Yadkin Valley Wine Bar

To begin, the bar itself is just a great looking and friendly place that anyone can enjoy. Besides that, the wines themselves that are within the bar are just wonderful and are apart of an amazing selection of North Carolina Wines. Then you have the great prices and deals on the wines as well as a few other commodities and airport essentials. So, how about we take a bit of a better look at the place and hopefully convince you to stop by it next time your over that way.

This little gem I'm talking about is the Yadkin Valley Wine Bar right there in the airport, which is truly a home away from home for any wine lover. To begin, the bar itself is just a great looking and friendly place that anyone can enjoy. Besides that, the wines themselves that are within the bar are just wonderful and are apart of an amazing selection of North Carolina Wines. Then you have the great prices and deals on the wines as well as a few other commodities and airport essentials. So, how about we take a bit of a better look at the place and hopefully convince you to stop by it next time your over that way.

Just a little ways off from the centre atrium of the airport, you will find the Yadkin Valley Wine Bar pretty much at the intersection of concourses A/B/C and D/E. It is fairly easy to miss as they don't really have much in the way of signage around the airport, and even the sign just outside its doors the signs are quite subtle. But if you ever get lost just follow the signs around the airport for the Harley Davidson shop which is just right next door. Once you do find the bar though you will be greeted by a very warm looking environment with nice wooden walls, a few small tables and faux wine barrel ends along the walls. It makes for a much more friendly atmosphere than the rest of the airport which just seems sterile and cold to me.

What added to this warmth was the friendly and knowledgeable staff (and by staff I mean Cindy, she was the one working on my visit). Seeing as how this isn't a majorly happening spot in the airport (which makes it so much better as you aren't crowded in) the bar is able to get away with just having that single staff member. This actually makes for a far more personal wine experience, that I personally enjoy better, that doesn't feel rushed like if you were at the Fox Sports Bar down a ways in the terminal. When you come in you are greeted quickly and served quite promptly, and every bit of help is given to aid you in making the difficult choice of picking a wine from their selection. And thanks to the knowledge of the bar's wines that Cindy had she was able to pick out a few great wines for me to taste from a couple of questions about other wines I enjoyed. It's this wonderful combination of great service and relative seclusion that really makes this place a great get away from the usually busy airport and various other bars and shops within it.

Now onto the selection of wines that the Yadkin Valley Wine Bar has to offer, which is in now way should be disappointing to any lover of East Coast Wines. The whole selection of wines that they carry comes from North Carolina's wonderful Yadkin Valley region (big surprise there right). From that area they have somewhere around 50 wines I believe from the 8 major vineyards and wineries in that region. And just to be sure to mention their names these wineries and vineyards would be; Hanover Park, RagApple Lassie, RayLen, Shelton Vineyards, Stoney Knoll, Surry Community College, Westbend and Round Peak. Leigh This is great as you really get to see the nice variety and quality of the wines from one of the many great East Coast regions that many just don't usually get to experience (that is unless you live near them of course).

For me I had to go with the tasting flight of 4 wines during my layover so that I could make sure to get a nice sampling of some wines I don't normally have easy access to (despite them only being a few hours away from me really). Now I am not going to go into too much detail about these wines as I plan on saving that for my next few wine reviews, but I will give you a nice little synopsis of each to tide you over. So to begin my tasting that day I started with some nice medium oak white wines, thanks to Cindy's suggestions. The first of these was a really nice Chardonnay from Westbend Vineyard which was a really nice and smooth wine with that classic buttery Chardonnay taste. The Second wine was a decent Viognier, also from Westbend, that had a nice flowery smell but was a bit sweeter than I generally like but still good. The Third wine moved me over to the reds with RayLen vineyards Category 5 which was a fruit forward combination of five different varietals. The last wine in my flight was kinda tart, though still enjoyable, Chambourcin from Stony Knoll Vineyards that had a nice long finish to it. All of these wines were very enjoyable, and ones I plan on picking up again in the future.

Which on that note, I really could have and also should have picked some of them up while I was there. All of the wines, well almost all of the wines that the shop had on the shelves were quite affordable and under that $20 mark that I so love. And of course since you are already past security it is perfectly legal for you to buy a bottle and take it with you on your journey home (or else were of course). But what if you love the wines but don't think it's safe to take it with you, well you're in luck as they will ship to any state that it is legal for them to ship it too. And as an extra bonus if you buy enough wine to fill a case (12 bottles) then your shipping is free, now I am not sure if this was a special offer or not so you should check on that before you buy that whole case.

As for the wine inside the bar it is a pretty good deal with being $7.50 for a flight of 4 wines, or 3 reserve wines, or that same price for just a straight up glass o'wine. And as far as airport prices go this is actually the best deal in Charlotte International for wine (or any alcohol for that matter). They also beat out other stores on other prices as well since they also have the best price on bottled water in the airport at only a buck. Though if you are looking for food you will be a bit hard pressed. They do have it here technically but only things like a cheese plate, so nothing really substantial. But who cares when you have a decently priced glass of wine in a nice little wine bar with wonderfully free internet access provided by the airport.

So, hopefully you have reached the point by now where you have decided that next time you fly through Charlotte that you will stop into the Yadkin Valley Wine Bar. But if you haven't yet, come on you would be seriously missing out. It is an amazingly warm and friendly environment tucked away in an otherwise manic airport, with a great and knowledgeable staff. They have an amazing selection of well priced and tasty, quality wines from a great region (which is probably my third favourite on the East Coast). And with all of that you can get a tasting or a glass of wine for cheaper then anywhere else in the airport, and if you like it have it shipped nearly any place you want. So please, Next time you fly through Charlotte give this place a go and try some great North Carolina wines and you will not be disappointed. Oh, and if Cindy is the one helping you out tell here who told you of the place and say Hi for me.