What a great place to spend some time and enjoy some nice wine. The large front porch is a great place to enjoy a glass or two of wine after you have done the wine tasting. It is a great deal to taste all of their wines for $5.00 and to get to keep your glass. It is a great facility with friendly people. This vineyard is only about three miles from where we camped at RVacation Park.
Hey gang...This review is based on two visits - spaced some 5 years apart. We initially visited the Hinnant vineyards almost 5 years ago at which time we were greeted by a list of wines that were dominated by sweet muscadines. Because I was transitioning my palette from that of beer to wine, at the time, sweet was the way to go (until, of course, the palette had further adjusted to the traditional dry varieties). At that time we weren't too crazy about the sweet muscadine offerings. If you are familiar at all with the endless releases of the Duplin Winery sweet wines, then you will have gotten the idea as to the taste and variety that Hinnant had at that time.You can tell that this winery has been around for awhile - it's a well-run operation that has a nice layout (both with the building and the vineyards) in Pine Level, NC. For us, it's roughly a 45 minute drive from our home in Fuquay Varine. So if I were to award the winery a review at the time of our initial visit, I would have assigned it only 2 or 3 stars at the maximum.But things are changing for many of the muscadine/scuppernong-based wineries and that is the result of the introduction of a series of well-blended dry muscadines that will have you turning your head. If you haven't tasted a dry muscadine, it's a bit different from the traditional varieties of the European of French/American blends. The bouquet of these wines are not as rich or strong as the more traditional varieties - but the taste is very interesting - that is, dry, smooth, with a light finish. It's definitely changed my attitude about the Muscadine and Scuppernong varieties. And yes, several years back, I woke up one morning to realize that I preferred dry wines and will no longer even consider sweet wines.OK - so we visited the Hinnant winery again several months ago and what a difference. They've introduced a variety of new dry wines that will definitely turn a few heads. Of course, all tastes are subjective and one person's recommendation may be another person's rejection, so you always take a chance here.Suffice it to say, thanks to this updated visit, we must now give them a solid 4 stars and we even wound up purchasing a few of their dry red's, which I thoroughly enjoy now.The layout of the building with regards to the vineyards, the design of the tasting room, and the tours provided of the facility and process - all are well done. And yes, they have ample facilities for weddings and other events.I've uploaded some images of the Hinnant Vineyards for your review.
We were travelling from Raleigh to Wilmington and decided to stop at the outlet mall and found that this winery was very close. So glad we took a little detour. The wine tasting area was nicely maintained and there was a small gift shop area. We did try a few wines, but since our taste tends to be on the dry side we only found one wine to purchase. If you like sweet wines, you will be thrilled!
We have stopped here on several occasions and enjoyed the wine tasting. Since the visits have been a few years apart we noticed the expansion of wine available and other interesting store products. We have simple tastes, so chardonnay and red wines are our choice. The front porch is cozy and the people down to earth and friendly. Prices are very fair. Even if you're new to the wine scene you will enjoy the tasting.
My wife and I usually stop here on our way to and from Florida (usually 2 or more times per year).It's a short trip off Interstate 95 through beautiful NC towns. The reception is a modest structure, but the wine is delightful. The people are not pretentious, nor is the wine. The modest prices make this an exceptional value. Sample a few and you will know what I mean. Buy a bottle, or a case (we got 2 cases the last time), and you will understand.
I went here with a friend one day in the middle of the week. We decided to try out several wineries that day. We were trying out several of the local wineries convenient to the Raleigh area. This happened to be both of our favorite. I used to dislike muscadine wine a great deal. I have learned to appreciate it more now, thanks in part to Hinnant. My friend loves muscadine so she was in heaven. We walk in and it is very slow because it is a Wednesday at probably 1pm. Nothing like day drinking :) I had purchased a groupon so we had a great deal. We did a tasting of most of their wines. They consist of a great deal of fruit wines and of course muscadine grape wines. They were so easy to drink. For someone who was anti muscadine, I found it very easy to drink and full of flavor. My friend and I quickly decided to join their wine club and have not regretted it since. A couple months later, I had to go pick up my wine club order and I took my husband. He didn't want to go at all even though he doesn't mind muscadine wine. He didn't want to drive the 40 minutes it takes for me to get there. He loved it. He was more than happy to pick out 3 different bottles to take home. As a wine club member, you get a tasting or a glass a month so we did another tasting. Now I ask him what wines would he like me to get every three months because I know he enjoys the different wines. This is a great way to kill an afternoon and it would be a great place to host a party or an event if you were looking for that. It is a beautiful setting and would make for a beautiful setting. Don't hesitate to stop by, even if you are not into muscadine, This will change your mind.
We tasted some of their wines and most were good. We went grape pricing which was fun but we didn't eat them. They were too seedy.
We try to visit a different winery each time we come to North Carolina. This is a nice quiet little winery, the oldest vineyard in North Carolina. The girl who did our tasting was very friendly and informative. The wines were delicious. We had a Groupon which included a cheese tray, bottle of wine and a jar of their jelly... An extremely good deal, although the cheese tray was prepackaged. After our tasting we enjoyed it and a glass of wine out on the porch. The vineyards are visible from the porch which I haven't seen at visits to other wineries yet. I was a little disappointed they didn't have a peach wine, but they do have a pomegranate that is amazing. Their jellies are good also, we had a hard time picking our favorite. The price of their wines is very reasonable. We will definitely add their wines to our list to purchase when we visit North Carolina again.
the staff was wonderful and the wine was very good..nice small place off beaten path but easy to get to if you can google map or gps..definately worth the trip..had other things beside wine for sale ..tshirts and variety of food items..for a small fee you can sample several kinds of wine..look up winery on visitnc...
Breathtaking views of the vines even in December. My first time in NC and with Muscatine wine and it was a success. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable. Try season special Santa Baby