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A Thirst for Knowledge

How big can a wine bottle get?

Capacity (Liters) followed by the number of standard size bottles contained:

Standard (.75) 1

Magnum (1.5) 2

Jeroboam (3) 4

Rehoboam (4.5) 6

Methuselah (6) 8

Salmanazar (9) 12

Balthazar (12) 16

Nebuchadnezzar (15) 20

WE ARE BACK!!!!

Please excuse our absence and visit our website "Wine Connections"page every Monday for the pasts of all events taking place at all wineries in North Carolina that we visit.

Hello Again!!!

Sorry,we had a few unexpected events fall in our laps. We said good bye to 2 of our old four legged family members. Buster 16 years and Freckles 11 years in a two week stretch. Losing them along with some other mishaps kept us off the grid for awhile.

A NC Wine Festivals Taking Place This Weekend

April 30, Sat. 9:00am-6:00pm
May 1, Sun, 10:00am-4:00pm
Sanford Pottery Festival
http://www.sanfordpottery.org/NC-wine.html
Wine Tasting Event
Sat. 10:30am-6:00pm  & Sun. 12:00pm-4:00pm
$15 per person

April 30, Sat. 12:00pm-6:00pm
Bud Break Festival Wine Festival
http://www.budbreakfestival.com/ticket-information/
Mt. Airy, NC
$15 Wine Festival Advance Tickets or
$25 incl. 4/29 Ceremony & Gold Medal Tasting
$20 Day of Event Festival Tickets
$5 General Admission (no tasting)

New Wineries in North Carolina

 Please welcome the newest additions to North Carolina's wine industry.

Gregory Vineyards
http://www.gregoryvineyards.com/
275 Bowling Springs Drive
Angier, NC

Treehouse Vineyards
http://www.treehousevineyards.net/
301 Bay St.
Monroe, NC

The Haw River Wine Trail Presents Trail Tidbits on Saturday, Februray 27th

On Saturday, February 27, 2010, the Haw River Wine Trail wineries http://www.hawriverwinetrail.com/wineries.html will host a Food and Wine Pairing where samples of a selected wine and a selected food will be offered for our guests enjoyment. A different course will be served at each winery where the winemaker has chosen one wine to be served with a food selection. The event will run from 12 noon to 5 p.m. http://www.hawriverwinetrail.com/eventsandmedia.html
Participants may sample courses and wines in any order along the trail. Tickets are available from any of the winery locations

Second Annual Yadkin Winter Reds Food & Pairing Event! February 26-27, 2011

Tickets can be ordered online at the [YWR 2011 Tickets Online] link on the Main Menu to the left. Please make sure that you read the information carefully on the cutoff dates for ordering tickets and what weekend selection you have made. You can also purchase your tickets by visiting our Yadkin County Visitors Center at 205 South Jackson Street in Yadkinville NC. If you would like to order the tickets over the phone, please contact us at 1-877-4Yadkin.

February 2011 Weekend we will be featuring these wineries for the event:
Brandon Hills Vineyard, Buck Shoals Vineyard, Dobbins Creek Vineyards
Laurel Gray Vineyards, River de Vine Vineyards (Uptown Wine & Gallery),
Shadow Springs, Vineyard and Surry Cellars (Uptown Wine & Gallery)

You must order tickets for the February weekend no later than Wednesday, February 23, 2011. Tickets can be ordered online at the [YWR 2011 Tickets Online] link on the Main Menu to the left. We will be glad to ship these out to you or we can deliver them to the assigned winery that you will be starting out.

Wine Dinner at Firebirds Resturant in Winston-Salem, NC

Firebirds restaurant in Winston-Salem, NC is featuring North Carolina wines from Cellar 4201, DivineLlama, Flint Hill, Ragapple Lassie, and Sanders Ridge; paired with a 5 course dinner three evenings this week February 15, 16, & 17 at 6:30pm.
1215 Creekshire Way
Winston-Salem, NC 27103
Cost is $50 per person
Contact Niki Cartledge 336-659-3973 or niki.cartledge@firebirdsmail.com

Virginia Winery Numbers Continues to Grow at a Record Pace

Visit the states map to see the winery growth has now reached 190.

