poland, Serbia, Greece, and so on. The same applies here with New
York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, Georgia, Texas, and North Carolina. There
are over 120 wineries in North
Carolina, but the focus for this article and review will be in Asheville, at
the Biltmore Estate Winery, one of
the more famous from this state. P.S., ignore the Georgia Wineries, though I
love Georgia, their wine tastes like shit.
Scroll down to read the main review
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Wine
Dine and Play’s ratings for wine:
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96 – 100
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Extraordinary
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90 – 95
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Outstanding
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80 – 89
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above average
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70 – 79
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below average
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60 – 69
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poor/appalling/ “Cac”
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Review basics:
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Wine, Dine, & Play’s Rating
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84/100 on the Riesling and chardonnay
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86/100 on the chardonnay
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90/100 on the cabernet
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Wines Produced
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Red: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet
Franc, Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, Malbec, Grenache, Petite Sirah, Red Blend,
Zinfandel, Tempranillo
White: Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Riesling,
Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Gewürztraminer, Rose,
Dessert: Malvasia, Moscato
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Grape Blends
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Red: Sangiovese and Merlot
White: Riesling, Gewürztraminer, and Muscat
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Current Vintage for 2014
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Reds: 2010
Whites: 2013
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Region Map
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North Carolina
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Regulatory
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ABV %
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14%
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Barrel Types
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New American oak
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Barrel Aging
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1 year
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Price chart:
$ - Under $50.00 USD
$$ - Over $50.00 USD
$$$ - Over $100.00 USD
$$$$ - Over $200.00 USD
$$$$$- Over $400.00 USD
Bottle
prices:
Currencies chosen reflect the world’s major wine producers and
buyers
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Wine Selction:
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Currency:
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Country:
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Price Chart :
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Biltmore Reserve Riesling
North Carolina 2013 (750 ml)
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$16.99
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United States Dollar (USD)
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$
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£10.13
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Great Britain Pound
Sterling (GBP)
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£
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€12.73
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European Union (EUR)
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€
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$18.61
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Canadian Dollar (CAN)
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$
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¥104.69
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Chinese Yuan (CNY)
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¥¥¥
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$18.34
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Australian Dollar (AUS)
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$
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R181.44
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South African Rand (ZAR)
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R
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$140.42
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Argentine Peso (ARS)
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$$$
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$9804.09
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Chilean Peso (CLP)
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$$$$$
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$20.11
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New Zealand Dollar (NZD)
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$
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Biltmore Estate Blanc de Blancs 2009 (750 ml)
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$24.99
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United States Dollar (USD)
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$
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£14.89
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Great Britain Pound
Sterling (GBP)
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£
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€18.72
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European Union
(EUR)
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€
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Biltmore Reserve Chardonnay 2013 (750 ml)
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$18.99
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United States Dollar (USD)
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$
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£11.32
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Great Britain Pound
Sterling (GBP)
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£
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€14.23
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European Union
(EUR)
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€
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Visit these sites to
get up to date currency rates:
Alternatively,
visit:
Cost of wine tasting in USD (p/p):
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Signature Flight:
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Free with estate
admission costs
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Premier flight:
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Signature flight cost + $3.00
per glass or $8.00 for three glasses of reserve
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Scroll down below to the main review to read the tasting notes
From vineyards home page:
Founded on a love of the land – and a passion for
entertaining – the Vanderbilt legacy lives on in shades of red, white, and
rosé. Visit our historic winery on Biltmore’s 8,000-acre estate nestled in the
Blue Ridge Mountains of Asheville, North Carolina. As America’s most-visited
winery, we have a lot to offer. Discover our agricultural story with a tour of
our historic cellars. Let our hosts guide you through a tasting of our robust
reds, refreshing rosés, crisp whites, and elegant sparkling’s. On the other
hand, simply relax with some tapas and vino at our Wine Bar.
George Vanderbilt’s grandson, William Cecil, envisions the
idea of an estate winery that honors the agricultural heritage of his
grandfather’s estate. Despite a variety of obstacles, he plants French-American
hybrid vines below Biltmore House, and his inaugural vintage is bottled in the
Conservatory basement. A guided tour of the Winery and
complimentary wine tasting are included with Biltmore estate admission, and we
offer a variety of additional add-on winery experiences.
Main review:
The Biltmore Estate is a thing of beauty within
itself, and it is the main reason why people come to vacation in Asheville,
North Carolina. When I first came to the estate, I had no idea that there was a
winery here, or later to find out that there were over one hundred in the
entire state. To me this area was known for the past five hundred years for
growing tobacco not grapes. The Biltmore winery offers many varieties of wines,
some are grown in California, then shipped to North Carolina where the process
of fermentation will begin. The winery and a tour of the winery is free of
charge as long as you have a pass to enter the estate. I usually recommend a two-day
pass, because the first day is dedicated to the Biltmore House, and the
restaurants on the property. When you arrive at the winery complex, all tours
are free, they usually last about thirty minutes, where they not only take you
through the making area and tell you the process, but introduce you to more of
the history of the Vanderbilt and Cecil heritage when it relates to their
vision of wine.
During the tour, they also have the family car used on
the property to not only go from the main house to the vineyard but to be used
all over the area and that was a 1913 Stevens-Duryea Model “C-six”. From there you enter the
winery building, which used to originally be the Biltmore Dairy Barn, as during
prohibition the making of alcohol was illegal, so most farms switched to milk
production during that time. At the end of the tour, you enter into the tasting
room where you receive a complimentary tasting of the basic Biltmore wines. When
you leave the tasting room, you exit into an extremely large gift shop where
not only all of the wine is sold, but everything and anything about Biltmore. During
the Christmas season, it is spectacular inside the shop, as well as the
property and how it is decorated. Attached to the gift shop and near the main
tasting room is the Reserve Tasting Room and bar, where for an extra cost, you
get to taste the high end wines produced at Biltmore. With over twenty wines available
for tasting, I have focused this review on my three favorites. The Biltmore
Reserve Chardonnay, Blanc de
Blancs sparkling, and the Reserve Riesling.
This or these wines remind me
of:
With the wide variety of wines available at Biltmore, based
on the three that are my favorites, with the tasting notes listed below, I
would compare these wines, and the overall experience of the tasting and tour
at the Biltmore winery to Constantia Uitsig in South Africa and Cosentino Winery in Napa,
California.
Bouquet
& Palette:
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Wine & Grape:
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Nose:
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Palette Experience:
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subtle floral aromas, peach and apricot hints
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Smooth and balanced with crisp fruit flavors, and hints of
oak
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Careful aging produces a crisp sparkling wine with a
delightful light pink hue
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Flavors of cherries and strawberries
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This classic Riesling is crisp and semi-sweet
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Delicate fruit flavors, an aromatic nose and a hint of
spice
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Château Owner:
William Amherst Vanderbilt Cecil
William Cecil Vanderbilt Jr
Winemaker:
Bernard Delille
Sharon Fenchak
Vineyard &Tasting Room address:
1 Approach Rd
Asheville, NC 28803
Latitude: 35.540928
Longitude: -82.553013
Contact Information:
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Winery:
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(800) 411-3812
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Website:
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Email:
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Social media:
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Review by:
Chef Sean Overpeck (CFE)
Chef Sean cooks for soldiers in Afghanistan, 2012:
“I like cooking with wine;
sometimes I even add it to the food.”
