It seemed like it was taking winter forever to get over with - lots of chores and lots of too-cold-for-much-of-anything days. But spring is here! And with the promise of weather warm enough for outdoor music, we finally ventured over to Burntshirt Vineyards in Hendersonville’s “wine country,” a place we’d been before for events but never just to hang out.
“There’s always something about a fire pit that gets folks chatting, so while we sipped our bottle we talked with people from South Carolina and Tennessee. "
First, the name: “Burntshirt” refers to Burntshirt Mountain, where legend says farmers used to burn their fields to clear them for new crops and throw their shirts in the fire for good luck and a bountiful growing season. The legend does not say if that practice was started by the local shirt-seller, but one way or another the land under Burntshirt Vineyards is indeed quite bountiful. The vineyard was first planted in 2009, and the family-owned winery has won a raft of awards including “North Carolina Winery of the Year” at the 2018 Berlin International Wine Competition.
Spring on the calendar or not, by the time we made it over there it was once again rather
chilly, and while we could hear the live music playing across the courtyard we instead grabbed two empty seats by the big roaring fire pit. There’s always something about a fire pit that gets folks chatting, so while we sipped our bottle we talked with people from South Carolina and Tennessee. Pro tip for the nice person next to me - when you’ve been sitting by the fire drinking wine for a while, steady yourself when you stand up and if you’re going to stumble, stumble AWAY from the fire!
You might never venture much past the courtyard and/or tasting room (both of which are
dog-friendly, by the way) but Burntshirt has lovely grounds that are worth a stroll. There’s a cool little shop with lots of wine and garden gadgets, a food truck and several event venues scattered amongst the meadows and orchards. Of course, they do tours of the winery as well, every day at 2pm as of this writing. There’s a cottage on the property available for overnight stays too.
How to Find It
Burntshirt Vineyards is located at 2695 Sugarloaf Road in Hendersonville, about 10 minutes from downtown.
Google Map: https://goo.gl/maps/jfyyCiEuqSC2
Web site: https://www.burntshirtvineyards.com/