Biltmore= the mansion is delightful, the restaurant adequate. Even if
you're on a VIP tour---you will have arrayed before you all the moderately
priced selections. Some of the wines are fresh, some was first opened when
the Vanderbilt's The young lads & ladies serving do not open fresh bottles
unless they have---you are lucky if a manager is called---the manager not
too much older then staff will open some inexpensive wines but anything over
$20 retail is reserved for potential customers---at the time 1999 they had a
lot of flabby hybrids. Their cab or zin was bought in California for the
winemaker to use. You have squint a bit to see the California appellation
on the bottle. The servers did know Wine 101, but referred to printed
material for any questions---when was the vidal picked and at what brix? I
might as well be talking in Sanskrit.

Oh yeah, I specialized in East Coast wine---had with me a German
importer/exporter. The VIP treatment was arranged by the wholesaler we used
in Asheville---there maybe some Rhinefaltz wines still on a few shelves
there. About 4 years after I retired the some one called me(area manager
for Maryland & Delaware) to see if I was interested in working for them on a
commission(low).
basis. I told him about my tasting room turn-off. He confirmed what the
Carolina wholesaler said---that they were shorthanded that day and the
person assigned to us was needed elsewhere---the person in charge made a
judgment that sales were brisk & they didn't think we were going to buy and
were in the way.

To be fair, I thought the wine sucked before we were dissed. The California
juice was worth the $40 price tag unless it was the retail price for a case.

"Dick R." > wrote in message
...
> We're coming on down to Hilton Head SC in mid February to spend a month.
> We'll be driving, so weather conditions will determine our route.
> We would like to stop in Asheville, NC for a tour of the Biltmore Estate
> (I understand they have a winery on the grounds). We'll be using Hilton
> Head SC as our base of operations, and we'll take several 1-2 day
> excursions to other areas and cities of interest. Savannah, GA and
> Charlston, SC are definitely on the list.
>
> Here is the question: Does anyone have suggestions for restaurants or
> bars that serve good food and wine at a reasonable price? On this trip,
> we're not interested in pricey "fine dining" establishments.
>
> Thanks Y'all for any suggestions.
> Linda and Dick in Minnesota USA