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Pulled pork, pulled corks in North Carolina— New York Times
Pulled Pork, Pulled Corks in North Carolina
The Piedmont in North Carolina is holy ground for barbecue connoisseurs: a place where pork shoulders are still pit-cooked over smoldering hardwood, and men with names like Snook and Boney live on through their smoky legacy. The old-school barbecue joints they’ve left behind would alone warrant a road trip through this patchwork quilt of old farms, small towns and distant mountain views that sprawl south and west of Winston-Salem. But they’re not the only reason for food-minded tourists to visit here. Just off the Blue Ridge Parkway, in the Yadkin Valley, a fledgling wine scene has taken root, one that doesn’t feature just the sweet native muscadine, but also pork-friendly Old World varietals like cabernet franc, sangiovese and even nebbiolo. A wine-and-swine agenda seemed like a natural to me and my husband, Lindsay (a North Carolina native), but not everyone recognizes this lucky overlap. A woman at tourist information in Winston-Salem seemed puzzled when asked for information on both. She had plenty of pamphlets, maps and even an audio tour for wine-related rambles. But when it came to barbecue, we were on our own. “They’re two separate worlds,” said Jim Early, a local lawyer, food writer and founder of the North Carolina Barbecue Society. Barbecue and wine may be two local art forms that taste great together, but they tend not to mingle socially. He warned us that consuming the two together would be a challenge. “Barbecue has been around for hundreds of years, “ he said “Wine’s the new kid on the block. I don’t think they’ve spent a lot of time getting to know each other.” It was a longtime tobacco farmer who sparked the idea of our late-summer tour through wine and barbecue country. “Nothing goes better with my syrah than a barbecue sandwich,” said Frank Hobson Jr., at RagApple Lassie, his six-year-old vineyard. He was right, as a pit stop a few miles west at Daniel Boone Barbecue confirmed. At RayLen, a hilltop vineyard where a rollicking farm party was under way, live rockabilly music rang from the porch, while frolickers danced around the hilly vines. We sampled a slew of good French blends, and when hunger struck, we were directed to a ramshackle cluster of white cinderblock buildings nearby that had Snook’s Old Fashion Barbecue hand-painted above the front door. Their sandwiches were the real deal: an exemplary squish of smoke-tinged pork and slaw on a plain-Jane burger bun. “We get a lot of people stopping by from the wineries,” said Rita Reavis, whose father opened Snook’s 37 years ago. Her brother now tends the smoke-belching pit, and her grandchildren work the ginghamy counter. In North Carolina, wine is finally bouncing back, long after Prohibition squelched its once-productive industry. According to the North Carolina Wine and Grape Council, the number of wineries has more than doubled in the last five years, with 20 alone in Yadkin Valley, a grape-friendly region that in 2003 became North Carolina’s first federally recognized viticultural area. The hope is that viticulture will eventually prove as profitable as tobacco, but farmers aren’t the only students at Surry Community College in Dobson, which has its own vineyard and winery. Many valley residents, including recent transplants from other wine regions, have a case of grape fever. You can’t cruise these winding roads without seeing wine-related signs and billboards. YET the closest thing to roadside barbecue ads we found was a giant kudzu topiary in the shape of a pig. Barbecue is the region’s old, familiar fogy, and $2.50 sandwiches are traditionally, and terrifically, washed down with sweet tea. Though there’s a cultish appreciation for wood-fueled pit-cooking, which survives here more than elsewhere, Mr. Early said, the technique is rapidly giving way to less nuanced electric cookers, and old pit-masters are retiring. “There aren’t many places left,” said Charlie Shelton, the white-haired co-owner of Shelton Vineyards, one of the first to open here (in 1999) and now one of the largest. It was a sparkling summer day, and Shelton’s manicured grounds, shaded by weeping willows, were crowded with families. I asked Mr. Shelton, who was greeting visitors in his tasting room, where he eats barbecue in his hometown of Mount Airy, near the valley’s northern end. “Nowadays, you have to go to Lexington,” he said, referring to the region’s southernmost town an hour away. In barbecue terms, Lexington is North Carolina’s Memphis or Kansas City, its true locus. As detailed in “Bob Garner’s Guide to North Carolina Barbecue” (John F. Blair) — required reading for road trippers in search of porcine heaven — Piedmont-style barbecue evolved after 1919, when pits placed outside the Lexington Courthouse spawned permanent buildings, competition and, eventually, a barbecue boomtown. (Lexington’s 23rd annual Barbecue Festival is scheduled for Oct. 21, the same day as the third annual Yadkin Valley Grape Festival in Yadkinville.) But you can’t eat Piedmont (or western North Carolina-style) barbecue without acknowledging its rival east of Raleigh. The stylistic differences: Piedmont style means shoulders, not whole hog; it’s hand-chopped (fine or coarse, your call), sliced or pulled to order, rather than minced beforehand. It comes with thin, ketchup-tinged “dip,” instead of red pepper-flecked vinegar sauce. In the Piedmont, you can, and should, request your barbecue with “brown,” the intensely flavored, caramelized outer skin that can only be described as pork candy. Not everyone follows rules. Take Snook’s, where Ms. Reavis puts her pork, brown and all, through a coarse grinder to wonderful effect. At Village Barbecue, in Elkin, the sandwiches are as saucy as sloppy Joes. The restaurants are usually sticklers about alcohol, though, so you’re better off brown-bagging barbecue to the wineries than vice-versa. We ordered smoky sandwiches and hushpuppies to go at Little Richards, a mini-chain in Yadkinville, and chased them with Raffaldini Vineyards’ racy Italian reds on a patio with jaw-dropping mountain views. Most wineries sell picnic provisions, and a few — Shelton, Black Wolf, Childress — have pleasant restaurants. But the one we’re still talking about is Elkin Creek, a tiny winery nestled in the woods across from a well-preserved 19th-century mill. The young chef, Jesse Williams, cooks everything from local vegetables to pork shoulders in a wood-burning brick oven. And, as we sat in mix-and-match dining-room chairs, savoring stone-ground grits and Elkin Creek’s own sausage, the owner, Mark Greene, poured his quirky barbera into Riedel glasses. We left happy and full, understanding what the French must mean when they talk about terroir — the way foods are stamped with a keen sense of place. Next time, we’ll stay at the bungalow Mr. Greene’s neighbor built across the creek, or perhaps in one of the cozy old cottages at nearby Grassy Creek, a three-year-old winery on a storybook farm that once belonged to the Hanes (underwear) family. At the smaller vineyards, tastings, around $4, are often led by owners. At Hanover Park, in a restored farmhouse, two former art teachers set out local goat cheese with their Rhone varietals and luscious scuppernong dessert wine. At Round Peak, we got surprise lessons in both winemaking and the hamlet’s famous old-time music. The owner of Stony Knoll walked us around his family’s century-old farm turned vineyard. We had been before to Childress Vineyards in Lexington, the palatial winery opened by Richard Childress, a Nascar team owner, in 2004. We were headed back not for the racing knickknacks but because we liked the wines. Besides, the wine and swine connection isn’t lost on the winemaker, Mark Friszolowski, who bottles Fine Swine Wine, a sweet-as-tea red, for the local barbecue festival. On the way, neon-bright Tar Heel Q, where the chopped brown had a distinct spare-rib quality, is a worthy stop. At nearby Deano’s, the pit-master Dean Allen honors his mentors (the late Boney, among them) with nicely calibrated ’cue. As we drove into town with the windows rolled down, Lexington introduced itself with a sirocco of smoke. The chamber of commerce claims one barbecue restaurant per thousand residents. We finally settled into the red vinyl swivel stools at Barbecue Center, where the gargantuan sundae is as famous as the pit-cooked barbecue. Our pilgrimage ended at Lexington Barbecue, where Rick Monk — son of the legendary pit-master Wayne Monk — mistook our slow bites for unhappy ones. “You have to know how to order,” he said before disappearing into the kitchen and returning with coarsely-chopped, brown-studded pork and potent dip. Too full to move, we sheepishly asked for a doggie bag. I only wish that Mr. Monk knew how good his barbecue tasted a few hours later, with a glass of local wine. If You Go Call ahead for winery and barbecue restaurant hours, which vary widely. THE WINE Elkin Creek, 318 Elkin Creek Mill Road, Elkin; (336) 526-5119; www.elkinmill.com. RagApple Lassie, 3724 RagApple Lassie Lane, Boonville; (866) 724-2775; www.ragapplelassie.com. THE SWINE Daniel Boone Barbecue, 108 South Carolina Avenue, Boonville; (336) 367-5225.
