The Bounty of Biltmore: Food and Wine Tour

The Biltmore Winery celebrates its landmark 25th year anniversary in 2010!

William A.V. Cecil, the grandson of Biltmore’s founder George W. Vanderbilt, started the winemaking program as part of his vision for the estate to remain self-sustaining. It all began in 1971, when the first grapes were planted as part of an experimental project. This project has turned into America’s most visited winery!

In 1985, Biltmore Winery produced 10 different wines totalling approx. 350,000 bottles. Today, Biltmore offers more than 50 different wines and produces 2 million bottles each year.

I had the opportunity to meet the winemaker and sample some delicious wines, including:

• Biltmore Estate Riesling: classic and crisp with delicate fruit flavors


• Century White: unique blend featuring aromas of roses and fresh mint


• Biltmore Reserve Cabernet Franc – Dry Creek Valley: strong tannin structure with earthy aromas

Winemaker Bernard Delille, a Frenchman, has been winemaker at the estate since 1986. He holds a master’s degree from the Faculty of Science in Lyon, France, and served his internship in the Bordeaux region. He received his French National Diploma of Winemaker in Dijon, Burgundy, and was winemaker in the Pyrenees Atlantiques region prior to coming to Biltmore.

You can shop in their online store at shop.biltmore.com for access to their full line of wines, delivered to your home. Shipping is available in 26 states.

Adventure on, and sip up!

Kristen

While in Asheville, NC, I stayed at the Inn on Biltmore Estate, a gorgeous building in an 8,000-acre oasis, surrounded by the Blue Mountains.  After a lovely drive up through the Vanderbilt estate, I was greeted by friendly, smiling bellmen upon arriving at the hotel.

I scored a room on the top floor, with gorgeous views out the window. With such amenities as custom robes and slippers, a coffee maker, television with in-room movies, and high-speed Internet access, it would have been easy to never leave the room!

However, when there is a pool, it’s usually calling my name, so I could not miss out on a quick dip in the rimless pool while soaking in the rays of the hot Carolina sun.

In the evenings, I spent my time sipping on cocktails on the veranda, watching the stars make their appearance in the sky, knowing that I had the most comfortable bed to sleep in that night. Can you say RELAXED?

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Previous: Carolina on My Mind

Adventure on,

Kristen

Recently I was invited to visit Asheville, North Carolina. Even though it was quite a trek from Seattle, how could I pass up an opportunity to check out a new destination and also catch some sunshine and 90+ degree weather?

I took a red-eye flight out of Seattle on Tuesday, landed at 8am in Asheville, and the adventure began!

My gracious host from the Biltmore Estate picked me up at the airport (one of the tiniest I’ve been to), and then took me on a tour of the downtown area. I was rather impressed by the feel of the place…definitely more of a “city” than a “town”. There were tons of cute streets filled with galleries, restaurants, microbreweries, and public parks with water fountains. Because they never tore down the buildings when all the other cities were doing so, Asheville has retained much of its Art Deco architecture.

Next up: Inn on Biltmore Estate

Adventure on,

Kristen