The dream of what has become Christian Paul Vineyards began with the owners, Christian Ercolani and Andrew Weyl, traveling the world. They have visited many of the top wine producing areas and experienced great wineries. These experiences created a desire to bring wines similar to the ones they have tasted from around the world to the public. They wanted to grow grapes and create a comfortable and warm environment to enjoy them. From their travels they developed favorite whites from France and Germany and complex reds from Bordeaux, Argentina and Italy. Their aim is to bring the world of wine to the public. You might say that winemaking is in their blood. Christian still has family operating old world vineyards in Italy while Andrew has the same in Germany.
Upon visiting the Yadkin Valley they were pleasantly surprised by the high quality wine production from the vineyards. We happened to be at the same winery one day when they were discussing their plans of growing grapes and making wine with the winery owner. The amount of cooperation between winery owners continues to impress me. They secured a 25 acre property that consisted of the soil make up they wanted. There are 12 acres in the front of the property and 13 in the rear of the property with the tasting room sitting in the middle. Next came the relocation from Naples, Florida to Elkin, North Carolina. Now the work began with clearing the land for their tasting room. Andrew is the architect, general contractor and builder. Christian with his PhD in Geochemistry and a background in hospitality runs the tasting room. In the future Christian will also be the winemaker. Together they are a 2 man show, doing most of the work themselves. They provide customers with personal attention and warm hospitality.
The tasting room is open and spacious with a beautiful enormous bar that can accommodate many people. It is clean and modern in design, but is cozy as well. There are sitting areas for small groups to share a bottle. The patio overlooks the vineyard and you could see Andrew working. They also have a private room for food/wine pairings or wine education classes.
They offer 2 tastings: Coach and First Class. Both are reasonably priced. We always suggest choosing the tasting that allows you to taste as many of their wines as possible. We both enjoyed the First Class Flight of all of their wines. We started with their 2020 Blanc de Blancs Sparkling White. It is made in a brut style. The grapes are sourced from Lexington. Our next wine was the 2022 Luxuriate, a 100% Sauvignon Blanc. It is an easy drinking wine that is made in New Zealand style. Their 2022 Dry Rose is made with Grenache grapes from a local vineyard. It is a French style rose with strawberry on the nose. The 2022 Shiraz is young with a light spice on the end. This is a wine you need to buy now and allow to age in the bottle. That is exactly what we did. Our final wine was the 2017 Merlot. It is dark in color and barrel aged at Jones von Drehle. It is a full bodied wine. Their wines are exciting because they are only going to get better as they age. Christian is knowledgeable, friendly and loves to discuss wine.
They are open Thursday-Saturday 11-6 and Sunday 12-6. Be sure to visit their website for updated events. They also host private events and offer tours of the property.
