When you think of North Carolina wine country, Yadkin Valley may be the first place that comes to mind. After spending three days exploring Appalachian High Country wineries and cideries, we have another mountain getaway to put on your radar.
Our weekend included vineyard visits, blueberry wine, cider poured straight from the tank, live music, and more cow footage than one normally has.
We traveled along the Blue Ridge Parkway, stayed at an Airbnb in Banner Elk, and met people whose work starts long before a bottle reaches the tasting room. Our conversations about grapes, apples, farming, and building a life in these mountains became some of our favorite parts of the trip.
For couples who enjoy scenic drives, nearby hikes, and time to sit together over something local, this is a weekend worth planning.
This trip was hosted in partnership with NC Wine. As always, the experiences and opinions shared are our own.
Our Three-Day Appalachian Wine Country Itinerary
Here’s a quick look at how we spent our three days exploring North Carolina’s Appalachian High Country. We used Banner Elk as our home base, which gave us easy access to mountain scenery, vineyards, cideries, and a few unexpected adventures along the way.
| Day | Where We Went |
|---|---|
| Day 1 – Friday | Grandfather Vineyard & Winery, Appalachian Mountain Brewery & Cidery, Mill Camp Wines & Ciders |
| Day 2 – Saturday | Banner Elk Winery & Villa, followed by a return to Grandfather Vineyard for live music |
| Day 3 – Sunday | Downtown Lansing, Molley Chomper Cider, and Rise of the Fallen Meadery on the way home. |
We recommend using this as a starting point rather than a strict schedule. Leave time for scenic drives, local food, hiking trails, and whatever catches your attention along the way.
Exploring North Carolina’s Appalachian High Country Wine Country
The Appalachian High Country lets you build a wine-country trip around mountain roads, small towns, vineyards, and cideries. Our itinerary connected Banner Elk, the Boone area, and Lansing over three days.
The mountain growing conditions are part of the story, too. Producers explained how higher elevations, warm days, and cool evenings influence their grapes, giving us more context for what we were tasting.
NC Wine’s High Country Wine Trail is a useful place to start exploring the area. Our weekend also included beer and cider stops beyond the wineries listed on that trail.
For more trip-planning ideas, visit NC Wine and download the NC Wine app to explore wineries, cideries, meaderies, and trails across the state.
For a broader look around the state, see our guide to wineries in North Carolina.
Taking the Scenic Route on the Blue Ridge Parkway
Traveling along the Blue Ridge Parkway was part of our weekend, and the drive deserves a place in the itinerary alongside the tastings.
We love trips where the drive between places is an experience in itself. Mountain scenery gives you a reason to leave a little extra time. If you’re planning this as a couples getaway, leave room for the drive instead of filling every hour with a reservation.
Use the Parkway for the portions of your route where it makes sense, then connect to the local roads leading to your lodging and tasting stops. This itinerary spans the region; the Parkway isn’t a direct route to every venue.
Before traveling, check the National Park Service’s Blue Ridge Parkway road status for closures and access information.
We hit some heavy fog along the Blue Ridge Parkway, so we adjusted our route. Just another reminder to check road conditions before heading into the mountains!
Where We Stayed: An Airbnb in Banner Elk
We used an Airbnb cabin in Banner Elk as our home base. It was close to hiking and most of the vineyards on our itinerary, which made it a practical choice for this trip.
We liked having somewhere to return to between our mountain adventures. Morning coffee at the cabin became part of the weekend, and staying nearby made it easy to revisit a place we had enjoyed.
That mattered on Saturday, when we went back to Grandfather Vineyard for wine and music.
If you’re comparing lodging options, our guide to places to stay in the North Carolina mountains can help you start planning. For this particular itinerary, consider how your lodging fits the stops you want to visit, including the drive to Lansing.
One of our fave experiences near our cabin (other than the wineries) was a hike on the Mill Ridge Trails. At the trail’s peak, we came across an old, abandoned ski lift. It was very cool and eerie at the same time.
Day One: Grandfather Vineyard, Appalachian Mountain Brewery, and Mill Camp
Grandfather Vineyard & Winery
We started our first day at Grandfather Vineyard & Winery, where we met winemaker Will Burrow and tasting room manager Nicole Tatum, and talked about making wine in the mountains.
Will told us so much about the growing conditions, the soil, and the work that goes into fermentation. Meeting someone who can explain those things in a digestible way while you taste makes the visit much more personal.
