Business

Folks turn out to toast new winery

By Bill Moss, Published: August 5, 2012

Several dozen local people turned out Saturday evening for a preview opening of Saint Paul Mountain Vineyards, Henderson County's first retail winery and a harbinger of what's to come.

The vineyard and tasting room, on Chestnut Gap Road off U.S. 64 East, is owned by Alan Ward, a portfolio manager by day and grape grower in his free time.
Gary Jones (left) and Lemuel Oates enjoy the Saint Paul winery event.The attendees of the event on Saturday and at the public opening Sunday could choose from six varieties of wine, from a dry chardonnay to rich red blends.
The winery opened to the public on Sunday and had drawn a few customers even before it opened at 1 p.m.
"We had people here as soon as the doors were open walking in ready to go," said Michael Jackson, an associate who grows Saint Paul grapes on Lookout Mountain in Edneyville.
People seemed to enjoy the tasting, he said, and sales were brisk. "They're going really well. Everybody's doing the tasting and you want to see them walking out the door with bottles too and most everybody is, so that tells you you're doing what you hoped to do."
While Ward's winery is the first, close behind is a new winery operated by Lemuel Oates, the Manual Woodworkers owner who has a vineyard on Sugarloaf Road and plans to sell wine starting later this month at his Day in the Country restaurant and gift shop on Sugarloaf Road. He is opening a tasting room, too, in a farmhouse across the road from his vineyard.
Oates, who attended the Saint Paul opening on Saturday, said he is glad to see Ward's facility open and hopes that the two wineries will complement one another. Ward and Oates plan to jointly pay for a sign on I-26 directing travelers to the wineries.
Saint Paul vineyard offers a wine club with discounts on bottles and cases of wine, free birthday tastings and priority on new and limited wine releases, complimentary wine tasting when the member brings a guest and a discount on facility rentals.
The winery and vineyard are available for parties, weddings and other events.
The winery is open from 2-7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 1-8:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 1-6 p.m. on Sunday. For information call 828.685.4002.