Carolina in my Mind and on the Palette

S.W. and Rich Hermansen
Guest Writers
wine@lbknews.com

With the advent of the hurricane season on the East Coast, wild fires in the dry heat of California, tornadoes and floods in between, and election fever gripping the nation, James Taylor’s Carolina In My Mind beckons wine tourists to the cool air of the Blue Ridge in the Western North Carolina mountains.
During the current week in September, dry air with high temperatures in the high 60’s and low 70’s, and lows around 20 degrees cooler, offer an escape from late summer heat. In the vicinity of the Linville Gorge, billed as the Grand Canyon of the East, tourists enjoy golf, hiking, fishing, tennis, the vistas overlooking the Gorge, and, at the boutique Pineola resort, three inviting pickle ball courts alongside a party deck off the Taproom.
A few miles from the Pineola, tourists interested in wine will find the Linville Falls Winery, a family-owned vineyard with an exceptional tasting room and music venue. Locals recommended Linville Falls as the best of the vineyards in the area.

Jack Wiseman, the person who founded the winery and continues as its proprietor, has truly made it a family enterprise. His daughter Linda Wiseman manages the tasting room and trains the wine stewards who assist customers. Three of Jack’s grandchildren work in the winery. Granddaughter Jessica Boone, an artist, designs wine bottle labels using watercolor proofs and works as a winemaker alongside Jack. Her husband, Bruce Daniels, leads work in the vineyard. Granddaughter Lindsay Wiseman, WSET Level 2 certified, manages wine club events and marketing. Grandson Jacob Wiseman, who contributed a wealth of detail for this article, has taken responsibility for the music, food trucks, and customer experience.
The Linville Falls tasting room offers two ounce pours of four wines for $14 and five wines for $16. We tried the unoaked Chardonnay; the Sauvignon Blanc; the off-dry Trillium, dominated by Riesling; the Petite Verdot, and the Cabernet Sauvignon. The fresh and simple NC dry whites had none of the vegetal green tastes that taint many East Coast whites, and the sweet estate-grown Riesling, Traminette, and Gruner Veltliner Trillium blend appeals to the many who ask for sweet wines. The Petite Verdot has less of the intense flavors of the variety as grown in Bordeaux and California, more like a lighter Italian red, and the Cabernet seemed targeted to wine drinkers who only drink Cabs. The combination of pleasant wines, music, food truck specialties, and the attractive estate has all the elements needed for a enjoyable afternoon of wine tasting.
The really interesting story, it seems to us, revolves around Jack Wiseman. He acquired a

taste for fine wine after leaving Western North Carolina to serve in the military in Korea and spending time in Northern California near the Napa Valley. He returned to Charlotte NC and with his wife operated a successful business. During that time he bought farms near where he grew up, and some fifty years ago returned to the Blue Ridge area to develop Fraser fir Christmas tree farms. Eventually he began planting grapes on his farms and, at the age of eighty, opened the Linville Farms Winery. He has expanded the winery into a thriving tasting room and outdoor venue for music events, and at the age of ninety-two operates the business with the help of his daughter, son-in-law and three grandchildren.
Grandson Jacob Wiseman sees the potential of Western North Carolina as a recognized wine region. Finding the best grape varieties for the climate and terrain remains a challenge. In the short term the tasting room and weekend events will pay the bills and support development of a world class vineyard.
S.W. Hermansen has used his expertise in econometrics, data science and epidemiology to help develop research databases for the Pentagon, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Agriculture, and Health Resources and Services. He has visited premier vineyards and taste wines from major appellations in California, Oregon, New York State, and internationally from Tuscany and the Piedmont in Italy, the Ribera del Duero in Spain, the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale in Australia, and the Otego Valley in New Zealand. Currently he splits time between residences in Chevy Chase, Maryland and St. Armand’s Circle in Florida.
Rich Hermansen selected has first wine list for a restaurant shortly after graduating from college with a degree in Mathematics. He has extensive service and management experience in the food and wine industry. Family and friends rate him as their favorite chef, bartender, and wine steward. He lives in Severna Park, Maryland.