Screw it Wine Magazine Jan/Feb 2023

14 A Lavish Tasting Room Coming to Yadkin Valley’s Swan Creek

The standout crew at Piccione Vineyards talk shop on the upcoming tasting room, adding to the spectacular views.

MERLOT2MUSCADINE

Raffaldini Vineyards has become synonymous with exceptional Italian-style wines in the heart of the Carolinas.

Laurence Vuelta of Raleigh’s Sunrise Wines brings quality to fabulous wines from Italy.

PLUS

Holman Distillery out of Moravian Falls is home to a wicked beverage – the Applejohn. | 13

A new wine concept comes out of Charlotte from two friends vacationing in Spain. | 17

HOP AROUND NC – Brewery profile of Winston-Salem’s Radar Brewing Company, and a look at the breweries of High Point, North Carolina. | 24

Screw it Wine took a weekend excursion to a handful of wineries in Michigan’s Petoskey region.

OVER A GLASS

European Varietals Grow in Hendersonville

This Hendersonville winery is growing several varietals that aren’t well known in this region – how will they fare?

ACROSS THE BORDER 22 Looking at one Winery’s Popular Red

If someone mentions Virginia’s Barboursville Winery, the word Octagon is usually mentioned. Find out the story behind this wine.

ON THE COVER

Owner of Piccione Vineyards, Dr. William Piccione, tasting room manager Hailey Klepcyk and vineyard manager Dustin Gentry have the perfect backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

PHOTO BY DATHAN KAZSUK

The Black Rooster Comes To North Carolina

COPY + PHOTOS BY ARTHUR BARHAM @merlot2muscadine

The name Raffaldini has become synonymous with excellent Italian wine here in the Tar Heel State and across the country. With the nickname “The Chianti of the Carolinas,” it seems only fitting that the dynamic duo of owner Jay Raffaldini and winemaker Chris Nelson would inevitably craft a Chianti to join their already impressive stable of fine wines.

But the story of the creation of this nostalgic wine has much more to it than just a slick nickname. The real story of why Raffaldini created this wine speaks to his respect for family, history, and tradition. Truth be told, the recent pandemic and the associated isolation inspired Raffaldini to craft a Chianti.

As Jay Raffaldini points out, the pandemic forced people and families to do what the era of technology has taken away – and that’s to spend time with each other. The next time you are dining in public, look at the number of patrons who spend virtually the entire meal staring at their smartphones.

For many of us, this was the wine we grew up consuming in pizza restaurants whose tables were always adorned with red and white checkered tablecloths. Who can forget those classically Italian straw-covered bottles that were, for many of us, the first varietal we ever consumed in our youth. Many of us also used our bottles as candle holders, with the dripping candle forming a cascading river of wax down the side of the bottle – but more about those bottles later.

Chianti is a red blend from Tuscany, Italy, that must be made primarily from Sangiovese grapes. Being no stranger to this varietal and having six acres of vines already under foot, Jay Raffaldini and staff already had the foundation for this consummate Italian wine.

Yet, Raffaldini sought to make his blend different from a typical Chianti by building more structure into his blend. His initial release of the Gallo Nero last year was Sangiovese combined with Petit Verdot and a small amount of Montepulciano. The resulting wine is bursting with acidity and tannins, making it perfect for pizza, tomato sauces, and even savory dishes using olive oil and roasted meats. This wine exhibits tobacco, sour cherry, and espresso notes on the nose and palate.

At the recent release of the Gallo Nero, guests were educated about the history of Chianti and how Raffaldini’s unique approach to crafting Chianti became a reality. Along with tasting samples of the newly released Chianti, guests were provided a charcuterie plate featuring cured meat, olives, crackers, cheese, and chocolate, all of which paired perfectly with the wine.

Jay Raffaldini also used the recent release of the Gallo Nero to share with his patrons his recent acquisition of two concrete egg fermenters. For many students of wine, aging in oak or stainless steel is a process they are familiar with – but a concrete egg? How

and why would someone age wine in concrete, and what does the end result taste like?

Don’t worry; I will answer all these questions in a future article. For now, I will leave you hanging, or you will be forced to google the details about this method of aging wine that is gaining momentum and popularity here in the United States.

The name of the newly released wine is of significance. The term “Gallo Nero” means “black rooster” and alludes to a centuryold boundary dispute between the families of Florence and Siena. Legend has it that the boundary line between these two rival factions was decided by the release of riders from these regions whose ride began at the rooster’s crowing. The exalted black rooster is said to have influenced the boundary by being much closer to Siena, resulting in more land for the Florentines. What is not a legend but a fact is that this region is home to what many consider the best Sangiovese in the world.

Even the acquisition of the bottles for this newly released Chianti has a unique story behind them. This classic straw-covered bottle is called a “fiasco” bottle. Their origin dates back hundreds of years when the outer straw covering helped cushion the bottles while transported. When Jay Raffaldini located a source for the bottles in Italy, the vendor was shocked and a bit overwhelmed by the number of bottles Raffaldini wanted to order.

Raffaldini Vineyards offer two sizes of its Gallo Nero II.

For a small operation in Italy accustomed to dealing in hundreds of bottles, the thousands of bottles requested by a winery outside Italy and located in the United States must have seemed bizarre at first. Nevertheless, the vendor accommodated the order, and therest is history. This year Jay released the wine in one-liter as well as two-liter sizes.

Currently, in my wine cellar, I have bottles of Gallo Nero from this year’s release and last year’s inaugural release. I think it is about time I follow up the success of my blind Vermentino tasting with a blind Chianti tasting. I am confident that what Raffaldini has crafted right here in North Carolina will be able to hold its own with its global competitors from Italy. No matter the outcome, one thing is sure; the black rooster has arrived in North Carolina.

Jay Raffaldini (right), talks to guests about the latest incarnation of the Gallo Nero; (above) the recent additions to Raffaldini Vineyards – two concrete egg wine fermentation tanks. (below) charcuterie to share with wine samples, and Chris Nelson and Jay Raffaldini tell the legend of the “Black Rooster.”

A LEARNING EXPERIENCE

BY NATALIE HAMPTON | PHOTOS BY NATALIE HAMPTON

WINE TASTING AT DURHAM’S MELANATED WINE ISN’T GOING TO BE YOUR TYPICAL WINE EXPERIENCE –AND THAT’S BY DESIGN. WHEN MELANATED OPENED LAST FALL, OWNER LASHONDA FORT-MODEST WANTED TO CREATE AN URBAN WINERY EXPERIENCE THAT CATERED TO AFRICAN-AMERICAN WINE CONSUMERS.

As Durham county’s first African-American and first female winery owner (and one of only a few in the state), FortModest found that most wines and wineries she visited didn’t really provide the experience she was looking for – telling the stories of the people behind the labels. And she wants to make sure that her customers know her story and learn something about wine during their tasting experience.

For many customers, the learning begins when they arrive at the winery expecting to see a vineyard with grapes hanging from vines. Instead, they find a tasting room tucked into an industrial complex off Durham’s Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway.

“Guests are super-excited to come and visit and see what we have to offer,” she says. “They hear about this winery and feel confused when they find us in an industrial area, and then they come in and realize we are the winery tasting room.”

The winery staff explains that Melanated doesn’t grow its own grapes but buys them from vineyards in the state’s Yadkin Valley. The wine is custom-made for Melanated by Childress Vineyards in Lexington, North Carolina.

I visited recently with a small group of Triangle wine influencers, including Arthur Barham and his wife Mary, of Merlot2Muscadine, and Jen and Dathan from Triangle Around Town and Screw It Wine.

We could choose from several levels of wine tastings – the basic tasting is all five of Melanated’s wines. Level up to add a wine glass and a charcuterie box with meat, cheese, nuts, crackers and chocolate – all of which pair well with the wines. Come on the weekends, and one can choose a tasting that includes all of the above plus cupcakes from a local bakery.

Servers explain the wines and the grapes they are made from to the guests. You can take a wine trivia quiz to test your knowledge

LaShonda Fort-Modest is the owner of Durham’s Melanated Wine.

as you leave. (I didn’t get my score, but all my answers were just guesses!)

Another feature of this urban winery that caught my attention was that it is open later than traditional tasting rooms – until 9 pm Wednesday through Saturday. Melanated is closed the rest of the week due to low traffic on those days and staffing issues.

