[bright guitar music] - [Clay] This is the fruit of years of labor.

It's the 2022 grape harvest at Marked Tree Vineyard in Flat Rock.

Workers picked and collected 50 tons of European wine grapes.

[worker speaking foreign language] - [Lance] Having a vineyard has always been kind of a fascination.

- [Clay] The fascination for Tim Parks and Lance Hyatt began in their youth, visiting wineries on the West Coast and in Europe with their families.

- [Tim] After a couple of bottles of liquid courage you start to tell yourself a story that you can do this, and it's gonna be so easy.

- [Clay] But they were intimidated by the large wineries they visited that were producing 50,000 cases a year.

- It wasn't until we went to a couple that were producing five, 6,000 cases that we were, that's when we really were like the light bulb went out and said, oh, it is something that can be done.

- [Clay] They began searching for the perfect location.

It needed the right elevation, soil, and sun, and needed to be close to to tourist attractions.

- When we drove around the corner and saw this place, I think we instantaneously said, "This is it."

- [Clay] They began planting their first 12-acre vineyard in 2015.

- [Tim] We called up 100 of our friends and family, and we had 38 people show up the very first weekend to help us plant.

It was really incredible.

It was really overwhelming, because every vine you see on this property is planted by hand.

- [Clay] Tim was still working as an executive in luxury retail, and Lance was still working as an architect.

- [Tim] It was a lot of fun to start while we were working, 'cause it gave us a lotta time to figure out who we wanted to be.

- [Clay] Tim and Lance eventually left their jobs to run the vineyard and winery full-time.

They produced their first vintage in 2018.

- Are you guys enjoying the afternoon?

- Yes.

- Absolutely.

- Now, have you guys been here before?

- [Clay] They opened their tasting room in 2020 and are now producing 3,300 cases a year.

They named their new venture Marked Tree Vineyard after the trees Native Americans bent to mark their way through the countryside.

- When we were changing careers, and we were trying to find our path, we were trying to find a new direction, we decided that Marked Tree is marking our new path.

- [Clay] Marked Tree produces five wines from European varietal grapes and five blends.

- It all starts in the vineyard.

You have to have good grapes to have good wine.

And I think that's kind of been a passion is to study and figure out which varietals will grow here, so that we can have the high quality that we we want.

- [Clay] Watershed is a very fruit forward blend of Cabernet Franc and Petite Verdot.

- [Tim] It has this really kind of amazing, to me, lavender smell to it, which is a signature of Lemberger grape.

- [Clay] The Chardonel is made from a hybrid grape that's a cross between Chardonnay and Seyval.

- It has really good acidity, lots of fruit, and then we have it in oak barrels for eight months so it has a lot of vanilla and might get a little bit of coconut in there, too.

- [Clay] The Chloe Rosé is a blend of Cabernet Franc and Lemberger with a touch of Muscat.

- It's very refreshing.

It's dry, bone dry, and we usually sell out of it in about two months.

You can tell it's very young.

You can smell the fruit.

So we harvest- - [Clay] Marked Tree hosts vintner's dinners and tastings, where Lance educates guests about wines yet to be released.

- [Tim] What he does is he kinda walks you through what was happening that year.

What was the growing season like?

What was the weather like?

How much the production was.

- [Clay] Marked Tree also hosts festivals and small music concerts.

It all happens in a setting that attracts people like Dolores and Jim Nunn.

- You get great mountains that way, great mountains this way.

You got apple orchards, vineyards.

It's a great place to hang out.

- [Clay] And Dolores loves that the staff knows her name.

- They know your dog's name.

They know your kid's name, your husband's name.

They're just friendly.

And the wine's good, yeah.

- [Clay] Tim and Lance say customers like the Nunns are the best advertising they could have.

- [Tim] They're coming here for the place.

They're coming here for the vibe.

They're coming here because they wanna unwind, and I want them to just experience what we have to bring to the table.

[gentle guitar music] - Marked Tree Vineyard is at 623 Deep Gap Road in Flat Rock, and they're open daily.

For more information visit their website at markedtreevineyard.com or give them a call at 828-513-3773.