Reworked Wineries Introduced Ahead of New Gatlinburg Winery Trail: A Sampling

Recently, fans of two wineries in Gatlinburg were distraught over the news of their closing. Fear not, as a couple of new ones are sprouting new leaves with some commonalities thrown in. Sugarland Cellars and Little Bear Winery are no more, but you’ll be even more excited about what has and what will be soon replacing these two.

Old Mountain Wine Company opened on the first of June, and they now occupy the space left by Sugarland Wine Cellars in downtown Gatlinburg near the entrance to The Great Smoky Mountains National Park. OMWC is a more diversified experience, bringing meads and ciders to the table. They have opened up the inside to offer up to 8 FREE samples of your choosing, ranging from meads, red and white wines, and, of course, ciders. What makes the environment more inviting is the patio area facing the Parkway, where you can relax, play a game of cornhole, and enjoy the company of friends and complete strangers. It’s what makes Gatlinburg unique, fun, and welcome to all!

I wanted to try them, so I walked in earlier this week for a tasting. We bought several bottles years ago from Sugarland Cellars, and after hearing Old Mountain had the same winemaker onboard, I was certainly intrigued. They have four meads—Blueberry, Raspberry, Elderberry, and Mango—but I only chose Elderberry for an outside-the-box experience. It was a little sweet, but not overbearing. That’s expected, if you know honey is used, instead of grapes. That’s about as sweet as this diabetic wanted, so I was looking forward to their white wines: Highland White, White Muscadine, and Muscat. They were delicious—each in their own special way. I’m a buyer when I return. It’ll be tough, but I’m leaning White Muscadine…at least for now.

The others on my tasting list were Mountain Apple and Watermelon; the latter described by my bartender as being like drinking the juice of a real watermelon, not like a fake candy version. She was absolutely correct. It was exactly as advertised! Even the Mountain Apple didn’t feel unbearingly sweet, proving my childhood sweet tooth may have left for good. I much prefer not to be smacked with sugary sweetness at this stage of my life. In case you think I forgot, the ciders I skipped, and they include Summer Peach, Crisp Apple, Honey Basil, Blackberry, Caramel Apple. They all sound amazing, and I would not be surprised if you love them, so give this place a try when visiting Gatlinburg. They are open daily from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.

In place of the recently closed Little Bear Winery will soon be Smokin’ Banjo Sparkling Wines & Hard Ciders. Progress is coming along quite swiftly on this new project, and it’s expected to open by the end of June!

Photo taken by Gatlinburg Gal on Facebook.

Yes, I teased about the new Gatlinburg Winery Trail in the title, so here’s what I know. For $10, you will get a VIP trail pass to 5, count em’, 5 different wineries—4 of them on the Gatlinburg Parkway! The fifth is Tanger Outlets Winery in Sevierville. Tennessee Homemade Wines, Smokin’ Banjo, Old Mountain Wine Company, and Tennessee Cider Company are the stops in Gatlinburg. Details about the resulting prizes from visits to these trail stops will be coming soon, as it will be accepting pass purchases in July!

This is exciting news for wine snobs and casuals alike! Will you be visiting these new wineries and doing the Gatlinburg Winery Trail? Let me know your thoughts!

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