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Carolina’s Wine Country:
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| Oak barrels stacked outside the winery at Elkin Creek await this season's wines. (photo by Art Meripol) |
Take a journey through this blessed stretch between Lexington, North Carolina, and the Virginia state line, where the roots of two dozen boutique wineries reach deep into the rich soil. The French call the essence of their wine regions' soils and climates "terroir," but in these parts, we know it simply as good Tar Heel taste.
"The Yadkin Valley is like a treasure hunt," says Kim Myers of Laurel Gray Vineyards. "Each winery is as distinct as its owner's tastes." Some reside in plush châteaus with dozens of employees, while others are so small you meet the proprietors at the tastings. Welcoming first-timers and sophisticates alike, all the stops are hospitable.
To explore the Yadkin Valley, you need only a sense of adventure and a playful palate. Come with us as we sample, from the largest to the smallest. Note comments from our Foods and Travel staffs; we tasted an abundance to offer you our favorites.
Childress Vineyards: A Tuscan-style villa graces a hillside surrounded by neat rows of grapevines in Lexington. Owner Richard Childress (yes, of NASCAR fame) fell in love with California wines while racing there, and he became a vintner back home. It's a good place to start your spirited journey, especially if this is your first visit. Step up to the dark-wood bar, and choose from three tastings. From delectable sweets to a reserve merlot, talented winemaker Mark Friszolowski crafts something for everyone.
OUR PICKS: 2004 Merlot ($17)—smooth, very food friendly; Pinnacle Meritage ($15)—long finish, a nicely crafted wine, good with Stilton cheese or a big steak.
Shelton Vineyards: At the north end of the valley in Dobson, Shelton Vineyards boasts a gorgeous setting, complete with a babbling brook coursing under fall trees. Brothers Charlie and Ed Shelton converted this 400-acre former dairy farm into a gravity-flow winery in 1999 (it uses the incline of a hillside to move the juice and wine). There's a restaurant on site as well as a new Hampton Inn & Suites with a wine bar nearby at I-77.
OUR PICKS: Salem Fork Blush ($8)—very peachy and sweet; Yadkin Valley Reisling ($12)—refreshing with just a hint of sweetness.
Westbend Vineyards: As the oldest vineyard in the valley, Westbend, near Winston-Salem, started growing grapes in 1972 and helped smaller operations get their starts. Owner Lillian Kroustalis and winemaker Mark Terry continue to win awards. "We do custom-crush service for smaller wine producers," says Lillian. The rural setting, with a handsome patio and pavilion, invites you to linger after a tasting.
OUR PICKS: 2004 Merlot ($15)—a nice red, very drinkable; 2004 Pinot Noir ($16)—perfect with Thanksgiving flavors, a good crossover wine for white and red meats.
RayLen Vineyards and Winery: RayLen's 38 acres of grapes produce excellent estate wines. The red blends are the most popular, with the Category 5, a full Bordeaux-style, offering fine aging potential. Whites intrigue too, including the Yadkin Gold. The gift shop features furniture and accessories made from oak barrels at affordable prices.
