Winery/Producer: MenaRick Vineyard and Winery; 328 Luffman Road; Ronda, North Carolina
Appellation: Yadkin Valley, North Carolina
Tasting Room and Location: approximately 6 miles west of I-77, exit #85
Grape Variety Tasted:
Albarino Chardonnay Grenache Touriga Tempranillo Merlot Syrah Rosalina (Red Table Wine) Peach Rasberry BlackberryTasting Price: $7.00 (includes the wine glass)
Knowledge and Helpfulness of the Person Pouring the Wine: Rick and Mena were the tasting host and hostess (their the two people who grow the grapes and make the wine!), as a result it was an OUTSTANDING vineyard tasting experience. Rick described everything from the soil preparation before planting the vineyard, right through the step-by-step process they used to make the wine. This made the experience VERY interesting, informative, and fun. It just doesn’t get any better than this!!!
Comments: When you love wine and live in North Carolina you are always interested in a new vineyard and winery especially if it’s situated in a beautiful 
location with a great view. We heard about MenaRick when it was featured on North Carolina Weekend a the local PBS television program, it sounded like a perfect place to go for their 3rd birthday party featuring free food, live music, and unfiltered wine in the Spanish and Portuguese style. We were not disappointed.
Perched on a hillside overlooking eight acres of grapes with the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance, the winery offers a good time for all. The rustic atmosphere of the winery tasting room is informal and cozy with a fireplace and hearth. Outside on the porch are picnic tables overlooking the vineyard, where you can picnic with your own food and a glass, or bottle, of wine bought from the winery. Lots of friendly information
and interesting wines. Rick, the owner, grower and vintner, offers lots of information on all aspects of grape growing and wine making drawing from both his own experience in California and his wife’s background in Portugal. Rick’s wife, Mena, knows the wines well too and is a fantastic cook.
Most of the wines we tasted were 100% varietal, and those that were blends (Rosalina, Peach, Raspberry and Blackberry) we didn’t like. In the end we purchased five reds (Grenache, Touriga, Tempranillo,, Merlot and Syrah). These were all okay but tasted very differently than these wines usually do…but then again we would expect wine from Spanish and Portugese grapes grown in North Carolina to be different. (We did a tasting report for each of the wines we purchased except the Grenache, which we used for cooking. See our tasting reports by clicking on the name above.)
Our tasting experience at MenaRick Vineyard was very positive and we would recommend a visit to their tasting room. The Winery is open Fridays and Saturdays 11-6 pm, and Sundays 12-6 pm. We would suggest bringing a picnic lunch and having bottle of their wine while sitting on the patio overlooking the vineyard…and if you do we might be sitting there with you!!!