Rich, wild cherry aromas fill the glass, while delicate raspberry flavors take over. The fruitiness finishes smoothly with mild tannins. \n \n Producer Information \n \n Biltmore Winery is a wine producer established on the site of the huge, historic Vanderbilt family estate in Asheville, North Carolina. Established as a wine estate in the 1970s by William Cecil Vandebilt, the winery now produces a range of sparkling, blended and single-varietal wines. The estate itself was established by William Cecil's grandfather, George Washington Vandebilt II, of the prominent Vandebilt family, in the late 19th Century. Vandebilt had visited the area and fallen in love with the countryside, establishing a 125,000-acre (50,500-hectare) landholding which eventually housed a vast 250-room family château. In the early 1970s a vineyard of hybrid grapes was established close to the house by William Cecil Vandebilt although, by the end of the decade, a 150-acre (60-hectare) vineyard of Vitis vinifera varieties was planted at the western end of the estate. The Biltmore Estate Wine Company was formally established in 1983 with the first official wines produced released a year later (the 1983 vintage Château Biltmore Merlot and Château Biltmore Cabernet Sauvignon). The winery is opened to the public in 1985 and sales continue to grow for the winery well into the 21st Century, with expansions in distribution throughout the US and an ever-growing range of wines. The winery currently produces around 150,000 cases of wine (1.3 million liters) annually. Estate wines include varietally labeled wines such as Chardonnay, Albariño and Cabernet Sauvignon as well as blends, such as Cardinal's Crest. The estate also produces a wide range of méthode traditionnelle sparkling wines including a standard Brut, Blanc de Blancs and Blanc de Noir. The portfolio also covers the Antler Hill label – a series of, often varietally labeled, wines produced from Californian AVAs.
