Silver Coast Winery

This past week, we visited Silver Coast Winery in Ocean Isle Beach, NC. Situated in an old BBQ restaurant, Silver Coast Winery has been open since 2002, and offers “European Style Wines at the Beach.” The winery is open daily for tastings and has a lot to offer visitors.

Driving onto Silver Coast’s property felt like it’s own private retreat, nestled back off of the main road and tucked behind rows of muscadine grapevines. The grounds displayed creative wine bottle décor, sprinkled with bright flowers. A row of rocking chairs invited us through the entryway. We were greeted by award-winning wines and service with a friendly “welcome home.” Although we first visited Silver Coast eleven years ago, it did feel like we were “home,” as we meandered through the winery, taking in all of its charm.

Silver Coast has so much to share that celebrates NC, in addition to exceptional wine. Vivid art pieces created by local artists line the walls of the many rooms and hallways. A wide range of Aunt Bunny’s Gourmet Wine Jelly were  proudly displayed outside of the Art Gallery. We made sure to grab a jar of Pinot Noir jelly, which was delicious. In addition to the jelly and artwork, there were many wine collectibles, clothing, and other merchandise for sale. We found a few items we had to have, and even picked up a couple of things we’ll be using as giveaways for you all soon.

After strolling through the different rooms, we were greeted at the wine tasting bar by Jennifer, who presented us with menus and souvenir glasses. Jennifer was very accommodating while we enjoyed both the red and the white wine flights, which included five wines each. It was a treat to not only read the descriptions from the menu, but also hear additional information about each of the wines. We now appreciate “wine diamonds” even more. The greatest challenge we had was deciding which bottles we wanted to bring home with us, so we chose a few. We’ll be sharing these with you in an upcoming blog post, along with pairings.

With a glass of Seyval Blanc in hand, we toured more of the winery, stepping into complete relaxation upon entering the Barrel Room. A large waterfall cascades down the far wall of the room in which many visitors make their wishes with the toss of a coin. The Barrel Room can be booked for weddings or other private events, and is a lovely setting. A few local artists were working on oil paintings during our visit, and greeted us with a kind smile and “where are you folks visiting from?” After chatting with them for a few minutes we learned a dozen or so artists frequently visit Silver Coast each week to work on their art and sip wine together.

Overall impressions: Silver Coast Winery is a well kept NC secret that we’ll be sure to visit again. Although we did a lot during our visit, the winery has even more to offer with tours, special events, new vintages, and even a second location—Silver Coast Winery Tasting & Taproom in Southport, NC. After tasting the wine selections, there’s no question why the Winemaker, Dana Keeler, has won the winery over 300 national and international medals. Cheers to a fantastic experience, Silver Coast!

Until our next glass…

Go local. Drink Carolinas.