But in time, Fort-Modest would like to add more days and perhaps an extra hour to her closing time. “We know that our target market works 9 to 5 and can’t get here before 6, and that’s when things pick up! So 9 pm is a comfortable time to close,” she says.

Fort-Modest was a researcher before she got involved in the wine industry. So doing the research necessary to learn about winemaking was second nature to her. She turned to Phil Long of California, winemaker and president of the Association of African American Vintners. She also found people in North Carolina’s wine industry to be both welcoming and supportive.

“Being in North Carolina, all the wineries and vineyards have been so supportive and helpful. My first partnership was with Childress Vineyard – (Childress winemaker Mark Friszolowski). I learned so much from him. Chuck Johnson at Windsor Run Cellars (and Shadow Spring Vineyards) held my hand and helped me so

much. I owe them a lot just for their hand-holding and support,” she says.

Not only did her research background help her get started, but her entrepreneurial spirit and love of wine also motivated her. When the winery opened in the fall of 2021, the U.S. was amidst COVID’s Delta variant outbreak, and they limited the tasting room seating to 10 people.

As the situation improved, she expanded to seating for 32. Judging by the crowd there that evening, Melanated Wine will require a larger space sooner rather than later.

The night of our tasting, a large group of women were there for a birthday. And the winery was hosting a kick-off for Blacktoberfest, which celebrates black brewers, winemakers and distillers. Briana Brake of Spaceway Brewing in Rocky Mount brought a couple of her beers for tasting. There was a DJ and food truck on hand as well.

I chose the level-up tasting and enjoyed each of the wines we tasted. At this time, Melanated produces three white wines, with Riesling being the primary grape. Vibe, the white Sangria, is a refreshing blend of white grapes and mango. The white blend, Privilege, combines Chardonnay and Riesling. The straight-up Riesling is called Manifest. All are nice, crisp wines that pair well with summer foods.

The red blend called Lust, a combination of Cabernet Franc and Syrah, is aged in bourbon oak barrels, which creates a smooth taste profile. And we also tasted the newest wine, a sweet blackberry wine called Dream.

The atmosphere was lively and fun. LaShonda had left the winery around 5 pm to check on her family and was kind enough to return to introduce us to her wine. Our server also did a great job explaining the wines to us.

Reservations are suggested, so if you’re looking for a not-sotraditional wine experience at a lively, urban tasting room, stop by Durham’s Melanated Wine.

MELANATED WINE 4608 Industry Ln F, Durham, NC 919.695.3303

Sharing an experience with members of Merlot2Muscadine and Triangle Around Town at Melanated Wine.

He’s got the cure you’re thinkin’ of (wine)

BY DATHAN KAZSUK & JENNIFER PRIMROSE

Known for its portfolio of smallproduction Italian wines, Sunrise Wines of Raleigh has been sharing its knowledge and passion for boutique vineyards that flock to the shelves in many North Carolina wine shops since 2004.

Here in the Triangle area, customers in wine shops have more than likely been introduced to the upbeat and energetic actions and familiarity of Laurence O. Vuelta or, as many know him, Dr. LOV.

His boisterous vocals describing Italian wine varieties and regions are what continue to bring people back to the shops to sample a new selection of wine he is peddling.

Screw it wine recently caught up with Vuelta to learn more about his background and his passion for supporting all the wines in the growing portfolio of Sunrise Wines.

Tell everyone about Sunrise Wines and what makes it unique.

We are specifically something unique to the industry that touches two facets – the import and distribution sides. Most distributors are specifically distribution, receiving the imported product and distributing it to hotels, restaurants and retail. And then

you have the importers who have the handshakes with the families or corporations and then sell to the distributor networks. What Sunrise does is both. You might say that’s quite a task. And it sure is, but it allows us to have a little more hands-on with our products. What that means to the consumer is the families we work with are all small producers that own their bottling facility, so everything is estate bottled. Our producers have total control from the root to the glass.

Sunrise has been going strong for almost 20 years now. Who is the driving force behind the business?

Manuel Magnani is my owner and a very, very good friend of mine – for almost the entire time of Sunrise. He was a distributor in the industry and, after a few years, decided to follow the passion for the relationships that his family had in Italy. But he’s originally from Rome, and he’s not Italian. Of course, you got to call him Romano, not Italiano. Manny, as we call him, his family has vineyards in the Piemonte area. Through that relationship, they’ve been able to access other families that have lent us their hearts to represent them in the United States.

How often do you get out to Italy to visit these small family vineyards?

Without a doubt, at least twice a year, one of us goes to Italy. Not only to visit the current wineries and taste new vintages and prospective visits. We’ll be going to Sardinia with appointments with eight different families because Sardinia is such a fast-growing slice of the Italian wine pie. You must get out there, speak with the families, and dine and break bread with them. It’s about more than just signing a contract.

Here in the Raleigh metro, you are a legend. People refer to you as Dr. LOV. People adore the suits and vibrant colors you bring to your tastings and wine dinners. But where did you get your start in the wine industry?

I’ve been 30 years in the industry. It was the first thing I did right out of college in Miami. In Miami, I studied marketing and international business. I immediately started in the distribution side of the industry for six years for a company called Premier Beverage in south Florida. From there, I worked for a company called Beringer Wine Estates, which had three iterations: Beringer Blass, Foster’s Wine Estates and today, I believe they’re called Treasury Wine Estates. I met Manny in 2003, who was my distributor. Then I worked for Patrón for seven years, importing their spirits and representing some of their fine wines. After that, I spent some time working for Avenue Brands, importing mostly Spanish wines from Spain and some from Argentina. Then I met Manny, and it was the perfect alignment of the moon. So we joined forces, and it’s been happy sailing ever since.

And the rest is history?

There’s a lot left to be made. We are just scratching the surface. He has all the Italian relationships, and I’ve secured some relationships with Spain, California, Argentina and French contacts. So we are looking to grow our business collectively and take Sunrise Wines to the next level while providing the beautiful hands-on relationships.

PHOTO BY DATHAN KAZSUK

Known as Dr. LOV to his loyal fans, Laurence Vuelta of Sunrise Wines supplies NC with fine wine.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MERLOT2MUSCADINE

Screw it Wine contributing writer, Arthur Barham (Merlot2Muscadine) is a fan of Dr. LOV.

PETOSKEY, MICHIGAN

BY JENNIFER PRIMROSE PHOTOS BY JENNIFER PRIMROSE & DATHAN KAZSUK

The wineries of Petoskey, Michigan, belong to the Tip of the Mitt AVA (American Viticultural Area), established in 2016. This viticultural area is positioned north of the 45th parallel. It rests along Little Traverse Bay and the Lake Michigan coastline in the northern lower peninsula of Michigan. Fourteen unique awardwinning wineries over 2,700 square miles and six counties call this AVA home.

Before this area was known for its wineries, a famous author once spent summers here to help lay the groundwork for a rich and impressive history. Born in 1899 outside Chicago, Ernest Miller Hemingway grew up in Illinois. But, a small cottage on Walloon Lake, just 10 miles south of Petoskey in northern Michigan, named Windemere, became the summer home for the young Hemingway. Many years later, Hemingway was back in Petoskey, recuperating from wounds sustained during World War I. During that time, he found himself working to become a writer. Little did we all know that his literature would be some of the most-read writings in the world.

While in Petoskey, he penned several stories showcasing his love for the outdoors. From the lakes to hanging out at the City Park Grill, where if one were lucky would find Hemingway writing at the long wooden bar, which today has an indentation where he used to put out his cigars.

This area is known for its wineries that, along with Hemingway, showcase an excellent affinity for spectacular craftsmanship and bring visitors from around the globe to sample what the area offers. With the number of wineries within this

CITY PARK GRILL

Sculptor Andy Sacksteder erected this replica of Ernest Hemingway that can be found in downtown Petoskey, just a few feet away from the famous City Park Grill. The statue is based on a Janaury 1920 photograph of a young Hemingway before departing for a job in Toronto. The award-winning Chicago burger is a combination of bacon, mushrooms, swiss cheese, and bleu cheese sauce – well worth the visit. The Burnt Marshmallow Brewstillery and Rudbeckia Winery is home to an assortment of spirts, beer and wines on a farm on the outskirts of Petoskey.

