Blog articles about wine tours

It’s Pruning Time at the Vineyards!

August 25, 2022February 1, 2022 by Christine Vincent

The Tryon Foothills experienced several inches of snow and freezing temperature during the month of January. As a consumer of wine, WSET Level 1 Certified, and having a budding interest in vineyard management, I was curious as to how weather, specifically, the latest blast of winter, has impacted the local vineyards and what vineyard management … Full Story

WSET Level 1

January 11, 2022 by Ryan Watts

Congrats to our three employees (myself included) who have successfully completed their WSET Level 1 in Wines certification. What is WSET and what does this certification mean to our customers? I am glad you asked! What is WSET? WSET in an acronym for the Wine & Spirt Education Trust. This is a global organization, headquartered … Full Story

Charlotte Wine Tours

October 4, 2023October 25, 2021 by Ryan Watts

Charlotte, the largest and most populous city in North Carolina, has a number of great wine tour options available to anyone who wants to start a wine tour originating from the Queen City. The city is a crossroads to the two very different wine styles contained inside the state; you can easily get to wineries … Full Story

Autumn Wine Tours

September 30, 2021August 27, 2021 by Ryan Watts

I know. The title of this blog post is enough all on its own. I really don’t need to say much beyond this as you already have wonderful images, feelings, and thoughts in your mind that evoke those “Fall Feelings”. If you have visited a Carolina winery in the Autumn, you already know. There is … Full Story

Asheville Urban Wineries

August 25, 2022May 12, 2021 by Ryan Watts

There are a number of great wineries available to visit from the Asheville area. These are wineries with attached vineyards (the traditional “winery experience“) and we have written about them here. But what if you want to stay inside the city or don’t have time for a full day excursion? You will be happy to … Full Story

North Carolina Wine Tours

August 25, 2022April 27, 2021 by Ryan Watts

The wine industry in North Carolina is exploding in terms of both growth (the number of wineries) and popularity (the number of people visiting the wineries). It is a huge economic boom for the state having almost a 2 billion dollar impact on the economy and supporting over 10,000 jobs. While all of this sounds … Full Story

A Complete AVA Tour

February 22, 2023February 4, 2021 by Ryan Watts

Western North Carolina currently has a unique opportunity for a wine tour and the Van in Black can deliver on it. With the introduction of the latest American Viticultural Area (AVA) in North Carolina, which occurred in the Summer of 2019, the “Crest of the Blue Ridge” AVA currently has six wineries around Hendersonville, NC that can technically be visited on a single wine tour. We fully acknowledge that visiting six wineries in a single day is a lofty goal, but with the hours that the wineries are open during the busier months, it is entirely possible for the responsible drinker. How you say? We are glad you asked!

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Welcome to the New Hendersonville Wineries!

August 25, 2022August 11, 2020 by Ryan Watts

The Hendersonville wine region of North Carolina, also known by the American Viticultural Area (AVA) designation of “Crest of the Blue Ridge”, recently welcomed two new wineries to the region: Marked Tree Vineyard and Stone Ashe Vineyards. As of the Summer of 2020, this makes a total of 5 active wineries in the immediate Hendersonville area. It increases the number of active wineries in or around the Asheville area to about 15 depending on which areas you want to include. However you count them, whether “in or around Asheville”, the number of wineries in the area are growing making an Asheville wine tour or Hendersonville wine tour both significant and respectable! With the recent growth, a winery tour in the area may take two days.

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Food Options on Tours

August 25, 2022December 31, 2019 by Ryan Watts

On most of our tours; whether it is a winery tour, pub crawl, or scenic tour, eventually the same question usually comes up: What are the food options…Where can we eat? A perfectly reasonable and understandable question; especially if you have been out drinking for awhile on a winery or brewery tour. On these types of tours food is definitely a good thing! Stopping to enjoy a good meal helps to slow the pace and intake of alcohol (since you are eating and not drinking) and makes the overall experience much more enjoyable. It is true that variety is the spice of life and if you are going to enjoy a bunch of different wines or beers, you need to pace yourself and enjoy some food too along the way.

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Asheville Wine Tours

October 4, 2023December 7, 2019 by Ryan Watts

Asheville is quite possibly the quintessential city for Western North Carolina experiences. The location is perfectly situated in the mountains and is either the direct host of the experience(an Asheville wine tour!) or the perfect gateway to it. When it comes to wineries, Asheville is both! While it doesn’t host too many wineries, and none of them have vineyards attached to them, Asheville does directly host two wineries inside the city limits; one which has the unique distinction of being the most visited winery in America (more on this later). Asheville is also the gateway to a number a quality wineries and vineyards that are all less than an hours drive from the city. At the time of this writing, late 2019, there are at least ten quality wineries that are viable options for any Asheville wine tours. So if you are in Asheville and want to checkout the winery scene, there are some options to definitely consider.

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