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Trail of cheers 

Swirling, sniffing, sipping and spitting through North Carolina wine country

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With that in mind, I set off on a day trek through the countryside of the Yadkin Valley to sip and spit Tar Heel wine.

click to enlarge THE HOUSE THAT WINE BUILT: Shelton Vineyards - SHELTON VINEYARDS
Childress Vineyards, Lexington: Lexington is the epicenter for Piedmont-styled Carolina barbecue, yet right in the shadows of Lexington No. 1 are viniferous grapes. Lexington is now pork and cork country. The striking 35,000-square-foot Childress facility is visible from the highway and is easily found via signage. Heavy carved oak doors reveal a Tuscan-inspired interior. An elegant portico -- often the setting for wedding photographs -- and a large patio overlook newly planted vineyards and the entertainment area. Do people ask for barbecue while in the winery? You bet.

Childress' dark wood tasting room is a mix of NASCAR and wine. Tastings cost $9, $10, $12 or $15 depending on the quality of wines. The $15 Signature Tasting includes the 2005 Viognier, 2004 Chardonnay, 2004 Reserve Chardonnay, 2004 Signature Chardonnay, 2004 Cabernet Franc, 2004 Syrah, 2004 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, 2003 Signature Merlot and the Polar, a sweet wine. During the tasting, the pourer's scripted description was designed to appeal to needy novice wine drinker: "This is a medium-bodied red jammed with black cherry and clove. This wine goes well with chocolate," then she reached under the counter and produced a bowl of Toll House sized chocolate chips. Mark Friszolowski is the winemaker and general manager at Childress Vineyards. He has been making wine since 1986 in New York at Pindar Vineyards and its sister winery, Duck Walk Vineyards. Friszolowski is one of those talented winemakers patiently working with young grapes.

Childress Vineyards, 1000 Childress Vineyards Road, Lexington. www.childressvineyards.com.

Westbend Vineyards, Lewisville: The purple grape signage on HWY 421 indicates the turn onto Shallowford Road for Westbend, a winery that looks more like some of the unpretentious wineries in Sonoma with vineyards approaching a small rural road and a small grey building set behind a covered picnic area. This tasting room has a long bar at the back counter and for five bucks you can taste five wines of your choice. We tried the 2005 Viognier, 2005 Yadkin Fume, Barrel Fermented 2004 Chardonnay, a 2004 Pinot Noir of lackluster color, 2005 Cabernet Franc, a 2006 Chamboucin, and the 2004 Vintner's Signature a blend of cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, and merlot. The only wine of note here was the barrel fermented chardonnay, which stylistically approached a Sonoma Chardonnay.

Westbend Vineyards, 5394 Williams Road, Lewisville. www.westbendvineyards.com.

click to enlarge SHELTON VINEYARDS
Hanover Park Vineyard, Yadkinville: Not far from Westbend is Courtney Huntsville Road, a rural diversion filled with farms, goats and an old country store painted Carolina blue. A bit beyond is a white farmhouse built in 1897 on land which once produced tobacco, but is now planted with viniferous grapes. On hand in a small tasting room of Hanover Park Vineyard, the smallest winery I visited, is owner Amy Helton who talks at length about her husband Michael's wines. Both are teachers turned vintners. Last year they released about 3,000 cases of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, chambourcin, chardonnay and viognier. They also sell sweet wines and locally made goat cheese.

Hanover Park Vineyard, 1927 Courtney-Huntsville Road. www.hanoverparkwines.com.

RagApple Lassie Vineyards, Boonville: Boonville is a spit of a town at the intersection of two unremarkable rural roads. Yet suddenly grapevines line the road. Behind the vines is a large barn within which is a tasting room and merchandise for RagApple Lassie Vineyards, named for farmer and winery owner Frank Hobson's championship 4-H show calf. Pierre Dalmas, a student in the SCC enology program, directed the tasting. With his help, this tasting was by far one of the more informative since he could field questions about varietals, barreling, vineyard conditions -- and the cow. The Taste Everything ($8) included the 2005 Pinot Gris, a 2005 Viognier, 2004 Chardonnay, merlot, cabernet sauvignon and a syrah; a "First Blush" blend of traminette, marsanne, semillon and malbec and some sweet wines. If this winery wants to get serious about its wine, though, it'll need to lose the cow on the label.

RagApple Lassie Vineyards 3724 RagApple Lassie Lane, Boonville. www.ragapplelassie.com.

Shelton Vineyards, Dobson: In the midst of the rolling terrain is a picture perfect vineyard. End of row stones reveal the varietals planted including cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc, sangiovese and viognier. Paths allow visitors to wander through the vineyards to a lake. In addition to a well-staffed tasting room is a separate restaurant, The Harvest Grill, which opened two years ago. Last year the Sheltons brought in Chef Paul S. Lange, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., who has made a lasting impression with his desserts and jamming cornbread crab cake. The same wine tasting is available in the restaurant as the tasting room.

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