MACKINAW

AVA, visitors may plan an extended trip to visit and experience all the uniqueness each winery offers.

Due to this AVA’s climate, the most prevalent grape varietals are hybrid grapes suitable for colder climates. Wine lovers will enjoy varietals such as Marquette, Petite Pearl, La Crescent, Frontenac Gris and Frontenac Blanc and visit America’s first maple winery. Wineries in this area also add cider, fruit wine, and beer to their portfolios.

A unique winery is Maple Moon Sugarbush & Winery. After producing pure maple syrup, Maple Moon expanded into the wine business and became America’s first maple winery. The natural sugars in maple syrup are fermented, producing wines from sweet to dry. Maple Moon produces up to eleven wines, hard cider, homemade jams and salsa. Some varietals produced here are Maple Marquette, Petite Pearl, Maple Rouge and Maple Royal, a dessert wine. These are just a sampling of what guests will be treated to at Maple Moon.

Mackinaw Trail Winery & Brewery is a family-owned, awardwinning winery established in 2004. Being one of the fastest-growing wineries in Michigan, Mackinaw Trail is home to four tasting rooms and a large, state-of-the-art production facility in Petoskey. This winery continues to make strides by winning many awards and accolades in the state.

Rudbeckia Farm & Winery, sitting on 190 acres, offers views of Lake Michigan and Walloon Lake. This winery produces a limited quantity of artisanal wines. Also made here, under the Burnt Marshmallow nanobrewery name, is a selection of craft beer using ingredients grown on the family farm.

Another family-owned winery is Walloon Lake Winery, located on the outskirts of Walloon Lake. This award-winning winery produces wines from locally grown grapes, including those grown on its family farm, Dennis Farms Vineyards. With a warm and inviting tasting room, Walloon Lake offers guests an excellent selection of varietals ranging from Marquette, Frontenac, Petite Pearl, Sabrevois, Frontenac Gris, Frontenac Blanc, and La Crescent.

Petoskey Farm Vineyard & Winery

WALLOON LAKE WINERY

TRAIL WINERY

WALLOON LAKE WINERY

is a short drive from downtown Petoskey. This venue offers a relaxed atmosphere overlooking the Michigan countryside and vineyard while providing an excellent selection of wines and ciders. Varietals include Riesling, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Frontenac Blanc, Rose’, Marquette, Frontenac, Sangria, Frontenac Blanc Pétillant Naturel made in the Ancestral Method and Marquette Piquette, in addition to a small selection of ciders. Another family-owned establishment, Petoskey Farms, has been named one of the Top 25 Best Wineries in the United States by Reader’s Digest in 2021. In 2022 TripAdvisor named this winery a Travelers’ Choice Award Winner meaning it ranked in the top 10% of listings on TripAdvisor worldwide.

For wine lovers unfamiliar with these cold-hearty grape varietals, a visit to Tip of the Mitt to sample what a cold region produces is recommended. With fourteen wineries in this AVA, only a sampling of wineries is included.

Other wineries within the Tip of the Mitt include:

• Boyne Valley Vineyards

• Resort Pike Cidery & Winery

• Crooked Vine Vineyard & Winery

• Pond Hill Farm Winery

• Royal Farms Farm Market And Winery

• Seasons of the North

• Pike Ridge Cidery

• 1918 Cellars - Castle Farms

• The Cellars at Royal Farms

• Spare Key Winery

For guests who strive to visit all 14 wineries, the Petoskey Wine Region offers a wine passport. The passport costs $30 and offers recipients a $5 discount off a wine tasting at each partner winery. Visit https://petoskey.wine/wine-passport/ for more information.

PETOSKEY FARMS VINEYARDS

BOYNE VALLEY VINEYARDS

MAPLE MOON WINERY

THE MANY SHADES OF GRENACHE

Some say Grenache wine is underappreciated. Sure, it is not Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir, but this red wine grape variety is widely grown across the globe – and makes for some damn fine wines.

From France to Spain and stretching across Australia to the United States, Grenache can range from red to white and dry to sweet. Not considered to be a heavy wine, Grenache is typically a medium body wine with high alcohol content and luscious tannins.

Due to many of its white pepper characteristics, it’s also a wine that should be slightly chilled.

Owning a wine shop, I get the opportunity to sample many examples of this grape. In France, many Grenache wines come from the Languedoc-Roussillon and Rhone Valley. For me, these wines are a little more refined with medium tannins. Drinking Grenache from Rioja or Priorat regions of Spain is more earthy and a tad more structured with a little higher tannins. Grenache from the McLaren Vale region of Australia is just a perfect balance and very approachable. It’s like wineries can’t go wrong if they know what they’re doing and producing a good quality Grenache-style wine.

Recently, I was invited to a local

wine club to try several samples of Grenache.

I decided to add to the tasting by bringing over a bottle of Die Posman (the Postman). This wine is a Swartland Grenache Blanc made by South Africa’s De Kleine Wijn Koöp.

It is an excellent balanced wine with hints of stone fruit, lychee and fresh red apples. It contains a nice complexity that, in my opinion, makes it stand out from other Grenache Blanc wines – and many of the guests at the wine tasting agreed.

Next on the list was Chateau SaintRoch Old Vines White. This wine, hailing from the Cotes du Roussillon region, ia a blend of 60 percent Grenache Gris, 40 percent Roussanne and 13 percent Grenache. Aged five months in concrete and five months in French oak barrels.

After the two white wines, it was time to move to the D’Alfonso-Curran Wines Grenache Gris from California’s Santa Barbara County. This 2021 vintage was a lovely, dry rosé with raspberry, honeysuckle, and citrus hints. This is a perfect rosé for the dog days of summer that lay in store for us during these hot Carolina days.

This winery, founded by Bruno D’Alfonso and Kris Curran, strives to bring art and science to creating their

wines, and this Grenache Gris rosé was no exception. Silky tannins, nice acidity, and a long finish make this wine perfect with braised meats such as short ribs or an oxtail Osso Bucco.

Next was the Generation 1905 Grenache Vin de France – a wine awarded 90 points by Wine Enthusiast.

Our table liked this wine for its aroma of ripe red cherries, tart cranberry and white pepper accents. The taste delivered all that we got in the scent and added traces of vanilla and oak.

Grenache wines are high in alcohol, and we undoubtedly saw that when we started tasting the red wines. Generations 1905 had an ABV of 15 percent – and that was followed by the Independent Garnacha Bajo Aragon from Spain. This 2019 wine came in at 14 percent ABV and showed off the tremendous flowery characteristics of some Grenache wines.

Independent was dark purple in color and had some mature tannins, but we thought the astringency was a little too much, leading to a lot more bitterness in the taste than we cared for in a Grenache.

We were coming to the end of the evening, and our last wine was perhaps one of my favorites of the night. The Zonte’s Footstep, Love Symbol Grenache from McLaren Vale, Australia, was earthy yet lush. Huge wafts of black cherry and violets made this a wine one can smell for a few minutes before even taking that first sip.

Not astringent like the last wine, this wine was perfect with some black tea tannins and Asian spices, rounding off with some nice plum skin tannins.

Australia’s McLaren Vale is home to some of the world’s oldest vines and roughly 160 vineyards. Kay Brothers, which is still operating in McLaren Vale, was established in 1890. Zonte’s Footstep has only been around since 2003, but this wine is not one to be overlooked.

Whether you call it Garnacha, Garnache, Garnatxa or Alicante, this is a tremendous bodied, high alcohol, seductive wine that we should all try more of – whenever you get a chance. We were privileged to add more samples under our belt, and always looking forward to trying more.

– Dathan Kazsuk

HOLMAN DISTILLERY DOES KNOW JACK!

Horn of Gunpowder. Hedgehog Quills. Moonshine. Those are a few terms used to describe what is quietly known as America’s original spirit. For those in the know, you know it better by the name Apple Jack. A spirit made utilizing frozen distillation of hard cider, Apple Jack usually contains less sugar and a higher percentage of alcohol than most hard ciders.

It’s a spirit meant to drink cold and sweetened to taste – usually by honey and raisins when William Laird first began producing the drink in 1698. Today, the versatile drink can be mixed in cocktails across the spectrum.

