Hendersonville – Western North Carolina boasts a collection of businesses dedicated to producing artisan gourmet foods, though they can sometimes be difficult to discover or locate. By exploring specific trail maps online, you can uncover the impressive variety of vineyards, breweries, cideries, local cheese producers, and even ice cream parlors in this region. This is an easy way to connect with and find local craftsmen and gourmet artisans.
The WNC Cheese Trail
The WNC Cheese Trail is a nonprofit organization aimed at promoting the exceptional artisan cheeses produced in Western North Carolina. Their website, www.wnccheesetrail.org, lists eight creameries located in Marshall, Black Mountain, Columbus, Leicester, Fairview, and Statesville. Goat cheeses in various flavors and textures are the most prevalent, but some creameries, like Looking Glass Creamery and Lane in the Woods, offer a full range of cheeses made from cow’s milk, including several hard cheese and blue cheese.
Hendersonville Ice Cream
With summer heat upon us, it’s the perfect time to explore local ice cream shops. Visit https://visithendersonvillenc.org/ice-cream-trail for a variety of homemade and brand-name ice creams, frozen custards, and authentic Mexican paletas. Celtic Creamery WNC, a family business in Hendersonville, churns ice cream daily using Irish recipes. McConnell Farms has been making traditional ice cream since 1999, originally famous for their strawberry flavor.
Mike and Charlotte Baxley recently opened the Hershey Ice Cream Store in Mills River, which offers 28 flavors of ice cream not found in local stores. This has become a favorite stop with outdoor seating at 4165 Haywood Road on Route 191. The Heavenly Scoops Ice Cream shop recently donated over 1,000 gift certificates to students at Mills River Elementary and Glenn Marlow Elementary Schools.
Local Artisan Beverages
The Cheers! Trail Locations showcase five different types of craft beverages with dozens of tasting experiences. The listing can be found at https://visithendersonvillenc.org/cheers-trail and includes breweries, wineries, cideries, distilleries, and a meadery.
Sierra Nevada is well-known in the area and has a large East Coast facility near Mills River that features an expansive taproom. Indoor and outdoor porch dining is available, but reservations are suggested. Musicians regularly perform free concerts in the open-air amphitheater.
The Cheers! Trail locations list many vineyards, breweries, distilleries, and a meadery. Hendersonville’s Crest of the Blue Ridge wine country is filled with vineyards owned by families for generations. In 2019, this area received the Crest of the Blue Ridge federal designation as an American Viticultural Area (AVA), a designation reserved for regions with distinctive soil, climate, and elevation—such as Napa Valley and Sonoma.
Saint Paul Mountain Vineyards was the first winery in Hendersonville to open in 2011. Guided tastings showcase award-winning wines made from 14 varietals of French vinifera grapes. Free live music is regularly available on the outdoor covered patio adjacent to the vineyards, along with a food truck. It is located at 588 Chestnut Gap Road, Hendersonville.
Point Lookout Vineyards features an expansive open-air tasting room at 2,000 feet elevation atop Point Lookout Mountain. Point Lookout offers 10 dry and semi-sweet wines and now award winning sparkling wines. It also has a coffee shop on-site and an events pavilion with regular live music at 408 Appleola Road, Hendersonville, NC 28792. Other vineyards to visit include Burntshirt Vineyards, Marked Tree Vineyard, Stone Ashe Vineyard, and Sawyer Springs Vineyard.
Henderson County is also a significant apple-producing region. Handcrafted cider made in the European style can be sampled at Appalachian Ridge’s antique barn. Appalachian Ridge is an orchard-based artisan cidery in Hendersonville. After visiting Normandy, France, and learning about the traditional culture behind hard cider making, owner and apple enthusiast Allen Ward and Marvin Owings set out to create a Nursery of Normandy Apple Trees. Cultivated specifically for hard cider, Appalachian Ridge is now home to 14 different varieties of cider apples that cannot be found anywhere else in the United States. Visitors can enjoy a sparkling tasting or glass of cider on the deck overlooking the orchard or inside their picturesque antique barn.
Studying the cheese, ice cream, and craft beverage food trail maps is a wonderful way to discover artisan gourmet items available locally.