BANNER ELK, N.C. -- No one is likely to ever confuse the pine-crested mountains of Western North Carolina with the rolling hill wine regions of France and Italy, but a transplanted Virginia chemistry expert is making inroads into making this High Country region one of the nation’s elite wine-producing areas.
Dr. Dick Wolfe says, in fact, the Western North Carolina mountain area is an even better locale for growing quality wine grapes than the more renown European regions, or, even the California Napa Valley wine district.
He contends that because of the higher elevations, south slope viticulture produces warm days and cool nights, creating ideal grape-growing conditions.
Dr. Wolfe and his wife, Dede Walton, made an exploratory trip to France to study vineyards in Bordeaux, Burgundy and Rhone. “This region is very close, as far as temperature goes and budding grapes, to that in France, especially the Rhone and Burgundy regions,” Dr. Wolfe said. “I know we have a good climate here for growing the French-American hybrids.”
“This area has a very interesting weather phenomena,” says Dr. Wolfe, a former Abingdon, Va., resident who has headed chemical science programs at private industry and universities. “This region has a peculiar microcosm weather pattern that puts it on the same plane as the major wine producing areas of France and Italy.”
Dr. Wolfe is the retired head of the center for applied science and research at Appalachian State University, Boone, N. C., heading a program designed to teach area farmers how to grow and harvest wine grapes in addition to raising tobacco or operating tree farms. He also formerly headed the program designed to create liquid fuel from coal at the National Coal Technology Corporation at Abingdon, Va.
Dr. Wolfe is so sold on the possibilities of this region becoming a major wine producer that he has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in buying acreage and establishing the region’s first commercial winery, Banner Elk Winery.
In less than three years he has produced wines that have won regional and state awards and he is continuing to buy acreage and encourage other landowners to become major vineyard operators.
His vineyards are located on the south (sunny) side of Beech Mountain, with a snow ski area on the north (shady) side of the mountain.
“Several other property owners have recently started putting out grape plants and we will have a sizeable grape crop here next season,” said Dr. Wolfe, who initially used grapes mostly from his Wolfe Creek Vinery locale at Abingdon, Va.
“Not only can we produce fine grapes here, but we also have the added benefit of being able to produce ice wine here because of autumn freezes,” he said.
“When grapes freeze they break open and the water content flows out, leaving a higher concentration of sugars in the grapes. This creates a unique grape flavor, generally known as ice wine grapes,” made famous by wineries along the Rhine River in Germany.
Dr. Wolfe said his winery had produced 375 bottles of ice wine from last season’s frozen grape production, with the wine now aging and scheduled for sale in the spring of 2010.
“We now also have about 8,000 gallons of wine fermenting, with this wine to be available to the public in about 8-12 months,“ he said.
The winery was originally built on a 20-acre working blueberry farm which has been recognized as the premier blueberry farm in North Carolina. Since then Dr. Wolfe has bought several hundred additional mountainside acres nearby and is working to get area farmers to convert more acreage into wine grape production.
In addition to his own grapes, Banner Elk Winery purchases from about a dozen farmers in Ashe, Avery and Watauga counties who are growing more than 40 acres of grapes.
“Several area farmers are starting to pay attention. They’re starting to see that grapes can be a significant cash crop, especially now that we’re winning awards with the products of those grapes,” said Wolfe. “We have received about 50 tons of grapes from 12 area farms this year.”
Western North Carolina grapes have also proven to be very weather-resistant, able to withstand temperatures of 20 degrees below zero with no significant root damage. “We have the advantage in that our vines don’t bud out early in the spring,” Dr. Wolfe said.
Blueberries have also been a major part of his vintner business as he used the local berries to create the first blueberry wine and blueberry port. That wine has received several awards and has become a trademark of the winery.
“We are not running our winery like a soft drink bottling company,” he said. “We are taking very special care to produce fine wine that will still be economically affordable at $16 to $20 a bottle. This means we are very detailed in keeping the right balance of sugar and sulfates in our products. We do not want a cheap, mediocre product.”
He and his wife also built a unique bed and breakfast business, called the Banner Elk Winery & Inn, right across the road from the winery.
Banner Elk Winery won a double gold medal for its Cabernet Sauvignon and a bronze medal for its Blueberry wine at the North Carolina State Fair and his Cabernet Sauvignon, High Country Rose and Blueberry wine all won gold medals at the Blue Ridge Wine Festival in Blowing Rock.
The winery lineup now includes seven wines, many of which are starting to sell in area restaurants and wine shops. “I recently got an order from a restaurant in Charlotte and they sold out our wine within a week and wanted much more,“ said Dr. Wolfe.
The winery not only offers wine for sale but wine tasting and educational tours which include instruction in the various steps and processes on how wine is made.
Banner Elk Winery is open for wine tastings Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. For more information, call 828-898-9090 or visit their website at www.bannerelkwinery.com. The winery is located at 60 Deer Run Lane (just off Gualtney Road) in Banner Elk.
One other noted Western North Carolina winery is the Thistle Meadow Winery at Laurel Springs (on N. C. Highway 18 east of Boone), coincidentally also headed by a retired chemist/entrepreneur, Tom Burgiss. Thistle Meadow Winery is in its sixth year of operation and produces more than 1,500 cases of wine each year. The wine is only available from the tasting room (some regional restaurants and stores carry some of the varieties). In 2009 the winery was ranked third among 33 North Carolina wineries by the Southeastern Winery Review and scored a perfect "10" in friendliness. The winery, like the Banner Elk Winery, also operates a bed and breakfast nearby. Info: 800-233-1505, www.thistlemeadowwinery.com.

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This story was published on 09 Nov 2009.