We recently visited the North Carolina coastal region and stopped in for our first visit to Huffman Vineyards. Huffman Vineyards is one of those wineries where you feel like family immediately upon walking through the door. This is a total family operation, started in 2010 by Lee Huffman. Lee is not only the owner, but he is also the winemaker. Davin, his cousin, does the bottling. Lee's dad, Ernie, oversees the vineyard. Nikki, his sister, is the tasting room host, and Phyllis, his mother, is the operator and cook of Mama’s Kitchen. She is also an accomplished artist and its her art work on the wine labels. Her paintings are also for sale in the tasting room.
Huffman Vineyards is located in Richlands. Lee grows Norton and Muscadine grapes. Other grapes are outsourced from various grape venders from North Carolina to California. It all depends on the produce available. All the fermenting and bottling is done on property.
Huffman offers small batch wines ranging from dry to sweet. They also produce various fruit wines. Reservations are not required for tastings. Only bottle service is available during events. Tastings are 4-2 oz pours for $10. We tend to lean on the dry side and between us enjoyed 5 dry wines, 2 semi-sweet and 1 fruit wine. My favorite was the Sunny Days and their Legacy Blend. Their Summer Nights is a particularly dangerous wine. It is served cold and is an easy drinking wine on a warm day. The Mirey Creek Red has an incredible dark chocolate aroma and taste. A 2 oz. pour would make an amazing dessert. The sweetest wine we tasted was the blueberry fruit wine. I found it not as sweet as I imagined it would be. We brought back 2 bottles. I am thinking of adding fresh blueberries and thicken it to make a sauce over ice cream or pound cake. Even though Mama’s Kitchen wasn’t open we did get to try out one of her premade sandwiches. We split a turkey and cheese sandwich. She had used a cherry jam that was delicious. Mama’s Kitchen is open Friday and Saturday 11-8. Our next visit will definitely be when food is being served. They do offer a wide variety of snacks and beverages. No outside food or alcohol is permitted on the property. In addition to food items, they offer wine accessories. They had beautiful painted wine glasses by The Salty Soul . Look for one in the June Twitter giveaway. Check out our website on how to enter.
The tasting room is spacious and has many areas to spread out for small and larger groups. Tastings are self guided and can be at the bar or at a seated area. Nikki can answer all your questions. There is also covered seating outside. You are welcome to wander around the vineyard. There are great spots for picture taking. Check their website for their schedule of events such as; trivia, music bingo and jam sessions.
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