News

One local winery is No. 1, another ranked fifth in USA Today Readers' Choice poll

By Lightning Reports, Published: July 30, 2022

Stone Ashe Vineyards on Green Mountain Road in the Fruitland community was named the Best New Winery of 2022 and Marked Tree on Deep Gap Road finished fifth in a USA Today Readers' Choice poll that ended July 18.

"Craig and Tina Little spent years searching for American soil that would match their beloved Bordeaux region of France," USA Today said of the Stone Ashe owners. "They found it on 67 acres of the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina, then mated grapevine clones from France with California root stock."

Stone Ashe, at 736 Green Mountain Road, offers a 3,100-square-foot tasting room and a full catering kitchen that can serve wedding receptions and special events. For information visit the website or call 828-551-5643. Marked Tree's tasting room summer hours are 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-7p.m. Saturday and noon-6 p.m. Sunday.

Here's the Top 10:

1. Stone Ashe Vineyards - Hendersonville, North Carolina
2. Europa Village - Temecula, California
3. Cho Wines - Chehalem Mountains, Oregon
4. Nenow Family Wines - Paso Robles, California
5. Marked Tree Vineyard - Flat Rock, North Carolina
6. Sidereus Winery - Cornelius, Oregon
7. Amaterra - Portland, Oregon
8. Orsi Family Vineyards - Healdsburg, California
9. Bricoleur Vineyards - Windsor, California
10. Serial Wines Tasting Room - Paso Robles, California

National recognition for two wineries here came just three weeks after a survey by Yelp, the restaurant review website, named Saint Paul Mountain Vineyard on Chestnut Gap Road the "Best Winery in the State."