Easter Weekend Events: Weekend Wine Tastings

April 23 4PM-7PM Asheville’s Best Wine & Beer Tasting at Appalachian Vintner. Free Wine Tastings every Saturday and Wednesday. This Saturday features: the Scott Family Group Ponga Sauvignon Blanc- Marlborough, New Zealand. The iconic Silver Fern of New Zealand is called “Ponga” by the country’s indigenous Maori people; Mulderbosch Chenin Blanc Steen op Hout- 100% Chenin Blanc from vineyards in the Western Cape; Apaltagua Envero Gran Reserva- 100% Carmenère from vines over 50 years old. Apaltagua Winery, located in the prestigious Apalta region in Chile's Colchagua Valley, specializes in one distinguished, but lesser known, grape varietal - Carmenère; Intipalka Ico Valley Tannat- 100% estate grown Tannat from Perú! Intipalka means “Valley of the Sun” in Quechua, the language of the ancient Incas.

And in honor of Passover - BEER! Appalachian Vintner is located at 2-B Huntsman Place in Asheville, NC.

April 23, 3-6 PM at Hops & Vines Free wine tasting, Wines from Italy. Riff Pinot Grigio 2009- This wine originates in the foothills of the Dolomites in the eastern Alps; Ajello Majus Grillo Catarratto 2007- This white wine from Sicilia IGT is a blend of 70% Grillo, which gives the wine big full body, and 30% Catarratto which balances the wine with acidity and crispness; Li Veli Primonero 2008- From the Salento IGT in Italy, this full bodied dry red wine is a blend of Salento's two most representative indigenous grapes, Primitivo and Negromaro. Hops and Vines is located at 797 Haywood Rd, Ste 100 in Asheville, NC.

April 23   RagApple Lassie Vineyards extending the opportunity for you to make Grape VineWreaths since the wind and rains of last weekend sort of spoiled the pleasure of being outside creating your own unique decoration.  Plus, Keary Reid will be there to entertain you with perennial favorites on his magic keyboard, RagApple Lassie will offer awesome wines for tastings, and The Back Door Café will be open for lunch (Noon to Four).

On Easter Sunday the tasting room is closed.  BUT Easter Sunday Morning, you are cordially invited to join the Boonville Methodist Church in the RagApple Lassie Vineyards for a 6:30 a.m. Easter Sunrise Service followed by Breakfast in the Fellowship Hall of the church.  All are welcome and we can tell you that watching the sun rise over Pilot Mountain while sitting in the vineyard listening to an Acappella choir sing the traditional Easter Anthems is an awesome experience you will not soon forget!


April 23, 1 to 4 PM Free Tasting at the Asheville Wine Market. Join Rick Bowman and  terrific values from around the wine world: 2010 Riebeek Cellars Sauvignon Blanc; Swartland, South Africa- This medium-sized winery on the western coast of the Cape Province of South Africa sources its grapes from the fertile Riebeek Valley and the slopes of the mountain; 2010 Bodega Virgen de la Sierra Yasa Blanco; Calatayud, Spain - Just a delight to drink, get it while it is here. A lovely bouquet of fresh almond blossoms and delicate citrus and honey greets the nose; 2009 Fossalta di Piave Resonata Nero d'Avola; Sicilia, Italy - This wine is produced from high density vineyards (vines are trained on “alberello” bush vines) located in the provinces of Agrigento and Caltanissetta in southern and central Sicily. 2009 Red Heads Studio Yard Dog Red; South Eastern Australia - 60% Petit Verdot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot) Deep ruby color.