People all over the country are raising their glasses to Asheville’s wine scene. Travel Channel has named Asheville one of the “New Top 10 Cities for Wine Snobs.” In other words, the wine opportunities here are so plentiful and delicious that even the true wine aficionado can appreciate the selection.
Where are the best places to go for wine lovers in the Asheville area?
Why is the area such a fertile ground for good wine? Local winemakers attribute it to the area's natural resources and climate.
“The Appalachian soils are really very good. The sun here and temperatures — and the rainfall is tremendous,” explained Peter Fland, former president of Asheville area wine organization French Broad Vignerons.
In blind tastings organized by the French Broad Vignerons, expert judges ranked many top area wines above or equal to similar wines from California and Europe.
"In a few years, everyone who isn’t already talking about Western North Carolina wines will be," says Jeff Frisbee, a winemaker at Addison Farms Vineyard in Leicester just outside of Asheville.
Nearly 60 wineries dot the mountains of Western North Carolina, including intriguing family-owned outposts and household names such as Biltmore Winery (the most visited winery in the United States). The more than a dozen wineries within an hour of Asheville are ripe for exploration.
Asheville Wineries You Can Visit
With so many wineries and vineyards in the area, how do you choose where to visit?
A great place to start is Biltmore, where you can pair your wine adventure with a visit to America’s largest home. Located on the estate grounds, Biltmore Winery, widely recognized as the most-visited winery in the country, helped set the pace for Western North Carolina’s wine scene after vineyards were first planted on the estate in the early 1970s. Today, wine is built into the Biltmore experience: a visit to the winery and a complimentary wine tasting are included with admission.
Just 17 miles northwest of downtown Asheville, you'll find Addison Farms Vineyard in the beautiful rolling hills of the rural Leicester community. This family-owned vineyard, winery, and tasting room is known for its 360-degree mountain views, and for land that’s been in Jeff Frisbee’s family since 1937. In 2009, Addison Farms planted 600 Cabernet Sauvignon vines and now has five more acres producing Gold Medal award-winning wines from Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Sangiovese, Montepulciano, and Petit Menseng. Take a tour, savor a personalized tasting experience, or simply enjoy the mountain views while relaxing in the rocking chairs on the porch.
For a well-rounded wine experience, Blue Ridge Wine Tours offers half-day driving tours, typically around six hours, with itineraries for both smaller groups (up to seven) and larger parties (eight or more). Most tours include visits to three nearby wineries in the Crest of the Blue Ridge AVA, such as Marked Tree and Stone Ashe, with guided tastings along the way. Light snacks and water are included, with lunch options varying by tour. They also offer an Imbibe Walking Tour in downtown Asheville that pairs a winery visit with a brewery, a craft cocktail bar, and a private gallery tour topped off with a sparkling toast.
If you're looking to travel in style, check out Asheville Wine Tours, which earned the #1 spot in 2025 on USA Today’s list of the nation’s top wine tour companies after being recognized as a Top 10 finalist in 2024. Asheville Wine Tours is operated by Van in Black, a premier local transportation company providing luxury vehicles (make everyone jealous as you pull up in a limousine) that will shuttle you to an unforgettable wine excursion that can be customized to your preferences. Most tours run six to eight hours with stops at a handful of local wineries and vineyards. This tour is door-to-door, so no need to worry about a designated driver. But please drink responsibly!
Other surrounding communities with wineries include the cities of Hendersonville (35 minutes) and Tryon (50 minutes).
In addition to tours and tastings, area wineries also host a series of events and educational programs throughout the year. The French Broad Vignerons organize the activities. Visit the French Broad Vignerons website for more information.
Where to Sip and Savor: Wine Bars
Wine isn’t just part of Asheville’s culture. It’s shaping the culture of this mountain city. Asheville has a number of distinguished wine bars to sip and savor.
- Battery Park Book Exchange and Champagne Bar in the historic Grove Arcade pairs a beautiful bookstore setting with an extensive wine selection. This wine bar has been featured on Wine Enthusiast's list of "Best Champagne Bars in the US." Live jazz music runs Thursday–Saturday evenings and Sundays (times vary) to add to the ambiance.
- 5 Walnut Wine Bar serves wine with live music almost every night in downtown Asheville. In warmer months, large open windows allow the overflow crowd to enjoy the jazz, rock, blues and soul from the sidewalk.
