May 2011 - OutreachNC Magazine

26 OutreachNC • May 2011
26 OutreachNC • May 2011
Farming
Photos by Mollie Tobias
Vintner Wally Butler carefully tends to the grapes he has been
growing since 1985 on his hilltop perch in Pittsboro.
Winemaking
is By Melanie Coughlin
farming. It’s a Special to OutreachNC
simple concept, but it’s one
we can forget amid the glitz of lavish tasting rooms and
overmerchandised gift shops. Not so with SilkHope
Winery whose facility is a small prefab steel building.
Guests are welcomed with a sign reading, “Just honk
for wine. We may be in the vineyard.” The simple
structure fades into the backdrop of 25 acres on one of
the highest elevations in Chatham County.
“The view is wonderful, and the setting adds to the
feeling of tasting the land,” says blogger NCWinerider.
“This winery reminds us that grape-growing and wine
making involve farming.”
That taste of the land comes from the hard work
of SilkHope Winery owner Wally Butler who planted
his first grapes in 1985. A forester by trade, Butler
had never farmed other than a brief dabbling in
cattle. He gave them up when the cows developed
an affinity for grapes.
at root of SilkHope Winery
www.OutreachNC.com
“My cows were getting out and eating the grapes,”
says Butler. “I got rid of them when I realized I had
more interest in the grapes than I did the cows.”
Butler’s experience in forestry came in handy because
he had a firm understanding of soils and drainage. For
the other aspects of farming grapes, he sought help
from agricultural extension agents.
“All the advice I got was that I had planted the wrong
grapes. It was lonely back then,” says Butler.
The experts told Butler he should have planted
muscadine grapes. Instead, Butler stuck with his
original planting of the varieties he liked: vinifera and
French hybrid. Butler’s wine preferences came from
his time in the military. Most of his friends were from
the West coast and were not only wine drinkers, but
were well-informed about wine.
“I associated enough with them where I picked up
their love for wine,” says Butler. After the love was
planted, Butler got his wine education from experience.
“I got most of my knowledge about wines from drinking
wine,” says Butler.
In 1987, Butler met vintner Steve Shepard, sometimes
called the godfather of North Carolina wines because he
was among the first experts in the state and he helped
develop the award-winning Westbend Vineyards.
“He was the first knowledgeable person I met in the
state,” Butler says of Shepard. “He helped a lot.”
Butler’s business took off in 2000 and today stocks
almost 20 wines. Butler is particularly pleased with his
white chambourcin, a rare variation on the French-
American hybrid. For his white version, Butler ferments
the skins off the grapes, resulting in a light pink wine
with hints of strawberry. He also makes a sparkling
version, the Rosé of Chambourcin. Upscale food
and beverage retailers A Southern Season, Weaver
Street Market and Whole Foods sell SilkHope wines,
but most sales come through the tasting room. The
uncomplicated space is also the fermenting, bottling
and labeling room, reminding visitors the origin of this
celebrated drink of the
ages. It all goes back to
fertile farm land.
To plan a visit to
SilkHope Winery, call
(919) 545-5696 or visit
www.silkhopewinery.
com. The winery is
open Thursday through
Sunday. Don’t forget to
honk.