South Carolina Wine Joe

Yesterday, we had our first opportunity to visit Marked Tree Vineyard.  Market Tree Vineyard opened this past Memorial Day weekend and it is located east of Flat Rock, North Carolina, in the Crest of the Blue Ridge Henderson County AVA. Crest of the Blue Ridge Henderson County just received American Viticulture Area designation and currently has five Vineyard tasting rooms open to the public: Burntshirt Vineyards Saint Paul Mountain Vineyards Point Lookout Vineyards Marked Tree Vineyard (opened May 2020) Stone Ashe Vineyard (opened July 2020) Marked Tree Vineyard sits on the Eastern US Continental Divide.  The small but pleasant tasting room is situated on the top of a mountain and there are outstanding views in every direction from the outdoor seating areas.  Mount Pisgah could actually be seen in the distance.  Since we visited on a Monday, there were few customers and it was no problem to maintain social distancing. The grape vines were just planted in

Since I have reduced the frequency of my posts, we have not been experimenting as much with new wines.  This has enabled us to go back and enjoy many of our old favorites.  One of our all time favorites is King Estate Willamette Valley Pinot Gris.  We drank this regularly a few years ago when it was stocked by Costco, but in recent years we enjoyed a variety of Oregon Pinot Gris searching for a new wine to blog about. We are regularly asked about the difference between Pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio.  Both are made from the same grape.  In France, the grape is called Pinot Gris and in Italy it is called Pinot Grigio.  The style of the wine is a little different in the two countries with Pinot Gris generally more full bodied and complex.  In Oregon, the wine is usually made in the style made famous in the Alsace region of France and thus is called Pinot Gris. King Estate Pinot Gris has been the best selling Oregon Pinot Gris for many years.  The grapes are sourced primarily from t