And in Moravian Falls, North Carolina, it’s one man’s goal to bring Apple Jack back to the limelight. Enter John Holman, owner and operator at Holman Distillery. A certified spirits

specialist, Holman spends most of his days inside an old barn, acting as his distillery and distribution center.

Holman admits that he’s one of the few apple producers outside of France that rest their ferments. His Apple Jack line has spirits that age in barrels anywhere between six and 12 months.

“I’ll let Malolactic Fermentation take place, or leave them on the lees as they start to degrade,” Holman says. “I ferment low and slow. I’m not a natural yeast person. I think it’s ridiculous.”

Natural yeast has become a massive craze in the wine industry lately. Holman respects that but says that being a small business, one can waste a lot of fruit if not done right.

Currently, Holman crafts three versions of Apple Jack: the traditional label, a white label, and a black label, ranging from $24 to $45. There’s also

an AppleJohn made using Granny Smith apples.

All the juice for his Apple Jack comes from 100 miles southwest of Moravian Falls in Hendersonville. “When I first started out, I would run to Hendersonville and bring back 40 bins of apples,” he says. “Now I just buy the juice. It’s a lot easier.”

Traveling 200 miles in a day for apples wasn’t his only hardship when Holman first started the distillery in Moravian Falls. He also had to deal with situations one might find while in the heart of rural North Carolina’s bible belt.

“I found a local farmer who was willing to sell me apples, but the following day he nixed the deal because I was going to make alcohol out of it, and a family member wouldn’t allow it,” Holman says.

Holman Distillery also produces vodka that is sure to catch the attention of the sophisticated vodka drinker out there. Holman’s High 148 Proof Vodka is an authentic, tasteless vodka. “It’s what vodka should be,” he says. “I find that most vodka has a taste. They have a residual character that comes from their base material. Mine is really designed to be tasteless.”

Holman uses his knowledge of spirits to explain the difference between the EU (European Union) and American definitions of the spirit. “The EU allows some characteristics of its base. The American vodka, if you read its definition, it does not. It is supposed to be treated and made devoid of its base character.”

Treated with copper, charcoal and drinking water from his family well, Holman will go on record saying his water is some of the best on the planet, which helps make his vodka so pure and tasteless.

Heck, “Voda” is Russian for water, and we all prefer to drink tasteless water. So it’s only fitting that many vodka enthusiasts would want their spirit devoid of any natural flavors.

Prohibition and its destruction of apple orchards were responsible for the downfall of Apple Jack many years ago, but Holman is one man on a mission. Trying to sell a product that didn’t exist for 100 years can be a hard sell, but if there’s one man capable of the challenge, it’s John Holman.

HOLMAN DISTILLERY’S JOHN HOLMAN POURS A SAMPLE OF HIS APPLE JACK

RISING TO SUCCESS

PICCIONE VINEYARDS FUTURE TASTING ROOM WILL BRING DREAMS TO LIFE

BY DATHAN KAZSUK AND JENNIFER PRIMROSE

With vines planted in 2010 and a first harvest three years later, Piccione Vineyards is becoming one of the most famous wine stops in North Carolina’s expansive Yadkin Valley. Known for its forte of traditional-style Italian wines, Piccione Vineyards and its owner, Dr. William Piccione, and his all-star crew strives for excellence – from the estate-grown Montepulciano to the sparkling Vino di Lusso.

On a crisp October afternoon, overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains, owner William Piccione, tasting room manager Hailey Klepcyk, and vineyard manager Dustin Gentry discussed with Screw it Wine their time at the winery, as well as a quick

tour around the future facility.

For Piccione’s vineyard manager, Dustin Gentry, it was wanting to break away from a potential career as a business manager that brought him to Piccione. Gentry worked on the family farm as a kid and returned to his roots in a new position as a vineyard manager. As he puts it, at the family farm, he’s plowed, sown or plucked just about anything that can be grown on a farm. But Gentry soon realized Vitis Vinifera would eventually become his one true love.

“For me, every year is always something different,” he says. “Weather. Frost. No frost. Or whatever it might be, that’s pretty much how I got here, and I don’t ever think I’ll look back. This is exactly

“Everybody wants to grow Chardonnay. I think it’s a wonderful grape, but it’s nice to have something unique to your place.”

– Dr. William Piccione Piccione Vineyards

RENDERINGS COURTESY OF MKB ARCHITECTS

where I want to be.”

As a vineyard manager, some of Gentry’s duties at Piccione might include overseeing cultivation, pruning, thinning, planting and replanting, and irrigating and harvesting.

For Haily Klepcyk, the winery’s tasting room manager, her destiny came while working for a diamond and jewelry shop in Charlotte, North Carolina, back in 2008. Known as the Financial Crisis of 2007-08, she realized that selling $40k diamonds would not be a viable occupation.

Klepcyk then returned to the restaurant industry, working in fine dining establishments, where she learned more about wine. “It’s very fascinating and a big part of fine dining,” she says. From there, she spent several years as a wine wholesaler, admitting she wasn’t keen on cold-calling sales. “I then went to work for another winery but learned that they were not growing and producing their own wine. Then a couple of people said I should talk to this guy, and we chatted, and I came on board.”

That guy just so happened to be William Piccione, who, during that time, had just finished clearing a plot of land, which is now the winery’s property in Ronda.

she was in charge of many tasks, all while learning many elements of running a well-oiled tasting room.

The winery started with a moderate 14.2 acres under vine, but in the past five years, Piccione has doubled in size and now has approximately 28 acres of grapeproducing land.

A couple of years back, the winery had to put its wine club on hold as far as bringing in new members because of low inventory – which Piccione admits was a huge concern.

One concern, Piccione says, is bringing in new plants and the time it takes to produce fruit. “We order the plants, and they come in, and we plant the following year, and then it takes three more years before you have any usable grapes. So you are constantly thinking, ‘What will my needs be in five years?’ That’s a tough question. So we started very aggressively planting three years ago.”

On those 28 acres of land, Piccione has planted a total of 11 different varietals, which include Petit Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Negroamaro, Montepulciano, Merlot, Sangiovese, Sagrantino, Barbera, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Vermentino.

The trio says they’re looking to plant one more white varietal but currently keeping that under lock and key.

“Everybody wants to grow Chardonnay,” Piccione says. “I think

it’s a wonderful grape, but it’s nice to have something unique to your place.” And with another popular winery bordering Piccione’s property, many individuals love to use that dreaded “compare” word when tasting multiple wines of the same grape.

The property was purchased around 12 years ago by Piccione. “It was all woods when I bought this property. And that’s when the hard work starts – having to clear everything out and remove the stumps.

So once everything was removed, and well and infrastructures were starting to go up, the present-day tasting room was erected. But Piccione says many changes had to be made since the trailer was made for residential living – but those modifications were quick and inexpensive. As Klepcyk and Piccione state, phase two was always to build an expansive tasting room from the ground up, to be called La Collina.

“What’s nice about how Bill designed this is that it was designed with the architects to have multiple, different spaces,” Klepcyk says. “The

“

... This is exactly where I want to be.”

– Dustin Gentry Vineyard manager on finding his current position at Piccione Vineyards

PHOTO BY DATHAN KAZSUK

one thing we didn’t want to lose with increasing the size was the feel of what we currently have.”

When you visit Piccione Vineyards, the first thing one should notice is there is no stuffy, corporate-run vibe making you want to run for the hills. La Collina will offer the same breathtaking views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and a new, rustic vibe from “the Hill.”

In keeping with an “at home and comfortable” ambiance, the tasting bar will be the first thing one’s eyes focus on as soon as one steps into the building. On either side, there will be event rooms, which, as Klepcyk says, can host more significant events, weddings, wine dinners or corporate gatherings. The total square footage of the new tasting room will be 9,000 square feet between the two levels, as well as a 4,000 square foot courtyard overlooking the

picturesque mountain view.

In the lower level of the upcoming tasting room, Piccione will also feature a wine library and a barrel room that’s more intimate than above, in which the winery can host reserve tasting and other smaller-scale events.

