The winery at Biltmore Estate is the most visited winery in the country. This is hardly surprising. It is on the grounds of one of the most successful tourist attractions in the United States. Many of the folks visiting the winery see it as an added attraction on visiting the remarkable estate of George Vanderbilt. The traffic for the house and gardens assures the winery an enviable flow of eager visitors. Sales of the wines are about 60% direct to the public at the winery, estate, and adjoining restaurants. This is especially remarkable considering an output of well over one million bottles a year. This is a serious winery and not just as an agricultural experiment. The Biltmore Estate Wine Company owns and manages some of the most significant vineyard plantings on the East Coast. It produces the most successful estate bottled wines in the Southern U.S. Furthermore, the winery processes and sells an array of wines from grapes grown as far away as California.

Tourism is not the only reason for this. Winemakers Bernard Delille and Sharon Fenchak are first-rate enologists and apply their skill in the direction of offering premium wines, whether from estate fruit or cross-regional blends. They have at their disposal a remarkable facility equipped with the most modern of winemaking technology, installed in what long ago served as dairy complex, complete with thick stone walls and a maze of tunnels. Few wineries of any size have the physical resources found at Biltmore. None have the potential for direct sale to the public.

Sparkling wine leads the way. The most intriguing of these (at least from a chauvinistic southern prospective) is the North Carolina Estate Reserve Brut. This is made in the traditional “Methode Champenoise”. Crush and first fermentation take place at Biltmore and the wines undergo their second fermentation in the bottle in the tunnels beneath the old dairy barns. This is truly a “home-grown” product and a good one at that. Dry, but creamy, rich in tiny bubbles, with just a hint of buttery finish. Currently, the winery also offers a Blanc de Blanc Brut of about the same dryness but a little more crisp finish, and a Blanc de Blanc Sec of the same style with just a hint of sweetness. These last two are “sourced” from mostly California fruit and complete the sparkling wine process at Biltmore. A trio of new offerings is in the cellar but not yet on the market. They are a special “cuvee” edition Pinot Noir/Pinot Meunier/Chardonnay blend, a Pinot Noir “Blanc de Noirs”, and a fresh effervescent Moscato/Riesling blend with a decidedly fruity finish. Biltmore has won significant and well-deserved accolades for its sparkling wines.

Wine enthusiasts should also sample the Estate Reserve series. These are North Carolina wines of special merit. A complex Chardonnay, barrel fermented, aged on the lees, with partial malo-lactic fermentation, is the lone white generally found in our market. A trio of very rewarding reds is also available from time to time. Claret, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc, they are all classic wines, dry and complex, worthy of most any red meat dinner. Recent praise of the Cabernet Franc in the Wall Street Journal wine column may complicate availability.

A full array of varietal wines fills out the portfolio. Although these are labeled “Biltmore Estate”, a trademark of the company, they are almost all sourced primarily from west coast vineyards. There is no deceit in this. All the bottles are clearly marked “American” rather than “North Carolina”, even the ones that include a fair amount of estate fruit. These are finished and bottled at the winery and bear the name proudly.

A new series of wines has just made its way to the shops and restaurants at Biltmore. Labeled “Signature” wines, these are sourced, fermented, and finished in California under the supervision of the Biltmore team. Visitors to Biltmore can sample first rate Napa Valley Chardonnay and North Coast Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Since Biltmore is in the enviable position of selling more wine than it can make, it is logical to obtain premium wines from other regions. The winemaking staff is adding space and cooperage in California so as to expand production and control of future editions of “Signature” wines.

You can visit the winery online at biltmore.com. Better yet take a drive. The winery has lots to offer, and, not surprisingly, a good self-guided tour.

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