Grandfather’s terraced vineyard sits along the Watauga River. During our visit, even the rain became part of the experience. We clinked glasses of Hair of the Dog (a medium-bodied red blend) under the provided umbrellas while enjoying the live music.
One thought from Will stayed with us: the person you share the wine with matters. His words felt especially fitting for a weekend we were spending together.
Appalachian Mountain Brewery & Cidery
Next, we visited Appalachian Mountain Brewery, adding beer and cider to our wine-country itinerary.
We heard about the brewery’s history and its return to independent ownership. Founders Nathan Kelischek and Chris Zieber bought the business back from Anheuser-Busch. What?! You never hear of things like that!
That story added another perspective to the weekend: the people making these drinks are also deciding what kind of businesses they want to run.
For couples with different drink preferences, a brewery and cidery add variety to the trip. Be sure to check their schedule. When we were there, they had live music and a pizza food truck, so naturally, we partook.
We sampled a couple of flights, and Gerry took home a case of their canned craft beers, with Hochland Helles being his fave! It’s a German-style lager, great for cozy season!
Mill Camp Wines & Ciders
Our final stop was Mill Camp Wines & Ciders, where we met owner and maker Mark Jolley.
We talked about local apples, regenerative farming, and plans for the property. The connection between the land and what ends up in the glass was a recurring theme throughout the trip.
The Jolley family’s own story felt familiar to us. They left their business careers to pursue a different lifestyle in the mountains. Having made a major life change ourselves, we could relate to the desire to build days around something that matters to you.
Mill Camp also gave us a chance to walk together and take in the setting. That hand-in-hand moment is one of the pieces of footage we brought home from the visit, taken by Mark Jolley. 🙂
We enjoyed a tasting with Taylor, the Beverage and Experience Manager, who explained how they make each wine and cider and what brings out its unique flavors.
Taylor told us the property was once a mill camp where travelers following an old buffalo trail would stop along the way. Hence, the name, Mill Camp Wines.
We took home some faves from our visit: the Mill Camp Red Blend and the Pommeau dessert cider, which won a Double Gold medal and tied for the Cider Cup at the 2026 NC Wine Competition!
Day Two: Banner Elk Winery and Live Music at Grandfather Vineyard
Blueberry Wine at Banner Elk Winery
Saturday brought us to Banner Elk Winery & Villa.
The blueberry wine, and let’s not kid ourselves, the cows, were the highlights of our visit. The blueberry wine is among the winery’s offerings, and it is made with estate-grown berries. It gave us another example of the variety you can find while exploring the Appalachian High Country.
The property also has a villa, which is worth looking into if you’re comparing places to stay. We stayed at our Airbnb, so we can speak to the winery visit rather than an overnight experience at the villa, but Stephanie did take us on a tour, and it is much like stepping into a Tuscan villa!
The grounds at Banner Elk Winery lend themselves to many activities like cornhole, strolling around the trout pond, and walking through the vineyards, which is what we did.
Returning to Grandfather for Wine and Music
Grandfather Vineyard was so close to our cabin that we returned Saturday for more wine and live music. After learning about the wines during our first visit, we settled in this time, ordered food, and spent the afternoon together.
Having a nearby home base made that spontaneous return easy.
If live music is part of your plan, check Grandfather’s current calendar before choosing your dates.
They also offered a variety of food truck options and an online ordering system for wines by the glass or bottle, in case you would rather not wait in line. We love a “skip the line” option!
Day Three: Lansing and Molley Chomper Cider
For our final day, we headed to Lansing and visited Molley Chomper Cider.
We met Tim Arscott, the cidery’s co-founder and orchardist. His wife, Kate Arscott, is also a founder and lead cidermaker, and Tim now focuses on the orchard at Bent Apple Farm.
Our conversation covered apples, nearby growers, different varieties, and the challenges of working with each season’s harvest. Tim prioritizes sourcing apples from nearby orchards and supports local NC growers whenever possible.
That connection to the fruit and the people growing it gave us plenty to think about while tasting.
We also got to try cider poured straight from the tank. Between that and seeing the apples, the production process became a very real part of the visit.
Christian and Catie made our tasting experience even better; they were absolutely wonderful! They guided us through our cider flight, sharing their knowledge about the different varieties, flavors, and what makes each cider unique.
They were so friendly, patient with our questions, and genuinely enthusiastic about what they do. We learned so much during our tasting, and their hospitality made us feel right at home.
People like Christian and Catie turn a simple tasting into an experience you remember long after your last sip.