But then what becomes of the tasting room on top of the hill? Don’t fret; Piccione says it isn’t going anywhere. “People don’t want it to close. People told me it’s like Cheers, where you walk in, and it’s that intimate setting where Hailey and Derek know everyone’s names. Plus, we don’t want to turn anyone away if we have big corporate events, so the current tasting room will be used as an overflow area to stay functional.”

The new tasting room is scheduled to open in the Spring of 2023.

More Than Just A Wine Brand

CHARLOTTE DUO OUT TO MAKE WINE FREE OF SUGAR AND SULFITES

BY DENNIS TURNER

Charlotte-based

Partners and Grapes was an idea from two friends while vacationing in Spain. These “partners” perhaps enjoyed the native Spanish wine a bit too much. The following day, both had a headache and felt drained, as explained by cofounder/owner Mary Anna Ossa.

An idea was born for an old-world high-quality fine wine that is clean and organic. Free of sugar and sulfite additives that generally can be pinpointed as the culprit of why one feels such harsh effects the morning after.

Two years of research and development investment ensued before the brand launch, which now includes three wines in its portfolio. The fruit is certifiably organically grown in a partner vineyard in Spain. The result is an organic, vegan, artfully crafted, deliciously clean wine.

All three wines are organically certified by the Catalan Council of the Organic Production and vegan certified by the European Vegetarian Union.

The signature red blend is well-balanced, consisting of 85 percent Tempranillo and 15 percent Syrah. The wines are produced with carefully selected grapes, lightly crushed before cold fermentation. The dry blend is aged for four months in second-year French oak barrels. The nose and palate are lively with red fruits and subtle hints of spice.

The white wine is fermented from 100 percent Xarel-lo organic farmed grapes. Xarel-lo is a lesser-known grape variety native to the Penedes in Catalonia, Spain. The white is produced using old-world techniques of cold fermentation and stirring of the lees, creating a clean, structured white wine expressive with citrus notes and minerality.

The rosé is a blend of 50 percent Tempranillo and Garnacha. They are produced utilizing the saignée method, which bleeds the free-run juice off the skins before pressing the fruit. The nose exhibits an expressive floral bouquet. Dry and delicate on the tongue while intense on the palate with layering notes of red fruit.

Partners and Grapes wines can be found in retail stores around Rock Hill, Fort Mill, and Indian Land, South Carolina. New retailers are aggressively being added, and the list is continually updated on their website at partnersandgrapes.com. All three wines retail at $28.99 per bottle.

Ossa is determined for Partners and Grape to be more than just a wine brand; she aims to create a platform to support other women-owned small businesses and start-ups. Her consistent drive and high level of excitement has the brand on a delicious and organic path toward success.

Turner and his wife, Jenni, are the founders ofJenNisBevMarketinginSouthCarolina. Turner is also a WSET Level II.

SOUTHER WILLIAMS WINERY

FLETCHER, NORTH CAROLINA

THE LIST OF NORTH CAROLINA WINERIES IS ALWAYS ON THE MOVE, AND RECENTLY WE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO MEET ONE OF THE LATEST WINERIES THAT CALL THE CREST OF THE BLUE RIDGE HOME – SOUTHER WILLIAMS VINEYARD.

Situated on 39 acres of land in Fletcher, North Carolina, Souther Williams offers up Eastern European vinifera and American Hybrids just minutes from Asheville and Hendersonville. Take a stroll inside the outdoor pavilion, and try wines such as Grüner Veltliner, Riesling, Vidal Blanc, Cynthiana, Blaufränkisch and Saperavi. Tasting those wines, one can see that proprietors Ken Parker and Angela Adams indeed favor European styles. Screw it Wine recently sat down with co-owner Ken Parker and talked shop over a sample of seven of his recent wines.

How did you get into this wonderful world of wine? My wife and I were into the retail side of wine about 30 years ago. We had a highend membership nightclub in Charlotte, and it was all high-end wines, single-malt Scotches and cigars when cigars were all the craze. Because of that, we started developing many connections in the wine industry. As this evolved, we started carrying boutique wines from a company called The Traveling Vineyard. I think the thing that drove me to open a winery was my passion for wine.

You are the newest winery to call The Crest of the Blue Ridge AVA home. Have you met any of your fellow winery neighbors? Oh yeah. We all started around the same time with me, Marked Tree and Stone Ashe. We all started planting around the same time in 2014-15. One of the nice things I learned about the wine industry is that everybody is quite collaborative and works together. Yeah, we all want to sell our wines and have bragging rights, but at the end of the day, it’s all about making the industry better.

And I bet the Cheers Trail that includes all the wineries and the cider and breweries helps you out.

It does. It allows people to come here and travel – and there is also the Cheers

Passport, which people can purchase, and if they get them all stamped, they can take it to the tourism authority in Hendersonville and get a prize.

I read that this is a bicentennial farm. How many years total has your family owned this property?

This farm has been in my family for 220 years, and there’s a lot of history here. The farm was originally 10,000 acres; today, it’s 37, and that’s all I can take care of.

The farm went silent in the 70s when my grandparents passed and when my mom passed in the 90s. It then came to me, and I was busy with corporate life, so it sat for 10-15 years until finally, I built our main residence that sits on top of the highest part of the property line. And on my 60th birthday, two years after completing the house, I said to my wife, “You know, I think I’m going to grow a winery.”

You have 37 acres of property. How much is under vine?

We have 8 acres under vine, including Blaufrankisch, Gruner Veltliner, Riesling, Regent and others. We like to focus on all European: German, Austrian and Russian. Our vineyard is still young, so we have two different wines right now. We have our estate-grown wines, and out-ofstate wines, that are made by contract winemakers out in the Finger Lakes region of New York. They get the grapes from up there, but they’re the same varietals we are growing here. They make them to our specs and send the wine down here. The estate-grown wines are made by Mark (Friszolowski) over at Childress Vineyards.

Let us know how that works with you and Mark Friszolowski. Sure. We get the grapes and take them down to his facility at Childress, and they crush them, bottle them and return them to us. We can do bottling, labeling and cellaring here on the property. At some point, our granddaughter is studying to become our winemaker. And we’ll build a facility here to produce wine when she’s done. But Mark is very collaborative and wants us there during the process. We’re

constantly discussing the state of the wine as it goes through its stages.

The contract wines just because these grapes in the vineyard are still so young, correct? You’ll use these grapes once they mature. That’s right. Once they mature, everything will be estate grown. We will probably continue our relationship because those two guys have done a phenomenal job. We’ll probably continue with the nonestate wines in a smaller quantity.

So many people today still have this stigma that NC wines are all sweet and that they can’t hold up to wines from other parts of the country.

You have to enjoy wines from the moment and where you are at that moment in time. Judge the wine based on that. It’s like what I tell people here – you have to try and judge North Carolina wines on the fact that they’re from North Carolina. You can’t compare them to California because you will be sorely disappointed if you do. We are not California, but we are up and coming – because there are some beautiful wines here.

What is your largest producer in the 8 acres under vine?

Our Cynthiana is our largest producer, and we get about 400-500 cases yearly from our Cynthiana. It is a vigorous producer.

For many who might not know this, Cynthiana is the same as Norton. So why do you use the name Cynthiana?

I use it because it just sounds a lot sexier. Norton sounds like a dog’s name. Virginia calls their wines Norton; some around

this state also say Norton. But I prefer Cynthiana.

And you also have a Blaufränkisch, which is also known as Lemberger. I’m assuming you chose Blaufränkisch over Lemberger because that sounds like stinky cheese.

Blaufränkisch is a much more traditional name with its German/Austrian heritage. And like you said, Lemberger makes me think of stinky cheese. We don’t want a wine named after cheese, so we decided to go with Blaufränkisch.

What are your thoughts on

natural wines like Pet Nats and other trendy specialties such as orange wines?

My focus is on making the best wine we can in a very natural way. Many things are trendy right now, but I don’t think we’ll necessarily be doing it – not that I would put down anyone that is doing it. That might be their thing, but I don’t see us doing that. But we don’t alter our wines and let the grapes speak for themselves.

Souther Williams Winery is located at 655 Hoopers Creek Road in Fletcher, North Carolina. Hours of operation are Thursday, 12-6pm; Friday and Saturday, 11am-7pm; and Sunday 12-6pm.

