Your Ultimate Guide to Greenville's Wineries, Tasting Rooms & Bottle Shops
Wine(d) Your Way Around Greenville County. First Come, First Served.
G
reenville is a place that’s constantly exceeding expectations. So when it comes to an appreciation of fine wine, you shouldn’t be surprised that we are decidedly well-versed. For a city our size, Greenville boasts an impressive number of sommeliers. You’ll find about 75 dedicated “working-on-the-restaurant-floor sommeliers” in Greenville County, and there are more than 100 additional service staffers who have earned at least one of the four levels of sommelier certification. Add to that the roughly 150 sommeliers working for wine distributors locally, and that’s a lot of wine knowledge bottled up in our town!
For the true connoisseurs of the craft, there are a number of ways to enjoy a full vino experience, right here in the Upstate of South Carolina. Many of these venues also offer wine tastings, small plates, and facility or vineyard tours as well, to expand upon each encounter. Wine not try them all? π·
*Use the buttons below to go directly to what you're looking for, or just enjoy perusing the rest of this sip-a-licious page.
A small craft winery in the southern Greenville County countryside, City Scape Winery focuses on producing high-quality batches of local, innovative wines. Its dry white muscadine wine was named the “Best Estate-Grown Wine” in the 2019 Palmetto Wine Competition, and no visit is complete without saying hello to Pinot, the winery’s resident pot-bellied pig.
589 Dunklin Bridge Rd., Pelzer
Victoria Valley Vineyards’ 47-acre site in northern Greenville County was chosen for its elevation and soil structure, which was perfect for growing and producing its popular Vinifera wines. The European flavors and French-style chateau make for a perfect escape and an excursion you’ll never forget. Enjoy lunch on the terrace, get a group tour of the winery, and try a wine flight.
1360 S. Saluda Rd., Cleveland
Wellborn Winery
Located just north of Travelers Rest, Wellborn Winery was looking for a way to distinguish itself among South Carolina wineries, and it found one. By blending French-American hybrids and native American grapes, it produces a distinctive collection of wines that tastefully articulate the history and nature of the Upstate region’s climate and soil.
254 Mush Creek Rd., Travelers Rest
Eagle Mountain Vineyards & Winery
Scheduled to open in the fall of 2020, Eagle Mountain Vineyards & Winery’s Director of Winemaking, George Bursick, once produced the #1 wine in the world, as rated by Wine Spectator. In addition to growing grapes on its estate in northern Greenville County (along Scenic Hwy 11), the winery also sources grapes from the finest vineyards in California.
2330 SC-11, Landrum
For a unique experience without leaving downtown, head over to Urban Wren Winery. With an in-house fermenting and aging production (using grapes sent over from Italy), a creatively paired menu, and even a Chef’s Table Experience, you can savor all that this winery has to offer—no vineyard required.
116 N. Markley St., Greenville (Markley Station)
[ elevation966 ] Winery
Greenville's first urban winery, elevation966 boasts unique, handmade small-batch wines. This relatively-new-to-the-scene winery is located in The Junction at Greenville Downtown Airport, so you can pair your wine with tacos from the second (and larger) location of White Duck Taco Shop.
301 Airport Rd. Suite H (The Junction at Downtown Airport)
THAT Something Extra: Honey Wine
Wandering Bard Meadery
What's not beer, not wine, but for some reason called 'Honey Wine'? Mead! Known as "the drink of the gods" in Greek mythology, mead is an alcoholic beverage made with honey and water fermented by yeast and flavored with fruits, spices, hops, and/or grains; the ABV can range from 3.5% - 18%. Wandering Bard Meadery has been operating in Greenville for a few years, but they recently opened up their first permanent location at Hampton Station in September 2020. A great gathering spot for all of your friends and family, Wandering Bard has two stories, a great outdoor space, a stage, and they offer light food options, cider (in addition to mead), as well as live entertainment.
1320 Hampton Ave., Bay 3 (Hampton Station)
You could drive yourself around on a self-made winery tour OR you could book a 6-person luxurious SUV or a larger, comfy 11-passenger van and let the Van in Black (who specialize in winery tours) do the driving for you. Wine tasting is a lot more fun with a group and when you don’t have to worry about drinking and driving. Cruise around in style as your knowledgeable driver takes you to all the wineries you desire—and stores all your wine purchases (and sides of cheese?) in the extra storage space. [Cue Music: "Here come the Van in Black... " 🎼]
800.903.2503
Let your guide, Steven Leslie, show you his vast wealth of knowledge about the history of Upstate South Carolina. This all-inclusive, all-day upscale tour does provide you with wine and cheese in the mountains at Victoria Valley Vineyards, as well as lunch at The Lighthouse Restaurant on gorgeous Lake Keowee! The Blue Ridge Wanderer Tour is about so much more than just food and wine, though—learn all kinds of history, visit cool small towns, see beautiful panoramic views at area lakes, waterfalls, state parks, and other natural attractions, and end the evening at one of Greenville's oldest (and yummiest!) restaurants.
864.712.0509; This tour is held on Thursdays, once or twice per month.
Greenville's local wine shops and wine tasting rooms offer a vast selection of vino that would make any wine lover fall head over heels (but just be sure to get an Uber if you get too head over heels).
At Northampton Wine + Dine, one of downtown Greenville’s mainstays, you can buy wine, drink wine, and get a meal to accompany your wine. And if your selection is unavailable? The knowledgeable staff stands ready to recommend an alternative that may well become your new favorite.
