STRAIGHT from the vine,
FRESH
from the farm Spend a day at Sanders Ridge Vineyard and Winery and discover a family that’s dedicated to growing the best organic vegetables, blending the most sustainable wines and serving up the tastiest meals and memories.
BY EMILY NYCUM Staff Writer
O
n a balmy Southern summer day what could be better than a chilled glass of wine, a back porch view of rolling vineyards and a basket of fresh-picked produce ready to be cooked into a medley of deliciousness? This may sound like a dream attainable only in Napa Valley or the Tuscan hillside, but take a trip to Boonville, N.C., and you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find that Sanders Ridge Vineyard and Winery has wine country sophistication with family-infused Southern hospitality. A 40-minute drive west of WinstonSalem, Sanders Ridge has a little something to please every personality and taste. For the wine enthusiast, this family-run vineyard and winery will educate you on their sustainable winemaking and, of course, wet your palate with a variety of wines made from locally grown grapes. For the adventurous, fly high in the trees on the Big Woods Zip Line and Canopy Tour, an exhilarating maze of 14 platforms with 12 cables that take
you 65 feet above the ground and across a swinging bridge. And for the hungry, a variety of organic vegetables stretch for acres waiting to be cooked either in your kitchen or a top-notch restaurant.
The Winery “Our farm has been in our family for more than 160 years, so it is a passion of ours,” says Jennifer Hiatt, daughter of the winery’s owner, Neil Shore. With a variety of wines, Sanders Ridge is sure to please almost any taste bud. Their 13 varieties have medaled in every competition entered to date — the North Carolina State Fair, the Atlantic Seaboard Wine Competition, the Mid-Atlantic Southeastern Wine Competition and others — even though they’ve been making wine for less than two years. Among these award-winning wines are Cabernet franc, Chardonnay, Viognier and several original blends mixed by their winemaker, Sara Wooten Cooper. Through her sustainable winemaking, Cooper has
Sanders Ridge Vineyard and Winery www.sandersridge.com 336.677.1700 Winery Hours: Noon to 6 p.m. every day Big Woods Restaurant 336.677.1701 Thursday through Sunday: 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday and Saturday: 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
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