McRitchie Winery & Ciderworks

This little winery is located really close to the Jones Vandrehle winery off of NC Hwy 21, the drive there really is beautiful and it was that, that made this a pleasurable experience. This a really small place but like I said a beautiful setting. We tried 4 different wines, and honestly none were that great in fact none were really that good. We did also try 3 different ciders. One was pear, one was apple, and the other was a cranberry based cider. Of the three the cranberry was the best. But be warned, the ciders here are finished in a dry style, so don’t expect much sweetness there.
They are pretty much off the beaten path, so do yourself a favor and enjoy the drive up there and perhaps discover something that you might like.

I was disappointed by my tasting today. All of the wine we tasted was very fruit-​forward with a short finish that fell flat. The cider was decent, but I’m not a huge fan of cider… I wouldn’t purchase anything for home consumption. Perhaps the last harvest was lackluster? At any rate, I’m not in a rush to return.

On the outside, McRitchie looks like a traditional small house on top of a hill with fields of grapes and lovely flowers and plants along the front and side of the house. The tasting room is rustic with contemporary wood wine bar with turquoise stone embedded — I haven’t seen anything quite like it and I love it. On our visit this summer, their selection of wines and ciders were all very good. It’s the only winery that I have had a Traminette which is like a dry Gewurtztraminer. They use that as the base of their white blend, Fallingwater White which also has enough Riesling to make it slightly sweet but not too sweet.
The Pale Rider Dry Rose made with Cab Sav grapes was nice. They also have a dry rose made with Sangiovese that I didn’t get to try.
Their 2008 Merlot was enjoyably unique and not as full bodied as other Merlots I have had and the smokey finish was nice.
Ring of Fire — their Meritage style blend is a bold classic.
They have dry cider and semi-​sweet cider which were included in the wine tasting.
The tasting fee is $ 7 and includes the glass.
Before this trip, it had been a few years since my last visit to McRitchie — not sure why it took me a few years to get back as I enjoyed several of their wines and ciders then too. I have a feeling that the next trip will be sooner rather than later.