Fruits of their labor: co-op winegrowing takes root in North Carolina

Rural Cooperatives, Jan-Feb, 2006 by Bruce Pleasant

The ONSW winery is located in the heart of downtown Mt. Airy--a town of about 8,500 in the foothills just south of the Virginia border. It is not unusual to see tour buses dropping off passengers to visit any number of places of interest in this tourist-friendly town.

Mt. Airy is the boyhood home of actor Andy Griffith, and is believed to be the basis for the fictional town of "Mayberry" from the Andy Griffith TV show. The "Mayberry" theme and nostalgia are evident all over town.

Mt. Airy holds two festivals annually: Mayberry Days and Autumn Leaves. These are two big weekends for the cooperative, as the festivals draw nearly a quarter of a million visitors to the area. This is in addition to the 78,000 visitors who signed the guest register at the town's visitor center in 2004.

Located in a three-story, 26,000-square-foot mercantile building constructed in the 1890s, the winery has a "vintage" (no pun intended) look, with oak floors and decorative tin ceilings. The winery is complete with a tasting room, gift shop and restaurant. The building is owned by the Old North State Winegrowers Foundation, a nonprofit organization that leases the facility to the cooperative.

By Bruce Pleasant

Business Programs Specialist

USDA Rural Development/North

Carolina