THE HISTORY OF

BARBOURSVILLE VINEYARD’S INFAMOUS VINO HAS AN INTERESTING STORY BEHIND THE NAME

BY DATHAN KAZSUK | PHOTOS BY DATHAN KAZSUK & JEN PRIMROSE

Barboursville Vineyard’s assistant winemaker Daniele Tessaro.

When one thinks of prestigious wines hailing from Virginia, wineries such as RdV Vineyards, Boxwood Estate Winery, Linden Vineyards or Williamsburg Winery come to mind. Another top of mind is Barboursville, located just outside Charlottesville. Founded by Gianni Zonin in 1976, the winery was built on the land once home to James Barbour – the 19th governor of the state of Virginia. Today, roughly 80,000 guests annually visit the winery to enjoy a tasting and hopefully an opportunity to sample its Bordeaux-style blend, the Octagon.

The Octagon, a wine produced by the winery to celebrate the estate’s diverse connections with the legacy of Thomas Jefferson, is an estate-grown blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. The wine’s precious juice comes from the passion, knowledge and precision of winemaker Luca Paschina and assistant winemaker Daniele Tessaro. Paschina, the resident winemaker since 1990, wields a diverse and extensive adoration for wine, while Tessaro brings in understanding from his time in the Collio region of northeast Italy.

The wine has an analogy between it and the wines of Pomerol – which include blending the same varietals from comparable clay soil, seasonal conditionals and the same ripening of sugars found in the Right Bank of France.

The story behind the wine began with the winery’s general manager’s idea of making a Bordeaux blend, but Paschina knew that Cabernet Sauvignon in Virginia wouldn’t produce as well as in France. He envisioned it being a celebratory wine based on Merlot but complementing it

with other Bordeaux grapes that would grow well in the Virginia climate. “What works best in this region of Virginia is Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot,” Tessaro says. “Tannat would have worked as well, but the winery never planted any.”

To add to the bottle’s prestigious taste, the intricate label, which shows the floor plan of the old Barbour mansion, with the main room highlighted in gold foil, which, according to Tessaro, “brings some history to the wine.”

Even with the fine quality and lushness found in a bottle of Octagon, Tessaro explains that there isn’t much difference between the basis for Octagon and the other red wines made at Barboursville. “The only difference is Octagon stays a bit longer in old and new barrels, which complement the fragrance of wine and add some more micro-oxygenation to stabilize and polymerize the color and tannins and add a layer of complexity with some of the oak.”

The assistant winemaker explains how the Petit Verdot, which is found in the Octagon, can change yearly depending on the vintages and the location – which, for the Petit Verdot, grows in three different areas. “One site is lower in elevation and flatter, which does better in hot and dry seasons,” he says. “In the rainy and cooler seasons, the winery has a side near the front on a hilltop, which offers more drainage and less humidity.” As for the Merlot and Cabernet Franc, it doesn’t matter the vintage. And he says they’re still the best products year after year.

“What Octagon is isn’t because of the technology I use,” Tessaro says. It is the quality of the grapes and knowing your site. Also, knowing what to plant and

OCTA GON

where to plant – which has been in the same location for the past eight years.”

Tessaro says the name Octagon comes from the main room in the old Barbour family mansion, designed in an octagonal shape by Thomas Jefferson. “The octagon room was supposed to be the lecture room where people would congregate and discuss political issues, hopefully over a glass of wine,” he laughs. “If you have ever been to Monticello or seen any of Jefferson’s previous designs, they are very geometric, and octagonal shapes are present in almost all of his buildings.”

According to Tessaro, Merlot is the essential ingredient in Barboursville’s Octagon, which is typically always been less than 50 percent of the wine but never above 65 percent. “What was changing was the Cabernet Sauvignon,” he says. But Octagon hasn’t used Cabernet Sauvignon since 2013, while the percent of Petit Verdot has increased in concentration, depending on the year. “At times, Petit Verdot can be up to 40 to 45 percent. That’s been the case in 2012, when around 45 percent Petit Verdot was used, and in 2018 when it was around 38 percent. And in 2020, it was roughly 35 percent.”

Barboursville Winery’s Octagon has been a show-stopper during its inception – and since 2001, the Bourdeaux-style wine has brought home 79 awards and recognitions. Many of those awards include double golds, best in shows, Governor’s Cups and praise from James Suckling, Wine Advocate and Wine Enthusiast. The wine has drawn positive comments from media from Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States.

“What Octagon is isn’t because of the technology I use. It is the quality of the grapes and knowina your site.”

– Daniele Tessaro Barboursville Vineyards

Brown Truck Brewing, established in 2015, is the town’s oldest brewery.

NOT JUST FOR FURNITURE ANYMORE

STORY AND PHOTOS BY DATHAN KAZSUK

You might know High Point as North Carolina’s International City or the Furniture Capital of the World, but it’s starting to gain some attention for its growing beer scene. The third-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad metro area, High Point is a unique city that outlies four counties in North Carolina (Guilford, Randolph, Davidson and Forsyth).

Its semi-annual High Point Furniture Market brings in over 100,000 exhibitors and buyers from across the globe – some of whom are thirsty for a beer. And that’s where you’ll find three breweries and one bottle shop in town that is definitely worth visiting.

BROWN TRUCK BREWERY

Brown Truck Brewery was established in 2015 and almost immediately gained attention

across North Carolina, especially in the Triad area. The attention came when the annual Great American Beer Festival released its award winners the following year.

The brewery won the 2016 Very Small Brewing Company of the Year award, a gold medal in the American Light Lager category and two silver medals in the Dry Hopped Saison category. After that, fellow beer drinkers made their way to the brewery to check out what owner John Vaughan had to offer – which was great tasting, qualitycontrolled beer.

Brown Truck usually offers its guests 10-12 beers on draft, which include an assortment of styles ranging from lagers, IPAs and Saison-style beers, all the way to stouts, sours and seltzers. A little something for every beer drinker.

As High Point’s first brewery, Brown Truck put its stamp on the town’s map, inviting all walks of life to come in and enjoy new friendships over a pint or two of beer. Weekend events include live music and local food trucks. Occasionally, special events grace the brewery in the form of new beer release parties and anniversary shindigs.

Brown Truck Brewery is located at 1234 N. Main Street. Brewery hours are MondayThursday, 4-10 pm; Friday, 4-11 pm; Saturday, 12-11 pm; and Sunday, 12-7 pm.

PADDLED SOUTH BREWING CO.

Less than a mile down the road, keeping on Main Street, you’ll find Paddled South Brewing Company. Longtime High Point residents and co-owners of Paddled South, Patrick Watterson and Dave and Amy Nissen,

SPONSORED BY

desire to bring quality beer to their brewery. For Watterson, it is his passion for home brewing and his love for bourbon barrel products he brings to the table. And for Dave and Amy, caring for the community is one of their top priorities.

Like Brown Truck, Paddled South brings in local musicians and food trucks to keep guests entertained with food, drink and tunes. One will find around 10 beers on draft ranging from a Mexican lager to several different pale ales - and anything in between.

Paddled South is located at 602 N. Main Street and is open Monday-Thursday, 4-9 pm; Friday, 4-11pm; Saturday, 12-11 pm; Sunday, 12:30-7 pm.

GOOFY FOOT TAPROOM & BREWERY

Explore more of High Point, and one will discover Goofy Foot Taproom and Brewery. If you are a Disney fan, be aware that this brewery isn’t named after Mickey’s fine fellow friend, but after a skateboarding style where one moves with their right foot forward. That goofy-footer was the brewery’s owner Jeff Thompson, who has coined the slogan at his brewery to “Be different. Drink Right.”

The original model of Goofy Foot was to have 6 to 8 taps devoted to its beer, but with so many great North Carolina breweries in the state, it changed its model to be more of a taproom, featuring some of the best cold beers highlighting the state.

Besides the 18 beers on draft, the taproom also features wine by the glass, a reach-in cooler with over 60 beers, local snacks, weekly beer specials, live music, trivia, Yoga and drinks. Talk about a little bit of everything.

Goofy Foot is located at 2762, NC 68, suite 109, and is open Monday-Thursday,

The Brewer’s Kettle offers wine and beer options, as well as an assortment of cigars.

4-9 pm; Friday-Saturday, 2-10 pm; and Sunday, 2-7 pm.

