The great WNC wine boom

Posted on by Jonathan Ammons

The great WNC wine boom

The growth of North Carolina’s wine industry has been as expansive as it has been rapid. “When I first moved here seven years ago, there were 60 licensed wineries in North Carolina,” says Chuck Blethen, cofounder of the French Broad Vignerons. “Now there are 130 wineries and over 480 commercial vineyards.”

Blethen adds that in 2012 (the latest year data was available), vineyards, wineries and infrastructure-support businesses contributed $1.2 billion in sales to North Carolina — that translates to more than 4,000 jobs for the state.

“In introducing the WNC Wine Trail in 2011, we had listed 17 wineries in the [the region],” says Bob Bowles, director of the Asheville Wine & Food Festival. “Today we have 28 and more still to add, including meaderies and cideries. While there has been a bit of consolidation in the industry with wineries, the number of vineyards continues to grow.”

Bowles also notes that while the latest available numbers are from 2009, they do show a 27 percent increase in tourism specifically related to wineries in the state. He adds that the increase has been especially robust in Saluda, Hendersonville, Murphy and Hayesville. And according to Mindy Wiener, general manager of Overmountain Vineyards in Tryon, wineries in her area have seen visitor traffic increase by 20 percent since the launch of the Tryon International Equestrian Center in 2014.

Wiener is currently involved in a regional endeavor to establish the Tryon Foothills of Polk County as a designated American Viticulture Area, highlighting the unique climate and terroir of the Southern Highlands. The Upper Hiwassee Highlands Viticultural Area — a 690-square-mile territory that includes Cherokee and Clay counties in North Carolina, as well as Towns, Union and Fannin counties in Georgia — is already established. — J.A.

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

About Jonathan Ammons
Native Asheville writer, eater, drinker, bartender and musician. Proprietor of www.dirty-spoon.com Follow me @jonathanammons
View all posts by Jonathan Ammons →

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.