Saint Paul Mountain Vineyards-Hendersonville, NC
While visiting my mom and dad over Memorial Day weekend in 2025, we found ourselves at a charming local vineyard around lunchtime. Read on to learn more about our experience and about the vineyard to determine if it is something you want to check out next time you are in the Asheville area.
About The Vineyard
Saint Paul Mountain Vineyards was established in 2008. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that they can boast that their wine has won both State and International awards. They are an Estate Winery, meaning the grapes are grown, produced and bottled on the winery's own property, allowing for greater control over the entire winemaking process. They specialize in French Vinifera wine but grow and offer many different varietals.
The vineyard is located at:
588 Chestnut Gap Rd
Hendersonville, NC 28792
828-685-4002
They are open:
Monday - Thursday 11 till 6
Friday & Saturday 11 till 7
Sunday 12 till 6
Wine tastings daily, tastings range from $15 to $25.
No reservations required.
Pets allowed outside.
Children allowed. This place was very family friendly.
Tours daily at 2:00 or by appointment.
They had tons of parking available.
Seating inside or outside and umbrellas at outside tables to allow for some shade.
Their Cidery is within walking distance in a historic barn.
They also have a 5-bedroom Air B & B you can rent. It is a beautiful, restored home from the 1880’s (link to rent below).
They have special events, a live music schedule, and a wine club you can join.
They have a make your own charcuterie situation, or they have a food truck on site. When we went, they had a pizza food truck.
Our Wine Tasting
We arrived around 12:45pm on a Sunday afternoon and it was the perfect time. We went in through the main entrance and there were plenty of seats available inside and outside. The staff welcomed us and informed us that we could choose our seats and that they would come over and go through the menu and tasting options with us.
We decided to sit outside and chose a table closest to the vines so that we had an unobstructed view. About 10 minutes later everyone else had this same idea because the outside tables began filling up! I would suggest the earlier the better.
There were two areas to sit inside if that is what you prefer or if that is what the weather dictates. In the main area where the bar is located, there is seating throughout and you could even sit in front of a beautiful stone fireplace. In this main space they also offer two restrooms (out of the way) and the build your own charcuterie station. In the second room there was mixed seating and a wall with a full curtain of twinkle lights that really created a beautiful ambiance.
Our waitress came over with a menu for each of us. There are 4 tasting options ranging from $15-$25. You can also have wine by the glass or bottle, and sometimes they offer specials like this weekend they had a festive sangria for Memorial Day.
We decided to go with the Tubular Tasting option so that we could try the biggest variety. Mom and I also prefer sweet wines and it is the only tasting option that features sweet wines to try.
Per the guidance of our waitress we started from the lightest and went to the darkest (that was how the wines were listed on the menu as well so we could follow along). My favorite was the 2022 Lower Vineyard.
Once we finished our tasting we decided that we had to try the special sangria so we ordered one of those to share as well and it did not disappoint!
Sangria $10
We also asked about food and our waitress told us about the build your own charcuterie.
There is a cooler inside with a variety of cheese, meats, and crackers to choose from. You just pick what you like, and they add it to your tab. They also had a pizza food truck available.
The pizza food truck.
We went right inside and straight to the cooler. Everything was a flat rate (cheese $8, meat $8, crackers $5). Some of the crackers were even gluten free. They also had soft drinks $2, beer $8, and cheese and hummus spread $6. They also had a case of chocolates and truffles at the bar for $2.25 a piece. We did not partake in them, but they were very tempting!
Once you selected your items, you could select your utensils, a board, and a cheese knife to utilize. They thought of everything. They also had a water station here as well as a water station outside (they even had bowls for your pup).
We went with a block of Irish cheddar, a package of salami, and a bag of gluten free chips.
The Tour
Full transparency we got super lucky with our timing and were able to take the tour. As we came in I noticed a sign that said tours daily at 2:00 and I decided to ask if they were able to accommodate our family. Turns out they were able to!
The tour was free!
It actually started just before 2:00 as everyone had “checked in”.
I don’t know if this happens every day, but our tour was ran by the vineyard owner Allen Ward.
It lasted about an hour and fifteen minutes and took us right from our seats at the tasting room through the vines, to the production facility, and back.
If you can do it and are interested in wine or about wine in North Carolina in particular I highly recommend it. Allen is so passionate about what he does and is so knowledgeable while also being such a kind and down to earth farmer.
Allen grew up on this farm so it was really special to get the tour from him. The land has been in his family since 1752 and came from a land grant from Mary of Guise in France. A few facts he shared:
Was apples before wine (meaning it was an apple orchard). There were still some apples.
The vineyard itself is about 17 years old.
There is more geological diversity in NC than anywhere in the world.
They also do a cider and a brandy.
They don’t do weddings or divorces. They just do wine. Sometimes they host dinners and launch parties for new wines and things like that, but they are not a wedding venue.
The first part of the vineyard we toured were Geneva double curtain vines.
He described it as being similar to burgundy France.
It takes 3 years once you plant your vines for them to produce.
They grow a little bit of everything (wine/grape wise).
They do not use any irrigation.
We started the tour by walking through the vines and learning about the history of the farm, the vineyard, and some of the equipment that we encountered. He was very open to questions and did a great job of keeping the tour informative without getting boring. He also told us that the area used to be a hunting ground for Native Americans and that they frequently find arrowheads in the soil (so we all had our eyes glued to the ground).
Next, we moved on to the production site. It was all housed inside an incredible “barn” that they had built specifically for the wine production. They are able to process, produce, and bottle the wine all inside the building. There were even restrooms, offices, and a lab inside!
Upon entering the facility, we were greeted by the wine maker Tim. Tim has been with the company around 22 months but comes with incredible experience. He grew up in California and spent many years making wine out in “wine country” before taking his expertise to New Zealand and Germany. Since working with the team at Saint Paul Mountain Vineyards his creations have literally won awards.
After meeting Tim and getting to know him and his philosophy on wine and winemaking, we got a tour of the inside of the building. There were bottles boxed and ready to sell to the right, the Dream Machine (shakes and sorts the grapes) next to those, barrels all along the back, a bottling machine on the left towards the back, and then the fermenters and bigtime equipment all along the left side.
As Allen explained the ins and outs of the process and the flow of the machinery to us, Tim was working on some wine that was just finishing up in the process. Allen grabbed us each a glass and had us go over to Tim to taste wine straight from the tank. It was such a unique experience!
While we enjoyed our wine, Allen took us over to the barrels. He explained the different kinds of barrels, where they came from, etc. He even let us smell the wine inside the barrels! This tour was extremely hands on you guys!
We finished the tour by making a circle back to the winery. On the way we passed the Air B&B and the restored barn that is now where they sell and offer tastings of their cider.
In Conclusion
If you find yourself with some free time and are looking for a pleasant way to spend an afternoon or evening, I highly recommend spending it at Saint Paul Mountain Vinyards. Whether to just enjoy a glass of wine, to partake in the tasting, or to tag along on the tour, you can’t go wrong with any activity. Bring your family and your pups to make it even better! Cheers!
