Elkin Creek Vineyard

Location & Atmosphere: Elkin Creek is a small but fun winery located about four miles from downtown Elkin, NC, not far off of I-77. On the property, just behind the tasting room, Big Elkin Creek and Grassy Creek meet, and there sits the century old Elkin Creek Mill. The winery is a pleasant and scenic spot, like a park with swinging benches, and lots of water and woods. While there is a part of the vineyard at the front of the tasting building, the focus of the scenery is not the grape vines, as it is at many other vineyards, but the natural setting.

The Wines: Elkin Creek bottled its first wines in 2005. It is a small winery, and on the property they grow four types of European vinafera (dry) wines: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sangiovese, and Viognier. They also make wines from Chardonnay (an unoaked version), a number of Italian varieties, and sweet grapes. Elkin Creek’s wines are consistently rated by us between very good and excellent.

The Tours:  We did not take a tour of Elkin Creek, but were there twice on Sundays, their famous pizza day. Both times there was a good crowd on hand. This would be a nice country venue for a wedding, so many weddings and special events are held here. 

Other Amenities- Food:  We understand there used to be a full service restaurant on the property, but they have scaled it back and now only offer pizza real brick Italian pizza oven on Sundays. Due to the popularity of this event, you must call a day or two in advance to reserve your pizza crust and time, which we did. Even with the reservation, after you enter the building and place your order, we waited more than two hours for the pizza to be cooked and served. Great experience if you are planning to spend the afternoon, but not if you are in a hurry.

Other Amenities- Cabins:  There are four riverside cabins you can rent overnight, in a beautiful park-like wooded setting. They have a number of swinging benches down by the creeks. The only negatives are that there is minimal shopping opportunity, and being a small winery, they often run out of different vintages and blends. We suspect their winery has become far more popular than they imagined.

History: The Winery was started by Mark Greene in 2001, and the current owners, the Whites and the Jeroslows, were all married here in 2008, while they were a part of the theatrical Blue Man Group. After living in Las Vegas, they decided to buy the winery, and the rest as they say is history. 

Rating: Overall, unquestionably a fun four-star experience in a beautiful setting. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable. If you can spend the afternoon, the Sunday pizza experience is not to be missed!