I made a holiday trip with family to see the Biltmore Estates just outside
of Ashville, North Carolina ... the Biltmore Estates is a European-style
chateau built by the Vanderbilt's in the 1800's. It's very impressive --
unbelievable opulence for the period.

Nearby is the Biltmore Estates Winery, which I was unfamiliar with, and at
first I feared that it was just a tourist operation and that the wine
wouldn't be very good. But, I was surprised to find that they make some
very good wine! Your tour of the Biltmore Estates also entitles you to a
tasting of 8 wines from their fairly extensive list ... their Cab Sav
reserve was quite nice. At the "premium" tasting bar for $3 a glass you can
taste their more prestigious wines, and we tried their "Antler Hill" Cab
Sav, which was really remarkable (with a price of $48 a bottle, it was out
of our budget though).

If you're nearby, the general wine tasting allows a nice opportunity to
taste a fairly large number of wines made from grapes grown on the estate.

Jon
[Check out my winemaking homepage
http://users.rcn.com/jcgilliam/Southeast_PA_Winemaker/!]

Wow, I'm sitting in front of my computer having a glass of their American
Cab Sav right now. It's a medium bodied Cab with a pronounced blackberry
aroma & flavor.

I live within 20 miles of the winery & didn't know the rest of the world
knew it existed.
Cheers,
Steve
"Jon Gilliam" > wrote in message
...
>I made a holiday trip with family to see the Biltmore Estates just outside
>of Ashville, North Carolina ... the Biltmore Estates is a European-style
>chateau built by the Vanderbilt's in the 1800's. It's very impressive --
>unbelievable opulence for the period.
>
> Nearby is the Biltmore Estates Winery, which I was unfamiliar with, and at
> first I feared that it was just a tourist operation and that the wine
> wouldn't be very good. But, I was surprised to find that they make some
> very good wine! Your tour of the Biltmore Estates also entitles you to a
> tasting of 8 wines from their fairly extensive list ... their Cab Sav
> reserve was quite nice. At the "premium" tasting bar for $3 a glass you
> can taste their more prestigious wines, and we tried their "Antler Hill"
> Cab Sav, which was really remarkable (with a price of $48 a bottle, it was
> out of our budget though).
>
> If you're nearby, the general wine tasting allows a nice opportunity to
> taste a fairly large number of wines made from grapes grown on the estate.
>
> Jon
> [Check out my winemaking homepage
> http://users.rcn.com/jcgilliam/Southeast_PA_Winemaker/!]
>
>

Hmm. I guess I should give them another try - in Raleigh here, we have
lots of places that sell it, I just never liked it from the tasting I
had at Biltmore. Lots of folks around here give them as gifts since it's
from America's Largest home. :*)

DAve

STEPHEN PEEK wrote:
> Wow, I'm sitting in front of my computer having a glass of their American
> Cab Sav right now. It's a medium bodied Cab with a pronounced blackberry
> aroma & flavor.
>
> I live within 20 miles of the winery & didn't know the rest of the world
> knew it existed.
> Cheers,
> Steve
> "Jon Gilliam" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>I made a holiday trip with family to see the Biltmore Estates just outside
>>of Ashville, North Carolina ... the Biltmore Estates is a European-style
>>chateau built by the Vanderbilt's in the 1800's. It's very impressive --
>>unbelievable opulence for the period.
>>
>>Nearby is the Biltmore Estates Winery, which I was unfamiliar with, and at
>>first I feared that it was just a tourist operation and that the wine
>>wouldn't be very good. But, I was surprised to find that they make some
>>very good wine! Your tour of the Biltmore Estates also entitles you to a
>>tasting of 8 wines from their fairly extensive list ... their Cab Sav
>>reserve was quite nice. At the "premium" tasting bar for $3 a glass you
>>can taste their more prestigious wines, and we tried their "Antler Hill"
>>Cab Sav, which was really remarkable (with a price of $48 a bottle, it was
>>out of our budget though).
>>
>>If you're nearby, the general wine tasting allows a nice opportunity to
>>taste a fairly large number of wines made from grapes grown on the estate.
>>
>>Jon
>>[Check out my winemaking homepage
>>http://users.rcn.com/jcgilliam/Southeast_PA_Winemaker/!]
>>
>>
>
>
>

