Business

Saint Paul winery opens Flat Rock tasting room

Meredith Ward manages the Saint Paul Mountain Vineyards tasting room in Flat Rock.

By Bill Moss, Published: March 1, 2018

FLAT ROCK — Saint Paul Mountain Vineyards has opened a tasting room in Flat Rock Square that will offer wine-pairing dinners, pairing classes, tapas and small plates and events.

The new venture has something that the popular tasting room and the new Appalachian Ridge Cidery on Chestnut Gap Road lack — a commercial kitchen.

Saint Paul Flat Rock in Flat Rock Square (formerly the Singleton Centre) serves five white wines, six red wines and four dessert wines. Occupying the corner location with an upstairs deck, the tasting room has something that the home location lacks — a commercial kitchen. The Dragonfly restaurant previously occupied the space.

“We wanted to do something a little different than the tasting room,” said Meredith Ward, the 25-year-old daughter of Saint Paul founder Alan Ward. The new venture is just getting started but has plans for events, cooking classes and pairing dinners. It serves locally roasted coffee from Hendersonville-based ShareWell Coffee Co.

Wines include charconnay, the award-winning Laurel Hill Vidal Blanc (best in show in the biggest state wine contest), Chestnut Gap, Jasper and Petit Verdot, with prices ranging from $6 to $15 a glass. Wine is for sale by the bottle, too.

“We hope to partner with some of the local Flat Rock businesses to do some events,” said Ward, a 2010 graduate of Hendersonville High School and graduate of N.C. State University in social work. An on-call social worker for the county DSS, she works seven days and seven off.