Description: After leaving the traffic of Washington DC behind on an early Monday morning, we drove deeper into the mountains of Virginia and Tennessee, where we were awed by the beauty of the early morning fog lingering lazily in the valleys. By lunchtime we were more than ready for a break as we realized that we needed to use up some time so we wouldn’t check into the hotel so early. As we looked for a restaurant we noticed signs on Interstate 81 near Blountville, TN, for a winery, so after a leisurely lunch we followed the many signs that directed us through several cow and goat farms. We finally reached Countryside Vineyards & Winery.
The winery itself is very small but extremely charming, and it strongly resembles an old-fashioned barn. We browsed through the selection of wine glass charms and do-it-yourself home brewery beer kits, at which point we were greeted by the wife of the owner. After introducing ourselves and talking a bit about the different regions we have been to in the United States that produce wine, we were surprised to hear that Tennessee actually has many vineyards and wineries throughout.
After a few more minutes of conversation we sampled a few of the wines. Of course we started with a few dry reds, one of which was a Merlot that was surprisingly fruity with a very crisp finish. We were advised that the grapes for this bottle are brought in from a Washington Vineyard as Countryside Vineyard did not grow Merlot grapes. As we tasted a few of the different varieties such as the Semi-Dry Vidal and the Chambourcin, we discovered that Countryside Winery is actually only 13-years-old and the Vineyard is 17-years-old, which we both thought was surprisingly young for a winery. The wines for sell at this winery are very reasonably priced, ranging from $7 to $11.
This winery is open from Monday through Saturday from 10am to 6pm and on a weekday it was pretty empty, so we had the chance to get to learn more about this winery and vineyard as well as the owners. The owner’s wife was very friendly and more than happy to share information with us about Tennessee vineyards as a whole, which I found both informative as well as educational.
For more information regarding this winery and vineyard see this website.
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