GRAPE PIONEERS
“We love wine and we love our coastal location, so we combined the two,” says owner and manager Maryann Charlap Azzato, who along with her husband, long-time Southport orthopaedic surgeon Dr. “Bud” Azzato, started Silver Coast back in 2002. The winery business is a family affair--even their ten-year-old son, Gabriel, helps with the bottling.
Originally published in Our State Magazine
Using grapes from western North Carolina and northeastern Georgia (within grape seed spitting distance of the Tar Heel State), Silver Coast’s first vintage was in 2002--which they produced and bottled in 2003. The white wines had already been bottled, but Azzato made the precipitous decision to hire a veteran wine industry consultant from New York’s Finger Lakes region to help with the production of the reds.
That consultant, Dana Keeler, would soon become Silver Coast’s full-time winemaker--taking the winery’s wines to another level. “I really liked what Silver Coast was doing, I liked the area, and [Maryann] Azzato convinced me to stay,” says Keeler, who brought more than 25 years of winemaking experience to the North Carolina coast.
Tour de vin
A visit to the winery, which is just a few miles off US 17 near Ocean Isle Beach, is well worth the drive. Located down a dirt road that passes a small plot of local muscadine grape vines that Azzato planted, the modern winery building houses the entire operation. Ironically, the dirt road is still called Barbeque Road, because the original winery building once housed Simms Barbeque Restaurant.
Once inside, guests are greeted by a friendly staff member (often Azzato) and offered a tour. The tour typically takes about 20 minutes or so, and it includes an overview of the wine making process at Silver Coast, as well as visits to the fermentation room and the romantic barrel room, with its neatly stacked barrels, dim lighting, and indoor waterfall and pond.
Next, visitors get to taste the fruits of the labor of Keeler and many others. Some of the tasty possibilities from that 2004 vintage--still available for tasting and purchase at press time--included the popular 2004 Touriga, labeled “Cape Fear Blood Wine”; the 2004 Chardonnay and oakier 2004 American Oak Chardonnay; the crisp 2004 Seyval Blanc, and the unique 2004 White Merlot.
Along with these 2004 options, other vintages available for tasting generally include: Rose, a slightly sweet sipping wine; a 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon, from Silver Coast's first vintage; a 2002 Georgia Merlot, a lighter-style merlot; and a blend of Barbera and Sangiovese as a toast to Dr. Bud’s Italian heritage .
These tastes ($5 for a choice of five whites or five reds--and you get to keep the Silver Coast glass) are often be poured by Al Gomes, Silver Coast’s friendly tasting manager. He knows his wine, and he is good at directing visitors to wines they’ll enjoy. “The Cape Fear Blood Wine continues to be a favorite with first-time and veteran visitors,” says Gomes, pouring a glass for another touriga taster.
Vintage Work
The winery bottled about 5,000 cases (60,000 bottles) of the varied 2002 wines (merlot, chardonnay, touriga, white merlot, seyval blanc, sangiovese, and more), giving it enough variety and volume to establish the retail operation and delay another bottling until Keeler could really get to work on the grapes from the prolific 2004 growing season. That wasn’t before several of the 2002 wines won awards at many competitions, including “double gold” for the 2002 Touriga at the International Eastern Wine Competition in 2004 (the fruit-forward 2002 Reserve Merlot also did quite well).
Bottled last year, Silver Coast’s 2004 vintages really put it on the map. “I believe that to make a great wine, you have to grow great wine--rather than just great grapes,” says Keeler, who is working with many growers in the region to grow grapes that will make flavorful wines.
Silver Coast’s 2004 Touriga provides a perfect example of the possibilities. For this wine, Keeler mostly uses a grape originally from Portugal that is called “touriga nacional” and is generally used there as a blending grape for the country’s famed port. At Silver Coast, the 2004 Touriga stands on its own as an old world-style red that many say has hints of tobacco (an ironic twist for North Carolinians) and coffee beans.
