Way Up in the Appalachian Highlands, Wine Hits Its Stride

• By WineBottleMag
• December 15, 2025
• Appalachian Highlands Hits Stride Wine
• With 0 comments

When you think of world-class Pinot Noir, a few names probably come to mind. Domaine de la Romanée-Conti of Vosne Romanée. Eyrie Vineyards of the Willamette Valley. Kosta Browne of the Russian River Valley. 

How about Ankida Ridge of the Blue Ridge Mountains? While the sprawling American region isn’t a household name for wine, it is vying to one day compete on the international Pinot stage.  

A province of the larger Appalachian Highlands, the mountain range extends southwest from southern Pennsylvania through Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia.

Can quality vinifera grapes really thrive there, and, if so, will consumers pay for the product? There are a number of wineries, smaller in production, winning national accolades for their wines in the Blue Ridge Mountains. 

These exciting high-elevation sites on the East Coast are offering noble vinifera grapes a chance to persevere and compete—wine lovers should take notice.

Geography Intersects Climate 

The core of Blue Ridge Mountain soil is metamorphic and igneous rock, such as granite, marble, and basalt. These are not fertile soils, which makes agriculture somewhat challenging. However, there are weathered pockets of soil suitable for wine production, which is where many of the vineyards, carved out of this massive forest, appear.  

The East Coast, in general, is humid with variable temperatures, making thin-skinned, delicate grapes like Pinot Noir extremely challenging to grow. (According to the Virginia Vineyard Association, there are less than 50 acres of Pinot Noir in Virginia, as opposed to the 47,000 acres in California.) 

The distinctive meso-climates of these sites offer consistency in weather and diurnal shifts in temperature that allow the grapes to retain acidity while ripening them evenly. Per Lucy Morton, famed viticulturalist and ampelographer, “high and dry” dictates site selection here. 

One of the most influential figures for ampelography and vineyard selection in the U.S., Morton studied with prominent French ampelographer Pierre Galet. Alongside pioneering winemakers like Dr. Konstantin Frank of New York and the late Maryland winery consultant Philip Wagner of Boordy Vineyards, she helped to carve out the prospect of growing vinifera grapes on the East Coast in her work with clients like Chatham Vineyards, Rosemount Vineyards, Black Ankle Vineyards, Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard, and Boordy Vineyards.

The Economics of High Elevation 

With these site selections and noble grapes, yields are often lower than their hybrid counterparts. This results in less overall production and product to offer to consumers. As such, the sweeping, picturesque views of these high-altitude locations help these wineries help attract visitors. According to the Wine Business’ 2025 Tasting Room Survey Report, wineries “East of the Rockies” saw a 6% increase in sales value and a 5% increase in volume with regards to consumer visits since 2023. Among those wineries, those that sold less than a 1,000 cases of wine saw the biggest increase in direct-to-consumer interactions.

As many of these Blue Ridge Mountain vineyard sites are quite isolated, their visitation hours tend to be more limited, but the experiences are immersive and unique, with activities from hiking to yoga. Christine Vrooman, proprietor of Ankida Ridge Vineyards, anticipates building a pavilion for small boutique weddings, as well as “a space for retreats, yoga, and nature to help make it a profitable venture.”

Ankida Ridge Vineyards

Amherst County, Virginia (1,800 feet elevation)

Christine and Dennis Vrooman were preparing for retirement. They found a piece of land in Amherst, Virginia, to build their home, and the last thing on their mind was starting a business. In fact, they had just ended their longtime veterinary practice. However, as Christine puts it, “It was serendipity. The excavator cleared a spot of earth beneath a landing, and we did not initially know what we would do with it.” 

An apple orchard was floated, as well as a Christmas Tree lot. Eventually, Morton came to the site, picked up the soil, tasted the soil, and said, “Why not plant Pinot Noir? You only have two acres here, but if any one grape will make two acres worth it, it would be Pinot Noir.” 

To the Vroomans’ friends, this was a salacious idea! “What!?” “How?” “Why?”  

