Childress Vineyards
On April 6, 2013, I visited a winery named Childress Vineyards. This beautiful establishment is located in Lexington, North Carolina. It truly is the full experience and it was created by Greg Johns, Richard Childress, and Mark Friszolowski. This winery is located at the crossroads of highways 52 and 64.
This vineyard is 35,000 foot facility that was designed by an architect named Kyle Troxwell. It is a stone and stucco building with a terra cotta roof inspired by the Italian renaissance infastructure of Tuscany. This facility is not only a winery, but it is almost like a landmark for visitors in North Carolina. It is a very inviting place with a Old World feel to it. There are iron chandeliers, architectural beams, and textured walls giving the place an antiquated appearance.
When you enter, there is a multi-tiered fountain in the lobby which welcomes people in to a very relaxing and tranquil environment. There is a wine tasting room, bistro, banquet room, and gift shop. The gift shop and wine tasting room have an European market place feel to it while the Bistro is like a cafe on the street. There is a very elegant dining area which features a waterfall and a plethora of oak barrels fermenting the signature wines from this vineyard. It is so nice that the place rents their rooms out and dining areas to people for various events including weddings and celebrations.
Besides their 35000 square foot winery operations in Lexington, there are 100 acres of vineyards that produce premium varietal wines, house blends, dessert wines, and sparkling wines. Childress Vineyards produced 13000 cases in the first year comprising of five premium varietals, three signature series wines, and three house wines.
The weather in this area has a very temperate climate and the soil is gravel like with a mixture of clay. The 100 acres of 12 varieties of Vitus Vinifera have been planted at three vineyards. The soil is mostly red and, as mentioned before, is a rocky clay mixture. The mornings turn up being really cool since it is located on a slope and there is a very strong afternoon sunlight which imitates Burgundy grape growing conditions. Some of the grapes grown are Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot, Chardonnay, Viognier, and Sangiovese.
They have an assortment of wines ranging from house wines, varietals, and signature wines. Their house wines are light, delicate, and semi-dry. There is usually a berry undertone with a crisp finish. The varietals are aged in French and American oak barrels and are made with new technology along with old world methods. These wines are drinkable immediately, but would be better if aged for a few years. Lastly, their signature wines are hand picked and the barrels are formed from trees in Alliers Forest in central France. The wood is seasoned for 3 years, but only new barrels are used for aging the signature wines.
I had a great time at this winery and I recommend everyone to check it out. Its interesting how this Nascar owner, Richard Childress, picked up this hobby and transformed his passion into making this beautiful establsihment.