211 E. Broad St.
Sweet Sippin'
Sweet Sippin’ is all about local. In Simpsonville, Sweet Sippin’ is part-winery, part-brewery, and part-gift shop filled with items crafted by local artisans. Throw in live music and events, and you have a unique and memorable local gem.β At Gather GVL, Sweet Sippin' specializes in wine flights, mimosas, and desserts!
103 W. Curtis St., Simpsonville
126 Augusta St. (Gather GVL)
Wine House
What do you get when you pair a seasoned sommelier and an avid wine collector? Wine House, a shop and tasting room on Haywood Road that offers a creative and relaxing environment to savor a glass of wine, sit and enjoy a bottle with friends, or discover a new favorite to take home.
475 Haywood Rd., #8
The Tasting Room of Travelers Rest
The entire premise of The Tasting Room of TR is to make artisan wine more accessible and less intimidating. It does so by providing a place where people can not only buy wine (and craft beer), but also learn about it through educational wine tasting events.
164 S. Main St. Suite C, Travelers Rest
With an eclectic and extensive selection of wines by the glass, a wide tasting menu, and the ability to buy any bottle of wine on their shelves at retail prices (with no additional corkage fees or restaurant-level margins), downtown’s Foxcroft Wine Co. takes the risk out of trying something new. When combined with their from-scratch kitchen, Foxcroft offers an ample variety of items to tempt your tastebuds!
631 S. Main St.
SIP Whiskey & Wine Bar
SIP Whiskey & Wine Bar offers an unrivaled combination—a lively, full-service bar with wine by the glass and an impressive view of the center of downtown from its rooftop location overlooking ONE City Plaza.
103 N. Main St., #400
THAT Something Extra: Rosé All Day
Old Europe Desserts isn't just for those with a sweet tooth (although that's a great reason to go!). They also offer wine, Champagne, and rosé—which is actually thought to be the oldest known type of wine. Bobby and his team will happily pair your drink with the perfect dessert (or vice versa), but the best news? Old Europe is now rolling out new savory food options, including cheese and charcuterie boards. In our opinion, nothing goes better with wine than those two things!
716-A S. Main St.
How About Some Cheese to Go with THAT Wine?
Located in a former auto body shop in Travelers Rest, Blue Ridge Creamery makes handcrafted cheese from high-quality, locally sourced ingredients. Cheesemaker Christian Hansen’s grandfather and great-grandfather both operated creameries in his native Denmark, so be prepared for something exceptional.
Praise from those who have enjoyed their goat cheese for decades should be enough to convince you to visit Split Creek Farm in nearby Anderson. If not, perhaps the fact that this little farm has earned gold medals in multiple national cheese competitions will provide adequate temptation.
Happy Cow Creamery in Pelzer is a unique on-the-farm milk bottling operation known for fresh milk gathered directly from its own dairy cows. Its store sells a variety of delicious cheeses, some of which are made from Happy Cow milk!
A small raw goat milk dairy in southern Greenville County, Possum Kingdom Kreamery offers a selection of soft Farmstead goat cheeses, kefir, and farm-fresh eggs. Although nobody knows for sure, legend has it the community got its name from hungry Civil War soldiers who found possums to be a plentiful food source. We suspect they would have preferred the cheese!
Make Made Jewelry
This may be the spot to “Make + Sip” (as their classes are called), but this is the place to create something unique, useful, and absolutely beautiful. Here at Make Made Jewelry you can learn how to saw, drill, file, and stamp designs while learning basic silversmithing techniques. Projects you can create include items such as earrings, bar necklaces, bangle bracelets, pendants, ornaments, and more!
241 N. Main St., Suite C
Wine & Design
Perfect for those who deem themselves artistically challenged, all you have to do at Wine & Design is show up, sip up, and paint! Translation: toast to a good time with friends, unwind, and have fun. Wine & Design takes the artistic pressure off you by pre-tracing all their canvases for their 2-hour long classes, which include anything from traditional paintings to pop art, glow-in-the-dark blacklight paintings to eclectic workshops.
1175 Woods Crossing Rd. (Shops by the Mall)
A | R Workshop
Head into the studio for an instructor-led DIY session! Specializing in wood workshops, choose from hundreds of designs to paint plank signs, trays, boxes, or anything else you can make out of wood; design canvas pillows or tote bags, create chunky knit blankets, and most importantly, have a drink of that bottle of wine you brought and be sure to share it with your friends or family.
2830 Wade Hampton Blvd., Suite 35, Taylors
Vino & van Gogh
Create colorful memories at Vino & van Gogh by painting, drinking wine, and having lots of laughs! Here you have a host of options from which to choose: abstract paintings, palette-knife paintings, wooden doorhangers, ceramics, creating paintings based on local events, locales, and book settings, and so much more. Vino & van Gogh has an endless array of selections for you to unleash your creativity … or you can always just drink the wine you brought!
1818 Augusta St., #112
Painting with a Twist
If you’re looking for an easy-to-follow painting class where you can sip AND socialize, look no further than Painting with a Twist. Here, you can paint a regular canvas, but you also have the option to bust out your inner Michelangelo on wood shiplap pallet or wood plank boards. Special events include Date Night, Trivia Nights (usually Thursdays), and Paint-Your-Pet Nights.
3612 Pelham Rd., #C
