By Steve Steiner
Managing editor
ssteiner@elkintribune.com


Although the official second anniversary took place earlier, Matthew and Ann Mayberry, who own Brushy Mountain Winery, 315 W. Main St., Elkin decided to celebrate it this Saturday, Oct. 25. The couple is excited.

"We're releasing our first premium red wine, Red Bud Ridge," said Matthew. "It's a blend of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chambourcin."

They have bottled 300 bottles of their premium red wine to be sampled and sold starting Saturday.

"We call it premium because 2007 was an excellent grape year," Matthew said. "The drought raise sugar content."

The Mayberrys consider their winery -- a vertically integrated operation entirely downtown -- an urban or boutique winery. "We do the whole thing here, from crush pad to finished, marketable wine," Matthew said. "Our design capacity is 2000 cases per year. We hope to hit between 1500 to 1800 this year."

To celebrate, the couple has planned a free Red Bud Ridge wine tasting. Other wines will be offered for tasting at a fee.

This will be the second wine tasting Brushy Mountain Winery has conducted in 2008.

"The last time we did this, we had our biggest turnout, on June 28," Matthew said. "We released Sweet Lou, which was named in honor of my mother, Louise."

Sweet Lou, he explained, is a true dessert wine that is sold in splits. Splits are thing bottles of wine that contain 375 liters; a full bottle contains 750 liters.

The label on the berry wines produced and vended by Brushy Mountain have an interesting history. According to Matthew Mayberry, his wife's grandfather began a cannery in 1898 and the label now adorning on wine bottles formerly graced canned blackberries.

The Mayberry's will be doing things a little different Saturday.

"We'll be opening early, at 11 a.m.," said Ann Mayberry.

She said part of the reason for the earlier opening is due in response to another event taking place Saturday, the annual Austin Healy rally.

However, the wine tasting will not start until noon and will run until 6 p.m. Music will be performed from 1:30 - 3 p.m., and then 3:30 - 5 p.m.

"We hope people will come her, have a great time and help us celebrate our second year," Ann said.