On our way to our cabin for our family vacation in Gatlinburg, TN, we decided to start the Rocky Top Wine Trail, since it would be the same direction into Gatlinburg where our cabin was. I wish we had more time to do the complete trail, but we managed to visit at least three wineries on our trip.
What sets the Rocky Top Wine Trail apart is their passport, which you can pick up at any winery on the trail. You can visit any of the ones you missed later and can break up your visits over your vacation or come back the following year. To get the most out of your tastings, I would recommend you block out at least 30 minutes per visit. If you plan to do the trail in the evening, knowing how much time you’ll need will ensure you are at a location before it closes. Most of the wineries are open until 8 p.m. so that you can space them out nicely. You shouldn’t feel like you need to visit all of the wineries in a single day, however.
Each winery lets you sample four wines. Keep in mind, however, that you don’t swish and spit. It may be wise to limit your intake to less than four at each stop. You’ll notice I didn’t try any dry wines because I prefer sweet and semi-sweet wines. Most of the sweet and semi-sweet wines include fruit blends. If you are interested in dry wines, each winery offers those as well.
Did you know? The winery owner is Don Collier. There are four siblings that have each developed their own areas. Flapjacks, TGIF, Quaker Steak & Lube, and the Melting Pot are owned by Brent Collier, Steve Collier owns cabin rentals and hotels. A sister is in business outside the tourism industry.
Hillside Winery
Hillside Winery has more interior space than Eagle Springs. They also have additional staff available for tastings. Behind the tasting table is their processing room, separated by walls of glass. Kevin, behind the tasting table, introduced us to two different wines, which were amazing.
- Raspberry Blush
This wine is a mix of white grapes and raspberry wine. Kevin told us to take multiple sips, as the more you sip, the sweeter the wine tastes. The raspberry becomes stronger and lingers toward the finish. - Black and Blue
This is what I brought home from Hillside Winery. It’s a wine rich in antioxidants. With the first few sips the tartness of the blackberries was very evident. As I progressed with a few more sips, the flavor sweetened into blueberry, which became the dominant flavor.
While we were getting the wines packed up into grape-patterned bags, Kevin joked how you could tease people with the bags. You could give wine as a gift and put it in the bags and tell the recipient the bags were scratch and sniff and see how long they kept going with it. I can see myself trying that on family members! Speaking of trying things, Hillside also serves up a Sangria slushy and sells kits to make your own at home. You can easily snag a coupon for a free gift here.
The Apple Barn Winery
We decided to make The Apple Barn Winery our last stop. It was hard to find because it was mixed with all of the other Apple Barn Village properties, such as the Apple Barn General Store, The Apple Valley Creamery, two different restaurants, a candy store, and the Christmas & Candle Shop. It’s nestled in between the creamery and the Christmas Shop, but the trees partially covered the sign, so we didn’t see it right away. They have plentiful parking. Plus, if we didn’t want to arrive by car, there is a Fun Time Trolley stop at the entrance.
As soon as I entered The Apple Barn Winery, I was caught with the fragrant apple smell from the wines. The entire tasting area was bustling with activity while we were there, so I didn’t catch names or take many photos. If you’re waiting on samples, you may enjoy browsing their gift shop or taking in the open view of their processing area. If you decide to buy any wine, the winery offers mulling spices in the gift shop. Making spiced wine is something you can do easily, and it’s perfect for autumn. They also sell the spices right off of their website in case you miss them.
About 90% of the wines they offer include apples sourced from their own orchard. I chose three wines to sample.
- Apple-Raspberry
The raspberry flavor is much more prevalent than the apple taste, making it more like a raspberry wine with hints of apple. - Applewood White
This tasted like a Muscato. It’s a bit stronger than the Apple-Raspberry, in my opinion. - Apple-Strawberry
This was my favorite, as well as what I ended up buying. It’s a super smooth wine with a pleasing body. There is a strong strawberry flavor, but it balances very well with the apple.
After we finished our tasting, we had our passports stamped and received our free wine glasses for completing three stops.
BONUS: The Apple Valley Creamery
Before we left, we decided to go to The Apple Valley Creamery. It is honestly the best ice cream I ever had. It was super smooth and creamy. I had to try two different scoops. One scoop of ice cream was chocolate chip cookie dough; the other was strawberry cheesecake. Both had huge chunks of goodies inside. My daughter was focused on her Smoky Mountain Fudge ice cream. She savored it to the last drop (and drank the melt). My husband tried the Irish Cream Cappuccino. The Apple Valley Creamery also had a bakery area, where they make baked goods on-site. The seating area is cozy and includes a little kids’ table. We headed out at 7:50 p.m. on a sugar high.
If you happen to be between Sevierville and Pigeon Forge, check out Mountain Valley Winery. I wish I would have had the time to stop there and try the Rhubarb Wine. While you’re traveling in the area, though, keep the passports with you. You never know whether you’ll be in the mood to stop at Doc Collier’s Moonshine (the passport doubles as a parking pass) or Sugarland Cellars. Seriously, though, is there ever a time to not be in the mood for tasting wine or moonshine? It’s like not being in the mood for rafting in the Smokies! Speaking of which, I wrote about my first rafting experience at Rafting in the Smokies, that you can check out over here.
