Winery Tours

Some of our Favorite Food Trucks

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Haus Heidelberg Food Truck

As one of the leading providers of wine tours (maybe even THE leading provider) in Western North Carolina, we end up at wineries often, very often and we’re super stoked about it! We have vehicles at the wineries constantly from the vineyards around Asheville, Hendersonville, and Tryon up to the Appalachian High Country, and way … Full Story

It’s Pruning Time at the Vineyards!

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Winter at Parker-Binns Vineyard

The Tryon Foothills experienced several inches of snow and freezing temperature during the month of January. As a consumer of wine, WSET Level 1 Certified, and having a budding interest in vineyard management, I was curious as to how weather, specifically, the latest blast of winter, has impacted the local vineyards and what vineyard management … Full Story

WSET Level 1

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WSET Level 1 Pin

Congrats to our three employees (myself included) who have successfully completed their WSET Level 1 in Wines certification. What is WSET and what does this certification mean to our customers? I am glad you asked! What is WSET? WSET in an acronym for the Wine & Spirt Education Trust. This is a global organization, headquartered … Full Story

Charlotte Wine Tours

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Charlotte

Charlotte, the largest and most populous city in North Carolina, has a number of great wine tour options available to anyone who wants to start a wine tour originating from the Queen City. The city is a crossroads to the two very different wine styles contained inside the state; you can easily get to wineries … Full Story

Autumn Wine Tours

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Carolina Winery Autumn

I know. The title of this blog post is enough all on its own. I really don’t need to say much beyond this as you already have wonderful images, feelings, and thoughts in your mind that evoke those “Fall Feelings”. If you have visited a Carolina winery in the Autumn, you already know. There is … Full Story

Asheville Urban Wineries

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Marked Tree Urban Tasting Room

There are a number of great wineries available to visit from the Asheville area. These are wineries with attached vineyards (the traditional “winery experience“) and we have written about them here. But what if you want to stay inside the city or don’t have time for a full day excursion? You will be happy to … Full Story

North Carolina Wine Tours

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North Carolina Wine Tours

The wine industry in North Carolina is exploding in terms of both growth (the number of wineries) and popularity (the number of people visiting the wineries). It is a huge economic boom for the state having almost a 2 billion dollar impact on the economy and supporting over 10,000 jobs. While all of this sounds … Full Story

A Complete AVA Tour

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Marked Tree Vineyard

Western North Carolina currently has a unique opportunity for a wine tour and the Van in Black can deliver on it.  With the introduction of the latest American Viticultural Area (AVA) in North Carolina, which occurred in the Summer of 2019, the “Crest of the Blue Ridge” AVA currently has six wineries around Hendersonville, NC that can technically be visited on a single wine tour.  We fully acknowledge that visiting six wineries in a single day is a lofty goal, but with the hours that the wineries are open during the busier months, it is entirely possible for the responsible drinker.  How you say?  We are glad you asked!

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Welcome to the New Hendersonville Wineries!

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Stone Ashe Vineyards

The Hendersonville wine region of North Carolina, also known by the American Viticultural Area (AVA) designation of “Crest of the Blue Ridge”, recently welcomed two new wineries to the region: Marked Tree Vineyard and Stone Ashe Vineyards.  As of the Summer of 2020, this makes a total of 5 active wineries in the immediate Hendersonville area.  It increases the number of active wineries in or around the Asheville area to about 15 depending on which areas you want to include.  However you count them, whether “in or around Asheville”, the number of wineries in the area are growing making an Asheville wine tour or Hendersonville wine tour both significant and respectable! With the recent growth, a winery tour in the area may take two days.

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Food Options on Tours

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The Humble Food Truck

On most of our tours; whether it is a winery tour, pub crawl, or scenic tour, eventually the same question usually comes up: What are the food options…Where can we eat?  A perfectly reasonable and understandable question; especially if you have been out drinking for awhile on a winery or brewery tour.  On these types of tours food is definitely a good thing!  Stopping to enjoy a good meal helps to slow the pace and intake of alcohol (since you are eating and not drinking) and makes the overall experience much more enjoyable.  It is true that variety is the spice of life and if you are going to enjoy a bunch of different wines or beers, you need to pace yourself and enjoy some food too along the way.

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