OUR PICK: Yadkin Gold 2004 ($13)—a tad sweet, would be nice over ice.
RagApple Lassie Vineyards: The success of growing grapes enables Frank and Lenna Hobson to continue to plant corn, wheat, tobacco, and soybeans. Named for Frank's pet Holstein, this vineyard features agrarian architecture. Stairs in a silo lead down to the aging cellar, while guests stroll on a catwalk above the winemaking facility. An outdoor stage features concerts and folk art fairs throughout the year.
OUR PICK: 2004 Chardonnay ($15)—a good balance of fruit and oak with a nice finish.
Raffaldini Vineyards: Save the airline ticket to Italy, and visit Raffaldini in the Swan Creek area of the Yadkin Valley. You'll meet a family that's been making wine for more than 650 years. Their tasting room opens onto a sunny deck and gardens with a stunning view of the Yadkin River beyond.
OUR PICKS: 2005 Fiori ($13)—good with cold salads and spicy Asian foods; 2005 Chiara ($13)—sweet, tastes more like a blush than a traditional rosé.
Hanover Park Vineyard: In a 1890s farmhouse in Yadkinville, two former art teachers live their dream. Amy and Michael Helton fell in love with winemaking on their 1996 honeymoon in France. Amy meets and greets, and Michael's paintings hang on the walls while he crafts the wine. This is the kind of place where plants grow out of bottles in sunlit windows, and shelves of balsamic vinaigrette and bread invite impromptu picnics.
OUR PICK: Michael's Blend Meritage 2002 ($16)—very different, fruity, would be nice with roasted meat.
Laurel Gray Vineyards: Benny and Kim Myers welcome you to the Swan Creek area to taste wine in a former milking parlor that is surrounded by a relaxing porch. As you sip, gaze at the view of Scarlet Mountain and a pond with cattails and ducks. Catch, too, the last rose blossoms before the frost settles on Benny's family's farm, dating to the 1700s.
OUR PICK: 2005 Scarlet Mountain ($17)—well balanced and dark berry flavors.
Flint Hill Vineyards: Owners Tim and Brenda Doub added a tasting room to Tim's family's farmhouse where Brenda cultivates the surrounding vineyards. "My husband grew up in this house," she says. "His grandfather was a distiller here. We grow grapes to keep our farm alive." Sweet wine lovers adore their Old Yadkin. "My husband calls it a gossip wine. The more you drink, the more you gossip," she says. At press time, the Doubs had just added a restaurant called the Century Kitchen. If it's as good as their wines, we are in for a tasty meal.
OUR PICK: 2005 Viognier ($17)—well balanced, a good alternate to Chardonnay.
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Elkin Creek Vineyard: Taste Mark Greene's wines with dinner at his restaurant, The Kitchen (the best in the valley). If you just want to sample, drop by the basement tasting room. It's the smallest winery, and Mark arguably occupies the smallest space. He sometimes sleeps in a teepee in a field nearby. Save time to explore his century-old mill too—one of the prettiest sights around.
OUR PICK: 2005 Chardonnay ($15)—has a taste of smoky oak, would cozy up to any bottle from California.
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Bonus Pick—Grassy Creek Vineyard & Winery: On the north side of Elkin, Grassy Creek Vineyard & Winery gives new purpose to an old dairy farm. Two couples—the Douthits and the Rices—merge talents here. If the spirit's willing, you may blend your own barrel here for less than $5,000 (with advice from the winemaker). Your yield: 25 cases and visiting rights while it's being made. Add your own name and label—and live the dream of the Yadkin Valley.
OUR PICK: 2005 Merlot ($14)—spicy, pair with meaty pizza or flank steak
Vino Vitae
•There are more than 20 wineries in the valley.
•Yadkin Valley growers concentrate on vinifera (traditional European grapes); a few raise native muscadines (for sweet wines).
•Yadkin Valley's appellation status is recognized by the federal government as an American Viticulture Area (AVA).