In 2008, they planted their first vines and in 2011, they had their first wine: a Pinot Noir. Coincidentally, a prominent Monticello wine conference was coming up for local vineyards in the area to present their wines. There were no available spots, and then suddenly a spot opened; Christine seized the entry. At this conference, wine world powerhouses like Jancis Robinson, Eric Asimov, and the Washington Post were tasting. Morton was there too, and she suggested to Robinson that she should visit the Ankida Ridge booth.

As Christine tells the story: “Jancis came over, picked up the wine, smelled the wine, and said, ‘Well, it looks like Pinot. It smells like Pinot. It tastes like Pinot … It’s embryonic in its development, but this is Pinot Noir.’” Christine took this as a compliment and, sure enough, accolades ensued. The Washington Post featured the winery, the Oregon Wine Press hailed its first vintage release, and Washington area wine critic Dave McIntyre sung the Pinot Noir’s praises.

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The specificities of soil composition remain crucial to the development of Ankida Ridge wines. The site consists of decomposing granite that is very porous. There is no morning dew, and the aspect of the vineyard is such that there is a temperature inversion, causing a continuous cycle of cool and warm air to swirl up and down the mountain. The vineyard has never had a spring frost that has grossly affected the grapes. Bud break occurs a week later than everywhere else in their immediate area and, according to Christine, they have only once broken 90 degrees Fahrenheit in their 17 year history.

Ankida Ridge has positioned itself as a premium product and will be the exclusive wine served at Primland, one of Virginia’s most exclusive resorts. Beside Pinot Noir, Ankida Ridge grows Chardonnay and plans to venture into Gamay, as well. Sparkling wines are also part of the portfolio. 

Stone Ashe Vineyard

Hendersonville, North Carolina (2,700 feet elevation)

In the heights of North Carolina, Stone Ashe Vineyard is a family-run, estate-grown and -bottled winery that grows Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Verdot, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, and Sémillon. In 2010, Craig and Tina Little sought a site “commiserate to that of a French vineyard,” according to their son and co-owner, Heath Little.  

Alex Blackburn, a professional soil scientist, visited the site and reviewed the soil. Upon further inspection, he brought in Morton to determine which grapes to grow.

The soil was extremely rocky, and the aspect of the slope was steep enough for good drainage of water. “It was the optimum range for photosynthesis, and during the night there is coolness for acidity, but during the day there is optimal range for producing sugars,” says Heath. The elevation was a huge factor. “For every 100 meters the elevation increases, the temperature decreases by one degree Fahrenheit.”

In 2022, Stone Ashe was named one of USA Today’s 10 best new wineries of 2022. Per Heath, “People think North Carolina just grows muscadine,” a hybrid, but Stone Ashe is proving vinifera excels here, too.

Of note, their Right Bank Bordeaux-style blend, Davenport, and Left Bank Bordeaux-style blend, Coppedge Hill, are signature wines of the estate. The Chardonnay, while meant to emulate a Chablisienne style, is also of notable distinction.

12 Ridges Vineyards

Raphine, Virginia (3,300 feet elevation)

Sitting at over 3,000 feet above sea level, 12 Ridges Vineyard is one of the highest vineyard sites on the East Coast. The relatively new property was purchased by Craig and Ann Colberg in 2010 as a Christmas tree lot before Alex Blackburn, a Virginia-licensed and nationally certified professional soil scientist, helped to define specific plots suitable for cultivation. The wines premiered in 2021, with Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Gris, and Pinot Noir being the vineyard’s featured grapes.

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When initially developing the property, the Colbergs consulted Virginia wine pros like Joy Ting, former winemaker of Michael Schaps Winery, and Jake Busching, of Jake Busching Wines. They chose grapes and clones, and pursued winemaking with a more hands-off approach, with styles leaning towards Burgundian in vinification. “I had to explain my approach to consumers as we do not offer sweet wines, hybrids, or big styles,” Craig says. “The style is very lean.”

While the vineyard faces many challenges, including low yields, torrential rains, and high winds, the temperatures remain moderate throughout the year. Like Ankida Ridge, the winery never has to deal with frost, and the aspect of the slope is such that “irrigation and drainage are never a problem,” says Craig.

Given that the winery is so new, buzz is still growing, but it has already racked up accolades for its breathtaking vistas of the surrounding area. As Craig puts it, “We do two things: provide a great wine and a great view of the Blue Ridge Mountains.”

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