Another unique feature of the Cape Fear Blood Wine is that it comes in a red-tinted bottle that’s clearly designed to look a bit bloody. The bottle also highlights another Silver Coast innovation--all of its wines have unique labels that were designed by local artists and feature eye-catching artwork.
As for inside the bottles, the awards for the 2004 wines tell the Silver Coast success story almost as well as the palate does. The 2004 Viognier continues to reap rewards and remains one of the most popular tastes with visitors.
Keeler and Azzato say the 2005 vintage (just bottled) is looking like their best yet. Keeler says, “Along with some great-looking touriga, I’m preparing a small batch blend that’s going to be my take on the meritage-style blending that’s become quite popular.” If a recent taste is any indication, this as-yet-named blend is sure to be another award-winning wine for Silver Coast.
Gallery Shopping
Whether or not you’re a wine connoisseur, Silver Coast Winery is truly a tasty (and tasteful) travel destination. Along with winery tours, tastings, and sales, Silver Coast offers some of the state’s most unique shopping opportunities. "Many of the items we sell are wine-related,” says Azzato, who started out doing most of the buying for the winery store, but now uses the shopping savvy of Debbie Thorpe as well.
The product selection at Silver Coast includes an array of unique art objects and many items related to wine and food. “We’ve received great feedback on what we sell beyond wine and continue to expand our offerings,” says Azzato, showing examples from the packed shelves (and walls) in several spacious rooms. Complementing the wines available at Silver Coast Winery, the shop offers a wide variety of wine stoppers and pourers, T-shirts and hats, unique wine glasses and racks, and so much more that visitors spend as much time shopping as they do tasting.
In addition, the work of local artists has become a Silver Coast specialty, with Azzato selecting a wide variety of styles and mediums and rotating exhibits regularly. The possibilities include paintings, sculptures, and metalwork. Some of her favorite local artists whose work can consistently be found at the winery include Pat Pittenger, Thomas Rusty Hughes, Marie Kruckowski, Tino Ferro, and Justine Ferreri.
Azzato also has used local artists for the unique Silver Coast wine labels. “Wine is art and we have art on our wine,” she says, showing a variety of past labels. “I realized that there are many artists in this area, and they usually serve wine at their gallery openings.” When they were first starting, Azzato put out a call for label submissions, thinking they’d receive 30 or 40 submissions. They actually had 380 label submissions and, since then, all of their labels have featured the work of artists.
House Specials
Thanks to a coastal country setting, 40 acres of outdoor space, and a barrel room that’s become quite popular for weddings and more, Silver Coast Winery has become a haven for special events.
Annual events and special one-time offerings are a very big deal at the winery, with the number of events and attendees growing annually. Springtime means the Beach Music Bash (coming up on May 13), while the popular Summer Music Series runs from June to August.
In September, the huge Purple Feet Festival brings music, grape stomping, food, and fun. Of course, October means an Oktoberfest, Silver Coast-style. In a toast to their Italian heritage, the Azzatos play host to “Festa Italia” each November, and they also decorate for the holidays, making the winery especially festive in December.
Come January, the festivities don’t slow down. Mid-month there's the fun and self-explanatory Amateur Wine Maker’s Competition & The Ultimate Wine Glass Competition and Toast Contest. Other mid-winter possibilities include February’s Wine & Chocolate Festival and Annual Sweetheart Dinner Dance. March means a popular Irish Festival, while April brings the Annual Bluegrass Festival, with lots of music and dancing both inside the winery and out in the gardens.
Under Azzato’s creative leadership, Silver Coast Winery continues to grow and add to the successful landscape of the ever-expanding North Carolina wine industry. It’s definitely a grape story that’s become the toast of the coast.
If you're going
Silver Coast Winery
6680 Barbeque Road
Ocean Isle Beach, NC 28469
(910) 287-2800
http://www.silvercoastwinery.com/
Hours: Monday-Saturday, 11am to 6pm, and Sunday, Noon to 5pm. During January and February, hours are Wednesday-Sunday, Noon to 5pm. Appointments or group tours may be arranged by calling in advance.