We particularly liked the Stonefly cider, but Bent Apple was our favorite overall. Aged in bourbon barrels, it had a hint of caramel that tasted like fall in a glass.
Lansing belongs in the itinerary alongside the cidery. Give yourself time to explore town and enjoy the final part of the mountain weekend before heading home. We grabbed pizza from Pie on the Mountain and ate on the patio outside Lansing Cafe. Bonus: Pair your pizza with a beer, coffee, or tea from the cafe!
We also took a walk in the local Lansing Creeper Trail Park downtown, which gave us the opportunity to witness more leaves changing color in Western North Carolina.
Bonus Stop: Rise of the Fallen Meadery in Hudson
If your drive to or from the Appalachian High Country takes you through Hudson, consider adding Rise of the Fallen Meadery to your trip. It’s included on NC Wine’s High Country Wine Trail and offers another way to explore the area’s local drinks.
We stopped in for a flight of what they call “Viking Mead,” a fermented honey drink, and sampled several flavors. The tasting was especially memorable because they keep their own hive and use its honey in their mead.
One side of the hive is built into the meadery wall, with a plexiglass panel that lets you watch the bees up close. We’d never seen a hive from that perspective! Owner and mead maker Shawn Manos even pointed out the queen bee. We would have missed her completely on our own.
For couples who enjoy trying something different together, it’s an extra stop to consider before heading into the mountains or on the way home. Be sure to check their current tasting-room hours and plan your transportation ahead of time.
Why We’d Recommend This Appalachian High Country Getaway for Couples
What worked for us was the combination: scenic drives, tastings, conversations, music, and time back at the cabin.
You can plan the weekend around shared interests while leaving room for different tastes. Our trip included wine, cider, and beer, with hiking nearby and mountain towns along the way.
Before this trip, we hadn’t even heard of Lansing, North Carolina, and now we’re already planning a return visit! Tim at Molley Chomper told us about some local orchards we’d love to explore, and we even learned about Good Ashe Lavender Farm, where you can pick your own lavender during U-Pick season. Just another reason to come back!
You don’t need to speak fluent wine to make this trip. We asked questions, tasted, and learned along the way. The people we met were happy to share what they knew, and we never felt out of place for asking a basic question.
Meeting the people behind the drinks gave us stories to bring home along with memories we will cherish from our home state.
Tips for Planning Your Own Three-Day Wine-Country Trip
- Choose your home base around your route. Banner Elk worked for our stay, but map all your preferred stops before booking.
- Allow time for mountain drives. Leave room between reservations and check the route instead of assuming every stop is nearby. You never know what kind of traffic you may hit on mountain roads.
- Arrange transportation for tasting days. Designate a driver or book transportation before you start tasting. Several transportation services are available in the area.
- Check each venue’s current hours and reservation policies. Our hosted campaign visits may differ from a regular visitor’s experience.
- Look up music and event calendars. Our return to Grandfather was a special visit; we got to sit back, enjoy food trucks, and listen to live music in the rain (covered, of course).
- Leave space for hiking and downtime. If you prefer a slower pace, you can spread out our first day’s three stops. We want to return and add a day to visit a couple of other vineyards in the Appalachian High Country.
- Check Parkway access before leaving. Use the official road-status page when planning the scenic portions of your drive.
A Mountain Weekend We’d Do Again
We came home with wine-country stories, an enthusiastic appreciation for local cider, and a camera roll that will take some time to sort.
The people made this trip memorable. They told us about the fruit, the land, the work, and the choices that brought them here. Hearing those stories together was a big part of what we enjoyed, and we could relate to each one.
If you’re planning a North Carolina couples getaway, don’t overlook the Appalachian High Country. Start with the NC Wine app, choose a few places that interest you, and leave plenty of room for the unexpected. Some of our favorite moments happened between stops, and we already have a list of reasons to go back.
FAQs | Frequently Asked Questions
It worked well for our itinerary. Our Airbnb was close to hiking and most of our vineyard stops, including Grandfather Vineyard, which we visited twice. Map the full trip, particularly the Lansing portion, before deciding where to stay.
Yes. Our trip included Appalachian Mountain Brewery, Mill Camp Wines & Ciders, and Molley Chomper, along with Grandfather Vineyard and Banner Elk Winery.
We spent three days exploring wineries, cideries, and a brewery, with an additional meadery stop. A long weekend worked for us, and an extra day would give you more room to spread out the tastings or add more hiking.
We did. Include the Parkway where it fits your route, and check current road access before you travel. Local roads connect the tasting stops and lodging.