"STEPHEN PEEK" > wrote in message
news
> Wow, I'm sitting in front of my computer having a glass of their American
> Cab Sav right now. It's a medium bodied Cab with a pronounced blackberry
> aroma & flavor.
>
> I live within 20 miles of the winery & didn't know the rest of the world
> knew it existed.
> Cheers,
> Steve

Suggest you go to Shelton Winery off Hwy 77 near the North Carolina /
Virginia state line if you have not been there. It is the ONLY winery that
I have been to where I was able to tell the differences between Cabernet
Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. IMHO their wines are excellent. It
is also a large winery. North Carolina is rapidly expanding in
viticulture - especially the Yadkin Valley area. There are some that are
even growing Sangiovese.



> "Jon Gilliam" > wrote in message
> ...
>>I made a holiday trip with family to see the Biltmore Estates just outside
>>of Ashville, North Carolina ... the Biltmore Estates is a European-style
>>chateau built by the Vanderbilt's in the 1800's. It's very impressive --
>>unbelievable opulence for the period.
>>
>> Nearby is the Biltmore Estates Winery, which I was unfamiliar with, and
>> at first I feared that it was just a tourist operation and that the wine
>> wouldn't be very good. But, I was surprised to find that they make some
>> very good wine! Your tour of the Biltmore Estates also entitles you to a
>> tasting of 8 wines from their fairly extensive list ... their Cab Sav
>> reserve was quite nice. At the "premium" tasting bar for $3 a glass you
>> can taste their more prestigious wines, and we tried their "Antler Hill"
>> Cab Sav, which was really remarkable (with a price of $48 a bottle, it
>> was out of our budget though).
>>
>> If you're nearby, the general wine tasting allows a nice opportunity to
>> taste a fairly large number of wines made from grapes grown on the
>> estate.
>>
>> Jon
>> [Check out my winemaking homepage
>> http://users.rcn.com/jcgilliam/Southeast_PA_Winemaker/!]
>>
>>
>
>

I'm unreasonably partial to reds, and I only choose red wines during the
tasting.
At the local stores, they were selling what they called "Christmas Wine"
from Biltmore, which (IMHO) was horrible stuff. It had the "cheesy" taste
of a heavy ML fermentation, and was horribly sweet. Heated and spiced, it
might just barely have made an acceptable Wassail.

But, if that's your experience, I wouldn't let that keep you from a weekend
trip out to taste their other wines. Me and my significant other were
rathing them on a 1-5 scale, as we tasted ... from their "non-premium"
wines, I had a few 3's. We liked their Chateau Reserve Cab Sav and their
Cardinal's Crest "signature blend" (which unfortunately didn't list the
varieties in the blend). What we were really impressed with, though, was
the "Antler Hill" cab sav, which they said was available only in limited
quantities.

Jon

"DAve Allison" > wrote in message
.. .
> Hmm. I guess I should give them another try - in Raleigh here, we have
> lots of places that sell it, I just never liked it from the tasting I had
> at Biltmore. Lots of folks around here give them as gifts since it's from
> America's Largest home. :*)
>
> DAve
>
> STEPHEN PEEK wrote:
>> Wow, I'm sitting in front of my computer having a glass of their American
>> Cab Sav right now. It's a medium bodied Cab with a pronounced blackberry
>> aroma & flavor.
>>
>> I live within 20 miles of the winery & didn't know the rest of the world
>> knew it existed.
>> Cheers,
>> Steve
>> "Jon Gilliam" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>
>>>I made a holiday trip with family to see the Biltmore Estates just
>>>outside of Ashville, North Carolina ... the Biltmore Estates is a
>>>European-style chateau built by the Vanderbilt's in the 1800's. It's
>>>very impressive -- unbelievable opulence for the period.
>>>
>>>Nearby is the Biltmore Estates Winery, which I was unfamiliar with, and
>>>at first I feared that it was just a tourist operation and that the wine
>>>wouldn't be very good. But, I was surprised to find that they make some
>>>very good wine! Your tour of the Biltmore Estates also entitles you to a
>>>tasting of 8 wines from their fairly extensive list ... their Cab Sav
>>>reserve was quite nice. At the "premium" tasting bar for $3 a glass you
>>>can taste their more prestigious wines, and we tried their "Antler Hill"
>>>Cab Sav, which was really remarkable (with a price of $48 a bottle, it
>>>was out of our budget though).
>>>
>>>If you're nearby, the general wine tasting allows a nice opportunity to
>>>taste a fairly large number of wines made from grapes grown on the
>>>estate.
>>>
>>>Jon
>>>[Check out my winemaking homepage
>>>http://users.rcn.com/jcgilliam/Southeast_PA_Winemaker/!]
>>>
>>>
>>
>>