Wine Festivals in North Carolina

Jan. 29, Sat. 1pm-5pm
Winter Wine Wonderland Wine Festival
http://rockinghamcountyfinearts.org/WinterWineWonderland/tabid/135/Default.aspx
Penn Center
Reidsville, NC
$20 per person
Benefits Fine Arts Festival Association

Yadkin Winter Reds Event 2011
http://visityadkin.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=61&Itemid=65
Jan. 29 Sat. 12pm-5pm
Jan. 30, Sun. 1pm-5pm
$15 per person

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! from The Weekend Winers

Virginia Winery Growth IS Nonstop

Virginia has added 7 more wineries to their map since last week bringing the total number of wineries in that state to 187. Congratulations! Visit the link to check their map to find the new additions.
http://www.virginiawine.org/wineries

Virginia Winery Numbers Grow At A Record Pace

Virginia has added 14 Wineries in less than two months to bring their state total to 180.
http://www.virginiawine.org/

North Carolina Wine Industry Continues To Grow; State Map Now at 102

Everyone please welcome another new winery to the state map!

Cauble Creek Vineyard
Salisbury, NC
http://www.caublecreekvineyard.com/

North Carolina Adds 2 Wineries To The Map; Total Now Stands At 101

Please welcome and visit North Carolina's two newest additions.

Starrlight Mead
Pittsboro, NC
http://starrlightmead.com/

Olde Mill Vineyards
Mt. Airy, NC
http://www.oldemillvineyards.com/

2010 Christmas Wine Tour, November 26-December 31. Five Wineries

Flint Hill Vineyards
http://www.flinthillvineyards.com/

Sanders Ridge Winery & Vineyard
http://www.sandersridge.com/

Cellar 4201
http://www.cellar4201.com/

Divine Llama Vineyard
http://www.divinellamavineyards.com/

Rag Apple Lassie Vineyards

Virginia Winery's now 166

Virgina added another winery to the state map to bring the total to 166.

A Change of Pace; The Ant and the Grasshopper

In a field one summer's day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart's content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to the nest."Why not come and chat with me," said the Grasshopper, "instead of toiling and moiling in that way?" "I am helping to lay up food for the winter," said the Ant, "and recommend you to do the same.""Why bother about winter?" said the Grasshopper; we have got plenty of food at present." But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil. When the winter came the Grasshopper found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing, every day, corn and grain from the stores they had collected in the summer.Then the Grasshopper knew... It is best to prepare for the days of necessity.

Davesté Vineyard and Art Gallery

Davesté Vineyard and Art Gallery, http://www.daveste.com/ located in Troutman, North Carolina, has the honor of being the first winery to be established in Iredell County.

A beautiful tranquil spot set on 52 acres of country side, this winery is the brainchild of David and Ester DeFur. They began the vineyard in 2005 with the winery opening in 2008. David, the dav of Daveste,’ had ancestry in the wine business as his grandfather had owned a winery in Providence in the country of Georgia. Ester, the este of Daveste,’ is an artist and has her studio on the grounds as well. An artwork is chosen each year to adorn the bottles of wine as the featured label.

The well appointed tasting room and art gallery offers rocking chairs on the large wrap around porch perfect for relaxing, The walls inside are adorned with works by North Carolina artists. The paintings and prints are for sale, in addition to a large variety of wine. The day we stopped by we were greeted by the winery’s tasting room and marketing manager, Ms. Stevie Frye. Following a long career in the spirits business, Ms. Frye was hired by the DeFurs in time to oversee the opening of the winery.

 Extremely knowledgeable and welcoming, she shared the story of Daveste’ with us while taking us through a tasting of their signature wines. Tastings are $5.00 and include the logo glass. Wine by the glass is also available.

Outside we found a pond, hiking trails, large outdoor picnic area, and exquisite patio.
The patio is home to the signature event, Thirsty Thursdays which features music and munches. There is no charge to attend the event and wine, snack plates, bottled water and sodas are available for sale. Art events are planned regularly at Mrs. DeFur’s studio. You can find all the happenings listed on the events section http://www.daveste.com/scripts/eventPg.cfm of Daveste’s website.

Bywayandvine route: From Greensboro Hwy 158 SW to Mocksville then Hwy 601S to pick up Hwy 801S. Go through the towns of Cooleemee and Woodleaf turn right onto Hwy 70W/801; cross under I40 and grab a left onto Hwy 21/115S. One in Troutman look for Talley St on your right; when you come to a Y in the road go left onto Lytton Rd, you will see the winery by then.

This is not the quickest way, but as you know our choice is the most peaceful and scenic route. Just as a side note, the winery is very close to Lake Norman if any are interested in visiting the lake.

Davesté Vineyards
155 Lytton Rd
Troutman, NC 28166
704-528-3882

Hours of operation:
Weds-Fri. 11am-6pm
Sat. 10am-6pm
Sun. 1pm-6pm

Please visit one of our facebook pages to view our complete photo album of Davesté Vineyards. They are Byway and Vine or The Weekend Winers, Byway and Vine.