On Saturday, local residents as well as visitors to the area experienced the wonderful wines as well as the varied mediums of art that are created in the Yadkin Valley while participating in the “Studio and Wine Tour.”

The tour, in which wineries, art councils, galleries and private artisans opened their doors for tourist to visit, spanned from Laurel Springs to Sparta to East Bend, down to Hamptonville and north to Dobson and Mount Airy. Vineyards.

“We’ve had over 50 people visit our winery today and it’s still early,” Tom Burgiss of Thistle Meadow Winery said.

A number of wineries offered demonstrations in addition to tastings.

Thistle Meadow’s wines are made on site from grapes that are purchased throughout the United States. Burgiss demonstrated to his visitors the bottling process, using a burst of nitrogen prior to the addition of the wine to the bottle. He then allowed visitors to bottle and cork individual bottles.

For those interested in making their own wine, Thistle Meadow carried supplies for the home winemaker to experience the winemaking process.

In Sparta, visitors toured the Blue Ridge Gallery of Fine Art and the Alleghany Arts & Crafts. The tour wound down the mountain to State Road, where the Throw and Sew and Grassy Creek Vineyard & Winery were open to visitors.

Grassy Creek poured signature wines for visitors from Tennessee and Iredell County.

Allison Oaks Winery hosted several artist in their tasting room. The Yadkin Arts Council hosted a wine tasting by Laurel-Gray Vineyard and portrait artist Sharon Grubbs along with several others.

The Yadkin Valley vineyards and wineries are open for wine tastings and tours throughout the year. Hours of operation can be found on the individual websites. The studios and artists forums throughout the area have varying hours and can also be contacted through their websites.

The Foothills Art Council and the Yadkin Arts Council can provide a list of artist in the area.

All told, the tour included sites in Mount Airy; Dobson; Traphill; Sparta; State Road;Hamptonville; Yadkinville; Roaring Gap and Elkin. The Foothills Arts Council, along with Brushy Mountain Winery, Christopher Durgin, Flint Hill Vineyards, Grassy Creek Vineyard & Winery, Hanover Park Vineyard, John Harmon Gallery, Laurel-Gray Vineyard, Thistle Meadow Winery, Yadkin Arts Council, Yadkin Valley Craft Guild and Alleghany Arts Council, sponsored the event.

“I’ve seen double the number of visitors today than I usually see on a Saturday,” said John Harmon of John Harmon Gallery. “The sales have been very good. I’m honored to be participating in the Studio and Wine Tour. I think it allows visitors the opportunity to experience both the art and wines of the area.”