BREWER’S KETTLE

It’s not just breweries impacting downtown High Point but also retail wine and beer shops such as Brewer’s Kettle. Owner David Armstrong has taken his appreciation for craft beer and turned it into a must-visit shop to purchase and sample microbeers worldwide. At Brewer’s Kettle, you’ll find a selection of the latest beer releases, new wines and top-notch cigars – all while meeting a new friend or two.

Brewer’s Kettle is located at 1813 N. Main Street, Suite 101. The store is open Monday-Saturday, 11 am - 10 pm, and Sunday, 11 am to 7 pm.

BREWERY PROFILE

RADAR BREWING COMPANY

Winston-Salem, N.C. www.radarbrewingcompany.com

Radar Brewing Company opened its doors in January of 2020 and is the vision of Aaron Sizemore, Aaron Wall and Eric Peck. Located at 216 E. Ninth Street, the brewery has 9 to 10 beers on draft and around 4,000 square feet of space to hang out and enjoy a beer.

Hop Around NC met up with Wall and Peck during an afternoon to talk shop on how Radar came to be, what’s behind the name and collaboration with other local breweries.

LET’S START WITH YOU, AARON. TALK ABOUT YOUR BREWING BACKGROUND. Wall: I left the healthcare industry to start a job at Natty Greene’s for a little while and then worked my way to Foothills Brewing, where I got some commercial brewing experience. Then I left for Wicked Weed in Asheville – so again, I got some amazing commercial brewing experience. That’s where I met Eric.

Peck: I got hired to open up the taproom for Foothills. I worked at Brooklyn Brewery for eight years. My wife and I moved down here in 2014; it was the perfect timing. So that’s where we met, and from there, we were looking at spaces, and that is where we found this space here in Winston – it was just perfect timing.

Paddled South brings in local food trucks and musicans for its customers enjoyment.

PHOTO BY JENNIFER PRIMROSE

Radar Brewing Company is located in downtown Winston-Salem.

Wall: The whole change of going from hospital administration to commercial brewing – the goal wasn’t I wanted to be in the brewing industry; I wanted to be exposed and learn from the brewing industry.

THIS IS A GREAT SPACE. WHAT WAS IT BEFORE RADAR MOVED IN?

Peck: This used to be a storage facility. There were probably 20 vintage race-driven race cars from the greats of NASCAR here. Before that, a machine shop encompassed the rest of the building.

TALK ABOUT THE WINSTON-SALEM BEER SCENE. IT SEEMS LIKE IT IS GROWING.

Peck: It feels like we’ve gotten to a point where everything is settled in, and we don’t expect to see many more breweries. But in five years, we went from not having a true producing brewery taproom culture in Winston-Salem to having eight breweries with real production. We have a brewery loop where people can park at one brewery and take a short walk over the course of the day, visiting all the other breweries.

WHO ARE THE BREWERIES IN THE

BREWERY LOOP?

Peck: Us, Hoots, Fiddlin’ Fish, Wise Man and Incendiary.

BREWERIES SEEM TO LOVE TO COLLABORATE WITH ONE ANOTHER. TALK ABOUT YOUR COLLABORATIONS.

Peck: We have industry ties and friends that we’ve met from places like Natty Greene’s and Foothills. We have a lot of friends in the industry, both in and outside of the state. I know people I’ve worked with at Brooklyn Brewery that Aaron knows from some other way. Around here, it is common for us to share ingredients and resources. We share tips with the other breweries on where to source certain items or where to find merchandise.

HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE NAME RADAR BREWING?

Wall: There are a lot of things appealing about this brand. For one, the name is a palindrome. That’s pretty cool. Radar, as a technology, was discovered in the late 30s-40s and was a big part of the technology used in World War 2. That wasn’t the interesting part to us, but that radar came along at a time when modern design and art were coming to their heyday.

And you can tell by our space that we like that type of form and design. But the most beautiful aspect of radar as it ties to our brand is that radar is about discovering unknown things.

HOW MANY BEERS DO YOU HAVE AVAILABLE THROUGH DISTRIBUTION?

Peck: We have seven different can options and are just trying to keep up regularly with the grocery stores around us. We have several retail accounts as far out as Durham to the east. We have a lot around WinstonSalem, but it is all self-distribution. We hustle! We have a very small team and do a lot with this small team. We enjoy working hard and being involved.

Aaron Wall and Eric Peck are co-owners of Radar Brewing Company in downtown Winston-Salem.

PHOTO BY JENNIFER PRIMROSE

JOLO LIVES UP TO HYPE

Our first visit to JOLO Winery & Vineyards was back in 2014, but it wasn’t until 2018 when we were first introduced to its eccentric and hospitable winemaker and co-owner, JW Ray.

Since the very beginning, we’ve noticed that JW can work the room with the best. He greets all his visitors, making everyone feel accepted. Easy to spot in a crowded room, usually sporting an eye-catchy wardrobe such as a red velvet smoking jacket, blue suede shoes, minus Elvis, of course, or a clangorous Hawaiian shirt that Tom Selleck would have sported in the mid-’80s.

It’s almost like JW is a cult leader, the David Koresh of wine – as his fanatics and wine club members know practically everything about him. Where he vacations. Where he ate on his vacation – they even make wagers on what color shoes he’ll sport during the latest wine club pickup party.

We first talked to JW in 2018, a day after the unveiling of the second vintage of the popular RaRa Sisboombah, a collaboration JW does annually with Jay Raffaldini of Raffaldini Vineyards. While conversing with the winemaker, we soon realized this would be a winery with a significant say in the direction North Carolina wine should be heading in the future.

From his experience in the food and hospitality industry, selecting a prime location for growing grapes and knowing just what to develop, to discovering a mentor in Jay Raffaldini – JW has a plan.

Besides several interviews with JW, we’ve been fortunate to visit JOLO many times for tastings and releases, as well as lunch and dinner at the End Posts restaurant. It’s always been a destination to unwind and take in the grounds that lie at the bottom of the majestic backdrop of Pilot Mountain.

But, as we are not wine club members at JOLO, we have never been to the infamous pickup parties we’ve heard so much of in the past.

Finally, our friends and fellow wine connoisseurs, who are “Premier Club” members, invited us out for the afternoon to experience a pickup firsthand. It’s like

being invited to that secret club made of old crates that only the cool kids could hang out in after school. Submit the password, please. This time, we knew the password, and that password was “premier club.”

After pulling up to a “premier” parking spot and getting out of the vehicle like an 80s reunion sextuplet band, we made our way to the outdoor pavilion. We hopped in a short line to check in and grab the allocated wines for this quarter’s pickup. After taking our seats, we received our first serving of JOLO’s sangria. It was time to eat.

The End Post has always been a great place to pull up a chair and dine on a great banquet. We’ve enjoyed everything from the flatbreads, coq au vin, and my favorite, beer-glazed meatloaf. Sure, just the sound of meat and loaf together can make some of you want to run for the hills, but JW has found the ideal recipe, which is not to be overlooked.

For lunch that afternoon, we had a selection of field greens, black beans, rice, and chicken breasts smothered in gravy.

We sipped on two bottles of Golden Hollows, a crisp and refreshing white wine blended with Traminette, Vidal Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc.

Next, we bought a bottle of his new Cabernet Franc to share at the table. This wine club addition features 45 percent Cabernet Franc, from the Hutton Vineyard vines he purchased back in 2020. And the table loved it!

I picked up a bottle of the 2021 Crimson Creek for all of us to enjoy. The consensus was the same. Another great bottle of wine!

This 100 percent Chambourcin wine featured great features of dark, ripe cherry, mocha, baking spices and forest floor. In my opinion, the perfect wine to end a day at the winery.

While we were still enjoying the last of our Crimson Creek, JW approached us and asked if we’d had an opportunity to see the recently renovated events room – previously the barrel room before operations were transferred to Hutton Vineyards.

BY CAITLIN WHEELER PHOTOS BY MASH PHOTOGRAPHY

The private tour, led by JW himself, left us in awe. Walking into the enclosure was like entering a traditional and elegant French restaurant. Tables were lined with linen and wine glasses – while a breathtaking chandelier was the room’s focus, hanging above the floor.

The complexity of this wine and notes of raspberry and baking spices made for one of the most elegant Francs we’ve had in the past several months.