•Prices range $7 to $40. The average is $14 per bottle.
•Larger wineries are open daily; smaller ones offer weekend tastings only. Check before you go.
•Passing through the Charlotte International Airport? Try flights of Yadkin wines at the tasting room in the main concourse.
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‘At Home on Elkin Creek’
Excerpt taken from ‘Wining and Dining’ by Ed Williams — Our State magazine, Sept. 2007
At 3:40 pm we climb gravel drive to Elkin Creek Vineyard, a mile outside Elkin. If you weren’t looking hard, you might miss it. Nonetheless, this vineyard-winery-restaurant has tongues wagging, so folks look hard.
We arrive at the vineyard with a few hours to relax before our dinner at the on-site restaurant, The Kitchen at Elkin Creek Restaurant, and it’s here that the surreal game of Wiffle Ball takes place. After the game, we leave Elkin Creek to locate our lodging — Frog Holler Cabins, two minutes away across Big Elkin Creek.
At the cabins, we enjoy wine on the deck overlooking the swirling eddies and waterfalls below. There is a hot tub here, but if we get in, we’ll never get out for dinner.
Our reservations are for 6:30 pm, but Elkin Creek’s owner, Mark Greene, has other plans for us when we arrive. He whisks us to a private tasting in a cool barrel room to sample wines influenced by Italian heritage.
We top off the Sangiovese — and off we go to Jolly Mill upon Greene’s invitation.
Jolly Mill, an early 1900s grain mill, today sits silent. Greene can point fondly to the spot where a dam once corralled the surging Big Elkin Creek waters heaving life into the mill. Photographs in this rambling haunt show kids frolicking in the waters that moved the mill that ground the grain that fed a hungry countryside.
Greene may be one of the last Renaissance men — a former banker and restaurant owner turned farmer-carpenter-entrepreneur, turned who-knows-what-else-next. He passionately embraces a today — and a yesteryear — he might trap, if not in a bottle, then in this dusty, musky, cobwebbed mill, where machines are lovingly labeled to tell how it all once shook, rattled and rolled. One day, I’ll ask why he stays in that tee under animal-skin rigs with his tom-tom and single-malt scotch. But that’s a tale for another day.
Returning to The Kitchen, we encounter an elderly woman sitting on the restaurant’s steps, gazing into the hillside vineyard. “You made the world a prettier place,” she tells Greene.
“That,” he confides, “is the greatest compliment I’ve ever been paid.”
The Kitchen’s menu is wildly eclectic. Usually, I’m embarrassingly un-adventuresome, but tonight I impulsively order honey-lacquered rabbit, with a starter of seafood ceviche.
Leslie waggles an eyebrow: “Raw shrimp? And then Thumper?” She starts with asparagus-truffle risotto, finishing with brick-oven chicken and succotash.
Chefs Jesse Williams and Robert Schriver are craftsmen. Waiter Hugh Hampton’s banter add to a revelry lubricated by Elkin Creek’s Pinot Grigio. When I look up, it’s 10 pm, and I’m not sure where the time’s gone.
Armed with a flashlight, we trek across the creek, the crisp night air inviting us to fire up our hot tub.
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North Carolina Wine Makers are Right on the Mark
By Ed Williams — Winston-Salem Journal
En route to visit two guys named Mark, a recent Yadkin Valley road trip seems at first a journey in juxtaposition.
But by day's end, I see two guys named Mark traveling the same road to discovery. What's old is new; what's new is old.
When we first meet, Mark Greene is perched on a slope, fiddling with vines. Visits to his tiny Elkin Creek Vineyard are by reservation only, but that doesn't stop the curious from creeping up a lonely, one-lane, gravel path to see what he has carved into a hillside outside of Elkin.
What Greene, who was formerly in the restaurant business, has quietly built - brick by brick, joist by beam, post by vine, all with his own two hands — awes visitors. His web site (www.elkincreekvineyard.com) doesn't do it justice. Nor words here.
