One of my favorite reasons for visiting
North Carolina wineries is that the journey takes me down roads I would never otherwise travel. The back roads of
North Carolina are full of beautiful natural wonders and interesting history lessons! On a recent weekend day trip to
Chatham County, I saw some of both and tasted some nice
North Carolina wines! When you head to
Chatham County, check your map and select one of several scenic routes to get there. Be ready for pretty countryside, small towns with unique
personalities, scattered artists, natural foods, etc. I enjoyed my visits to both
Chatham County wineries:
Silk Hope Winery and
Horizon Cellars. These two places are very different from each other, but both offer something special.
The road to
Silk Hope Winery is certainly one of those roads I would not have traveled otherwise. What I found at the end of that journey was a wonderful surprise. Silk Hope has been around since 2000 and is a family-run farm winery. The view is wonderful and the setting adds to the feeling of tasting the land! This winery reminds us that grape-growing and wine making involve farming! They don't have a gift shop, but they are open for tastings and greet guests warmly. The guests will be well-rewarded with some interesting and very good wines! Our favorite was the Red Roots. They make a number of wines and obviously take the technical part of wine making seriously. Check out the
descriptions of their wines on their website at
http://www.silkhopewinery.com/. They allow picnics and will even let people use their grill with some prior notice. Be sure to read the interesting story of Silk Hope on the backs of their bottles. Their wines are even available at several local retail stores. This is definitely a winery I want to visit again. I look forward to seeing what interesting North Carolina wines the people at Silk Hope come up with next.
After leaving Silk Hope Winery, I made my way to
Horizon Cellars, the other winery in
Chatham County. Horizon is definitely worth a visit too. They boast an attractive and comfortable tasting room and nicely stocked gift shop. They have a pretty setting with vineyard views. The day I visited, they were putting the finishing touches on a new deck. This area is available for picnics and relaxing with a glass of wine. They do not sell food, but this is a great place to bring some snacks or a picnic. My daughter even got to do a picture in a coloring book while my husband and I tasted Horizon's very nice wines. As always, I appreciate the kid-friendly wine tasting experiences! Check out their website at
http://www.horizoncellars.com/. Their site has a nice section of links to all of the wineries in the Piedmont. There is a tasting fee that includes a glass. Horizon does events and will also do custom labels. Read about this service on the website. I look forward to a return visit to see the finished deck and enjoy sitting out there with a glass of North Carolina wine.
As always, I am not a wine
professional; I am just an enthusiast who loves wine tasting, road-tripping, and
experiencing local flavor in North Carolina! Check back soon as I continue to take you on the journey through North Carolina wine country!
My goal: Visit ALL North Carolina wineries! Count coming soon!