During this time, JW addressed the crowd with informative facts on Hutton Vineyards and his recent trip to France. But it wouldn’t be JW without a handful of witty jokes and playful banter with his dedicated fanatics.

After we finished our lunch, we went to the tasting lounge to decide what was next on our agenda. We eventually took a seat in the members-only wine library, where

It was an afternoon not to be missed. We were glad to have our friends’ invite, and we look forward to attending a wine dinner JW puts on for his members. Just looking at the menu on the tables looked like it is one not to be missed – and seeing the number of wine glasses at each place, I hope we have an Uber for the evening.

In conclusion, JW Ray just happened to find a Genie in the bottle – and his wishes have come true. Hospitality. Great wine. A destination. It keeps his guests returning and will continue to do the same for us.

PHOTO BY DATHAN KAZSUK

The events room at JOLO is the host of the winery’s famous Cuveé wine dinners.

A NIGHT IN THE VINEYARD

CONQUERING THE FEARS AT SKULL CAMP’S ANNUAL CAMPOUT

COPY AND PHOTOS BY JENNIFER PRIMROSE

In this Editorial+, Screw it Wine’s Jennifer Primrose recalls, in first person, her evening camping by herself at the Skull Campout held twice annually by Round Peak Vineyards in Mt. Airy, North Carolina.

The annual Skull Campout at Round Peak Vineyards takes place twice yearly. This signature event features camping in the vineyard amongst the vines – both RV and tent camping is allowed, or some may prefer to rent the cabin on-site if roughing it isn’t quite their style. This year’s event welcomed musicians Jacob Lindsay and Craig Vaughn, who entertained the campers during the afternoon and evening hours. There is also an 18-hole disc golf course, hiking trails, cornhole, and of course, beer and wine. This event is familyfriendly and dog friendly.

Skull Camp Social House provided a BBQ dinner while guests enjoyed live music and a campfire at dusk with s’mores. The following day, campers are served a light continental breakfast before packing the camping gear and heading home. The Skull Campout is the perfect event for both seasoned and non-seasoned campers.

OUR 2022 SKULL CAMPOUT TRIALS & TRIBULATIONS

We were so excited about this campout this year. Since we are non-campers, this event is the perfect solution to try out camping in our happy place – a vineyard, among other wine, beer and music lovers. We felt more prepared than in other years as we were getting the car packed up to go. Tent, tarp, canopy, camp chairs, sleeping bag with extra blankets, pillows, lantern, bug spray – we knew we were ready for a night of fun and cold! And one of the best parts for us was knowing we would get to experience this campout with good friends.

This year’s event brought us incredible Fall-like weather as the autumn foliage seemed to brighten before our eyes. We knew the cooler Fall air would set in once the sun went down and would welcome us to a chilly night.

After we arrived and checked in, we drove down the access road into the vineyard and chose our location for the evening. We learned a valuable lesson the last time – to search out flat terrain to avoid sliding down a slope in the middle of the night! Our first task was to assemble our sleeping quarters for the night. Anyone who knows us should know that nothing ever seems to go smoothly for us. Between tangled up tent poles and trying to remember exactly how to assemble the body of the tent, and then there is the rain fly. I’m still not sure if we got that one right or not! Either way, at this point, it was time for a drink and Dathan to check his work email. And that is when our weekend of camping suddenly took a turn for the worse.

As Dathan struggled with the wi-fi, our friends arrived. I met them down the hill in the vineyard where we were set up. As they began to set up camp, Dathan comes down the hill, beer in hand, and declares, “I need to go home! I need to work, and the wi-fi is too slow here, and I can’t access the Adobe Cloud.” I look at him in disbelief! He tells me to stay and that he’ll pick me up the next day. I’m thinking, “you would leave me here, alone, in a tent, in freezing weather, with no car, two hours from home?” And this is when our night of camping took a turn that nobody expected.

All of us discussed his options but to no avail. He had to go home, but first, he would visit for a while and ensure I had everything I needed for my tent camping in the vineyard “alone” while he hit the road back home. Typically during this time, we would listen to the musician, play frisbee golf, check out the hiking trails, do our social media or relax outside the tent

But instead, we were setting up our tent for a party of one!

While Dathan was standing in line to grab Skull Camp’s Knuckle Dragger, a double IPA, he heard someone call his name beside him. Turning to his left, he saw Hidden Vineyards’ co-owner, Tim Sherman. He said he was with Lisa, his wife, visiting their friends from Destination Travel, who were also prepared to spend the night in the vineyard. We visited momentarily with Tim and Lisa and made introductions with Destination Travel as we began to bid Dathan adieu.

THE NIGHT MUST GO ON ...

After Dathan’s departure, I hung out with our friends, listening to the tunes of Craig Vaughn. His musical collection of rock, classic rock, and pop took us back to a time familiar to us as he belted out songs such as “Summer of ‘69,” John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” and even some classic Johnny Cash. As the dinner bell rang, we were treated to BBQ or brats from Skull Camphouse Social House. Soon, the sun began to set, and the full moon began to make its appearance. It was time to partake in a camping must-do – roasting marshmallows and s’mores! As Craig Vaughn wrapped up his set, it was time for us to turn in and get ready for a cold and somewhat lonely night.

music playing and everyone singing along. Thinking I should have joined the party, I decided to stay put.

As the party began to wind down around 1 am, it was time to try and sleep. I was awoken by what I thought were barking dogs in the distance. My eyes popped wide open! “What in the world was that?” I wondered. Did some dogs get into a scuffle? Are some dogs sensing danger and trying to warn the campers? What if it wasn’t our cute, furry, domesticated camping dogs and something more daunting? My mind is going a mile a minute. It’s October. It’s almost Halloween. There’s an almost full moon shining through the sky. And I’ve been watching Stranger Things on Netflix! My mind goes places it shouldn’t. I unzipped my tent window to make sure my friends didn’t leave me here alone. The tent and car are still there. I’m good. And I try to go back to sleep again.

tents with sleeping campers nestled inside. On my way back, I see something black brush by from the corner of my eye. Thank goodness I did not let out a shriek, waking up the entire vineyard as it was only a shadow! Deep breath! I make it back down the hill and inside my tent. Get cozy in my sleeping bag again and try for a couple more hours of sleep.

A NEW DAY EMERGES ...

DAY TURNS TO NIGHT ...

I climbed into the tent intending to at least make it a little cozier and welcoming but instead, I piled on as many blankets as possible for a chilly night ahead. I kept my winter coat and hat on, added some flannel pj’s and fluffy socks and snuggled into my sleeping bag. Up the hill, I can still hear the party going. What I thought was karaoke, I later learned, was just 80s

Alas, I wake up again, but I need to use the restroom this time. Usually, I would wake up Dathan to escort me, but he’s over two hours away! I take a peek outside, and it’s still really dark out. So, I decided I could wait. I lay there, eyes open, and then I started to hear more sounds of nature –animal sounds that didn’t sound like cute, furry, fluffy animals! I take a deep breath and go back to sleep for a bit.

It’s now 3:30 in the morning, and I really need to go! I brave it up. Put on my boots, grab my phone and head up the hill with my iPhone flashlight to the restroom, trying to be quiet as I pass by some of the

As the sun rises, I hear campers waking up to a new day. I checked the temperature – 38 degrees! I made it! I survived a night alone, in a tent, in the cold, in the middle of a vineyard, with a bunch of other people, and I thought to myself, “this was a piece of cake!” Except for one thing – how do I take this tent down? I decided to relax a bit outside my sleeping quarters and take in the beauty of the new day. It’s quiet now and so peaceful.

When it was time to disassemble the tent, I had no plan. Did I need a plan? I took up all the stakes in the ground, rolled up the tent, and packed everything up for the 2-hour drive home.

With everything said and done, this was a great experience but certainly not one we bargained for or will ever forget. We had plans to promote throughout the night on social media, but that went south quickly – but life does that sometimes. I’m sure all the campers had different experiences and that is surely to bring many different and enjoyable perspectives.

Will we do the campout again? Absolutely. Could I do this by myself? Sure! Do I want to? Nope! But as a friend who followed my journey on social said, “you earned a GS badge!” So, naturally, once home, I dug into my archives and found my Girl Scout camping badge!