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Handcrafted for perfect moments
Beaverdam offers signature feature to mountain community
By JEFF FISHER
jfisher@cherokeescout.com
Thursday, July 19, 2007 12:32 PM CDT
Photos by SCOTT WALLACE/Cherokee Scout
The main vineyard at Beaverdam Vineyard Estates, off Beaver Dam Road in Unaka, is scheduled to have its first harvest in September, with its inaguaral vintage to follow in 2008 or 2009.
Property manager Charles Gerrick sprays the grape vines with pesticide to combat Japanese beetles, which threaten the fruit between the end of May and mid-July.
Beaverdam Vineyard Estates offers log cabin-style homes that looks out over both vineyards on a phase one lot of the estates. There are 24 lots, with seven lots sold and three houses being built in phase one.
“Two years ago, this was all a bunch of little sticks,” Driskell said, looking out onto the 1,100 maturing vines in a rolling valley off Beaver Dam Road. Covering roughly 3.5 acres, the grapes dangling among the scores of rows lining the Beaverdam’s primary vineyard are being pruned for the September harvest and will be ready to taste in the next two years.
Until then, Driskell added that Beaverdam is putting its label on bottles provided by its partner, Hinnant Family Vineyards, a winery in Pine Level on the eastern side of the state in Johnston County.
The heart of Beaverdam’s future product is the Norton grape, which is indigenous to North America and popular with wineries in the Southeastern United States. Also commonly referred to as Cynthiana, Driskell described the red grape as having a “hearty” quality with a “robust, bold” flavor.
Planted across an acreage of formerly cultivated farmland, Beaverdam’s vineyards – a secondary patch of about 260 vines still in its infancy is positioned adjacent to the main vineyard – have benefited from the inherent fertility of the soil they’re rooted in, Driskell said. The extremely dry conditions the area has experienced in 2007 also has been a blessing for the vineyards’ progress.
“When you grow grapes, you want to starve the plants,” Driskell said, adding that the best recipe for ideal production is plenty of sun and limited amounts of rain. “They love the heat.”
While plans for a commercial operation at the vineyard are being formulated, it also will serve as a unique amenity for homeowners who invest in the bordering properties at Beaverdam. Spread over 64 acres, the first of the development’s three phases is under way, Driskell said, adding that of the 24 lots on the market, seven have been sold and construction has begun on three homes. Driskell said all utilities and the entire infrastructure is in place for phase one.
“Once we get a little more traction and the market picks up a bit, we’ll move on with phases two and three,” Driskell said.
But at the moment, and in the immediate months ahead, Driskell and Gerrick, who routinely commute from Atlanta to tend to the vineyards, are focused on making their first harvest a memorable one.
“Right now, it’s a really good time to be with the vines,” Driskell said. “The first year of growth, you’re just waiting around while the root system establishes itself; most of everything goes on underground. The third year is when the vines start sprouting, and you can really see the fruits of your labor and understand where that expression comes from.”
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