A family owned and operated vineyard in the heart of the North Carolina wine country.
A view from above at McRitchie Winery and Ciderworks. 
Rows of grapes at McRitchie Winery and Ciderworks. 
The main building at McRitchie Winery where they offer tours of the facility. 
Beautiful rows of gapes at McRitchie Winery and Ciderworks.
Located in the heart of North Carolina wine country is the McRitchie Winery and Ciderworks that specializes in small lots of artisan wines and hard ciders. Opening in 2006, this family owned and operated vineyard is the labor of love for Sean and Patricia McRitchie who are passionate about the creation of great wines using sustainable and low-impact methods of farming and wine production.
McRitchie Winery and Ciderworks is located at 315 Thurmond Post Office Road in Thurmond North Carolina. They are about 1 hour from Winston-Salem North Carolina, 90 minutes from Charlotte North Carolina, or about 2 hours from Roanoke Virginia. They are also just minutes from the Blue Ridge Parkway as it crosses Highway 21. There is plenty of parking on site and the tasting room is open Wednesday through Saturday 10am to 5pm and 1pm to 5pm on Sundays.
The atmosphere at the vineyard is very open, inviting and relaxing. Sean and Patricia are extremely hospitable hosts and it shows in the friendly environment they have created at the vineyard. Who wouldn’t want to hang out at a beautiful vineyard for the afternoon and enjoy a picnic? Or maybe relax on the front porch and sip on a glass of award winning wine?
Speaking of wines, McRitchie Winery produces some great wines and has received numerous awards over the years. Our favorite is their Ring of Fire Red not only because of the obvious tip of the hat and mutual admiration of great music, but also because it tastes really good. If you visit the vineyard, be sure to taste the Ring of Fire Red.
McRitchie is also a ciderworks producing uniquely North Carolina hard ciders using heritage apples that are handpicked from the Brushy Mountains of North Carolina. The hard ciders comes in both semi-sweet and dry varieties and can also be sampleed in their tasting room.
Tours are available if you are interested in learning more about the process behind making a great bottle on wine. Like we mentioned earlier, Sean is extremely passionate about his craft and loves talking about it.
So if you are out enjoying a day in the North Carolina mountains, you can’t go wrong by including a stop at the McRitchie Winery and Ciderworks along your way.