An update on Shelton Winery. On the below suggestion, I drove up there
today. Wonderful place, reminds me of Sonoma Valley estates, however,
they are out of 7 of their major wines. Currently only have the following:
Syrah, Sangiovese, Merlot & their blend Madison Lee Red
Chardonnay Bin #17 (stainless), Estate Chardonnay (oaky!) and their
Madison Lee White (blend)
They also had two table wines I didn't taste.
The place has a gourmet cheese deli and gourmet restraurant (never could
spell) and an outdoor theatre area for summer dances/music. Nice clean
place.

IMHO - Madison Lee Red is just GREAT! My wife and I gave it a 5. We are
having a bottle of that with our meal this evening!
(scale 1-5)
Syrah - 4, Sangiovese 3-4, Merlot (we didn't try, we are not Merlot
drinkers), Chardonany Bin #17 - 2, Estate Chardonany - 4 1/2. Madison
Lee White - 3 1/2.

So I also suggest , but most of the wines are not being replaced until
April, they said. I can't wait to try their other wines.

Well, back to racking a Syrah, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir.

DAve


Paul E. Lehmann wrote:
> "STEPHEN PEEK" > wrote in message
> news >
>>Wow, I'm sitting in front of my computer having a glass of their American
>>Cab Sav right now. It's a medium bodied Cab with a pronounced blackberry
>>aroma & flavor.
>>
>>I live within 20 miles of the winery & didn't know the rest of the world
>>knew it existed.
>>Cheers,
>>Steve
>
>
> Suggest you go to Shelton Winery off Hwy 77 near the North Carolina /
> Virginia state line if you have not been there. It is the ONLY winery that
> I have been to where I was able to tell the differences between Cabernet
> Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. IMHO their wines are excellent. It
> is also a large winery. North Carolina is rapidly expanding in
> viticulture - especially the Yadkin Valley area. There are some that are
> even growing Sangiovese.
>
>
>
>
>>"Jon Gilliam" > wrote in message
...
>>
>>>I made a holiday trip with family to see the Biltmore Estates just outside
>>>of Ashville, North Carolina ... the Biltmore Estates is a European-style
>>>chateau built by the Vanderbilt's in the 1800's. It's very impressive --
>>>unbelievable opulence for the period.
>>>
>>>Nearby is the Biltmore Estates Winery, which I was unfamiliar with, and
>>>at first I feared that it was just a tourist operation and that the wine
>>>wouldn't be very good. But, I was surprised to find that they make some
>>>very good wine! Your tour of the Biltmore Estates also entitles you to a
>>>tasting of 8 wines from their fairly extensive list ... their Cab Sav
>>>reserve was quite nice. At the "premium" tasting bar for $3 a glass you
>>>can taste their more prestigious wines, and we tried their "Antler Hill"
>>>Cab Sav, which was really remarkable (with a price of $48 a bottle, it
>>>was out of our budget though).
>>>
>>>If you're nearby, the general wine tasting allows a nice opportunity to
>>>taste a fairly large number of wines made from grapes grown on the
>>>estate.
>>>
>>>Jon
>>>[Check out my winemaking homepage
>>>http://users.rcn.com/jcgilliam/Southeast_PA_Winemaker/!]
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>