BILTMORE ESTATE

On April 27, 2008 we had the chance to explore the 8,000 acre Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. For 2007, Biltmore was hands down the top selling winery of all of the new wineries in our portfolio. Biltmore first began selling their wines to us in December 2006.

Included in that 8,000 acres are just over 90 acres of grapes which go into producing approximately 140,000 cases of wine annually. Some grapes are not well suited for growing in the mountains of North Carolina. Biltmore's Riesling, for example, is sourced from the California coast.

Like virtually every other winery, certain wines are limited to being sold at the winery. Biltmore wines available at Cherry Hill Liquors includes: Chateau Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, American Riesling, Century Red, Century White, Blanc de Blanc Champagne, Brut Champagne, Pas de Deux Champagne, Chardonnay Sur Lies, Chateau Reserve Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Cardinal Crest Red, Chateau Reserve Brut Champagne, Merlot, Sangiovese & White Zinfandel. Please call ahead for specific availability.

Above: Images of the Biltmore House. Photography inside the house is prohibited. To learn more about the Estate and to see photos of the inside of the Vanderbilt's 250 room home explore the Biltmore website starting here.

Left: Gardens in bloom.

Left: A waterfall on the Estate.

Above: The crush pad at Biltmore. The cylindrical object is the de-stemmer, which separates the stems from the grapes that are brought into the crush pad. The picture on the right is the old de-stemmer. The de-stemmer in this picture is in the center. Enlarge the old de-stemmer picture to see the small metal openings which allow the grapes to separate from the stems.

Above Left: Fermenting tanks. Smaller ones have about a 1300 gallon capacity. The larger tanks have a capacity of over 4,000 gallons of wine! The "jackets" on the fermenting tanks give the wine maker the ability to control the temperature of fermentation. The fermentation process, in which yeast converts sugars into Carbon dioxide and alcohol produces a lot of heat. Many yeasts will become dormant at lower temperatures while warmer temperatures encourage yeast. Fermentation will also stop when the alcohol level has gotten so high that it kills the yeast. Fermentation can also stop when there is no available sugar for yeast to consume. Biltmore, and other wineries, practice chapitization, a process that includes adding sugar to the fermenters. Chapitization is illegal in some countries. In the above right picture, notice the sugar that is ready to assist the winemaker at Biltmore.

Last updated August 22, 2008.