- The Weinhaus, in downtown has the distinction of being Asheville's oldest beer and wine store. Inside is the Cork and Keg Bar, which offers a variety of wine and beer by the glass as well as a selection of cheese plates and snacks. Cork and Keg maintains a busy schedule of live music throughout the year.
- On the west side, Leo's House of Thirst, a 2025 James Beard Semifinalist for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program, is an intimate wine bar with a phenomenal seasonally fresh menu that can provide casual accompaniments to the wine list or a full dining experience. They serve natural wines by the glass, bottle, and on tap. On Tuesdays, all tap wine bottles are $30 (half bottles $20).
- At WALLS Wine Bar downtown, you can sip on wines from around the world while perusing the large-than-life landscape and wildlife photography by Benjamin Walls. There's also outdoor patio seating, which is perfect for people-watching when the weather's nice.
- BeBop Bottle Shop, a new wine shop and tasting bar in West Asheville, was founded by a sommelier and a distributor who moved to Asheville late last year. Check out its Thursday evening wine tastings!
- Pink Moon is a hidden wine bar located behind the Double Crown in West Asheville. You can't get in without the secret passcode, which they post daily on Instagram.
- Crocodile Wine Crocodile Wine is a haven for adventurous wine lovers, offering a carefully curated selection of natural, organic, and low-intervention wines. This downtown Asheville bottle shop focuses on unique, small-batch producers, bringing flavors that are as dynamic and unexpected as the name suggests.
- Botanist & Barrel brings a unique touch to Asheville’s craft beverage scene with its natural, minimal-intervention approach to winemaking. Known for their wild and native yeast fermentations, this local cidery and winery crafts vibrant, expressive wines alongside their signature ciders. Their downtown tasting room and bottle shop offer a chance to explore their thoughtfully made pét-nats, orange wines and barrel-aged creations.
Wine Stores and Unique Experiences
The Asheville area is also home to wine stores that provide unique tastings and experiences.
- Table Wine (South Asheville) — has not only established itself as a top wine retailer in Asheville but also has become known for its frequent tasting events.
- Metro Wines (North Asheville) — focuses on wine and food pairings and hosts frequent tastings
- Appalachian Vintner (Biltmore Village) — has a rotating list of wines and draft beers on tap to drink in the store. It also has a large selection of hard cider, mead, vermouth, sake, and natural wine.
- Crocodile Wine (Downtown) – specializes in natural wine and sells over 300 low-intervention international and domestic wines made from organic grapes, and wild fermented with native yeasts.
- Maggie B's Wine & Specialty Store (Weaverville) — is not only lauded for its tastings but for being especially dog-friendly. The store is named after the owners' yellow Labrador retriever.
In addition to these dedicated wine bars, Asheville's nationally-acclaimed dining scene serves up an award-winning selection of local, regional and international wines. Spanish tapas bar Cúrate was named one of America’s 100 Best Wine Restaurants (2018) by Wine Enthusiast.
North Carolina Wine History
In the 1580s, Sir Walter Raleigh’s expeditions documented scuppernong grapes, a type of muscadine, growing on Roanoke Island, an early hint of the region’s winemaking potential. But after a long stretch of Prohibition, North Carolina’s wine industry faded from the spotlight for decades.
A key next chapter in area wine history traces its beginnings to the 1890s. It was then when George Vanderbilt was inspired by the mountains and the French Broad River to build Biltmore Estate. Vanderbilt had envisioned his estate as a large-scale working farm. Many years later, Vanderbilt’s grandson, William Cecil, figured out how to bottle that inspiration. He created the estate’s first wine in the 1970s and founded Biltmore Winery in 1983.
Biltmore led the charge for the experimentation and research in the North Carolina Wine industry as Cecil worked with experts from around the world to experiment with various kinds of grapes. With Biltmore's investment paving the way, North Carolina wine industry has grown leaps and bounds.
According to the North Carolina Wine and Grape Council (NC Wine), there are more than 500 commercial vineyards and nearly 200 wineries across the state, as well as seven federally recognized American Viticultural Areas (AVAs), three of which are in Western North Carolina.
Writer Emily Patrick contributed to this story.