The curious, hearing rumor and wild tale, simply appear. And Greene is welcoming.
No winery in North Carolina can boast the character and charm I find here, an ambience lovingly crafted by a curious man with such unbridled talent that you might fear it will be intimidating but instead find it inspiring.
The first floor and deck overlook a spirited creek and old grist mill and the guts of the wine-making below. The brick exterior comes courtesy of an old school-house demolition, and the cathedral ceiling looks as if it was built from timbers of the ark.
A spacious hospitality lobby area opens off the kitchen to one side. Open-fire brick ovens will provide the bread that will serve the guests who will drink the wine that will toast the winemaker who will, somehow, still be tinkering with the winery that Greene built.
On this day, he seems miffed when I infer that this opulent lobby is his "tasting room." So, I'm whisked downstairs past fermentation tanks and into the barrel room. There amid slumbering wine stands a slab of tree, sliced, sanded, laid on its side, resting across two upright barrels and serving as tasting bar.
In the dim light and cool temperatures, this simplicity seems only right from so humble and plain-spoken a winemaker.
And the Pinot Grigio and Barbera he taps from a steel tank on this day - and the Chardonnay he steals from a barrel with a wine thief — offer an equally inspiring glimpse into what he can achieve beyond all this bricklaying and woodworking and landscaping.
From five acres of vines planted in 2001, Greene figures to produce about 800 to 1,000 cases annually, much of it Italian-styled wines.
Maybe in April, some of the juice in the tank and barrel will find its way into bottles. Maybe by then, Elkin Creek will be ready by Greene's exacting standards and will open to the public.
For now, Greene hosts curious visitors with a wine thief in one hand and some very good wine in the other.
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Vineyard Cooking Up in Kitchen
By Lonnie Adamson, The Tribune, Elkin, NC
Fine dining while enjoying the experience of a vineyard is the idea behind The Kitchen at Elkin Creek. The Mediterranean-style restaurant will open next Thursday for lunch and dinner.
It is just the latest venture by Mark Greene, owner of Elkin Creek Vineyard, just over the Wilkes County line, off of Carter Mill Road on Elkin's north side. He also plans the public release of his first vintage on April 29.
The focal point and most unique aspect of the restaurant is the brick, woodfired oven, built by Greene himself. He learned about the oven and its use after studying ast a restaurant and bakery in Florida. He has been fine-tuning the process in his meticulous way since.
Key to uniqueness of the oven is the radiant heat it provides for cooking, the vineyards general manager and executive chef, Jesse Williams, said Thursday.
The radiance provides an even heat all around the dish being prepared, and the burning wood provides flavors you cant get with gas or electricity, he said.
Williams has an 11-year history of cooking for his brothers restaurant in New York and in different style restaurants in Florida and Mexico before coming to the Carolinas. He studied under several very good chefs in Asheville and Durham.
Williams said the restaurant will be serving the highest quality products, prepared consistently and with good service.
Breads prepared in the oven will be featured at dinner, along with pizza, some pasta dishes and braised meats, cooked with simple flavors. Hamburgers will also be offered.
For lunch, the kitchen will specialize in paninis, a pressed and grilled sand- wich with meats, mushrooms and scrumptious cheeses. A Sunday brunch will take a different twist with the likes of shrimp and grits, and Eggs Benedict.
Wine can accompany any meal, Williams said. Guests can choose the 50-person dining room or eat on the deck. They could also grab a sandwich and throw a blanket out on the grass or go down by the creek, Williams said. We want everyone to enjoy the surroundings.
The restaurant will serve a selection of eight international wines from France, Germany and Italy, some ranging up to $100 per bottle. We hope theirs come up to the quality of ours, Greene said. The Elkin Creek new releases Rossa, a blend, and Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Sangiovese and Barbera will be the staples.
The restaurant will be open Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 10:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. for lunch and 5:30 p.m. - 9 p.m. for dinner. Sunday brunch is 10:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.
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