Why Alabama’s rising wine nation needs to be your subsequent highway journey

Given its southerly latitude, it might appear stunning that Alabama is dwelling to a burgeoning wine nation. But amid the undulating panorama piercing the state’s northern half, you’ll discover a vibrant, characterful wine trail surrounded by some really stunning, waterfall-studded surroundings. While southern Alabama is as flat as an American pancake, the sylvan foothills of the Appalachian Mountains enter from the northeast of the state and their dense, layered foliage make driving by this nook of ‘Dixie’ a pleasure. 

But don’t count on grand, urbane wineries on the dimensions of Napa or Sonoma. For probably the most half, Alabama’s handful of vineyards are helmed by delightfully small mom-and-pop operations providing heat, avuncular welcomes alongside sweeter-tasting wines — usually based mostly across the native Muscadine grape — that satiates locals’ well-known candy tooth. A highway journey by the area’s vineyards is a calming solution to uncover one in all America’s lesser-known states, whereas having fun with the Southern solar and making new mates over a glass or two.

Hit the highway

The Saturn V rocket pointing towards the sky from Huntsville’s US Space & Rocket Center is seen for miles and maybe acts as a metaphor for town’s latest rise. Huntsville’s good-looking and compact downtown is ideal for a stroll, particularly Clinton Ave’s kooky shops and jaunty avenue artwork, whereas Baker & Able’s laid-back rooftop bar above the 106 Jefferson Hotel has nice views of the Appalachians’ Cumberland Plateau. 

Opened in 2022 inside the bucolic Bankhead National Forest, Sipsey Vineyard & Winery is the latest vineyard on the Alabama scene, although for the path itself it’s higher to leap on the I-65 south and hit Sipsey’s ethereal new tasting room within the metropolis of Cullman, which opened in March 2025. Wine flights are served on elegant tasting boards comprised of bourbon whiskey staves. Try its assortment of purple blends, akin to Dei Vinea, alongside quirky cider-based creations that proprietor Bart Crabtree, a former army veteran and relentless raconteur, will invariably give you. 

Around an hour east alongside the US-278 and AL-79 highways, the Tennessee River opens up and Guntersville’s lakeside setting is a splendidly picturesque spot to hunker down for the night time. Stay on the Home2 Suites by Hilton set within the energetic City Harbor district, and watch the solar set over the glimmering water with the rolling valleys of Lake Guntersville State Park standing tall behind. The subsequent day, Jules J Berta Vineyards is only a quick drive down the US-431 and its wine slushies (sure, actually) are an ideal tonic if the humid Alabama summer season is cranking up. 

Wills Creek Vineyards & Winery is without doubt one of the area’s extra picturesque vineyards, and at only a 25-minute drive from Jules J Berta alongside Horton Gap Road, they’re very best for pairing up. Both wineries specialize in Muscadine desk wines and taking within the view from Wills Creek’s again patio of Duck Springs Valley’s rounded hills, glass in hand, is a stunning solution to move a day. 

Gadsden is an efficient spot to discover a resort and town’s historic downtown has one thing of the previous West about it, with its neat turn-of-the-century buildings lining Broad Street. When night falls, the roofs are lit up by a shiny parade of festoon lights and the artwork deco Pitman Theatre blinks in superb neon. 

Just a 15-minute drive alongside the 278, Maraella Vineyards & Winery is probably most archetypal of Alabama’s breezy Southern hospitality. A small rust-red neighbourhood dwelling flanked by slender vines to 1 aspect, Maraella’s porch has brick arches that really feel nearly Mediterranean, and its sofas are a comfy spot to talk with guests passing by. In truth, gregarious proprietor Scott Lee will in all probability take part, over a glass of his Dorato Vino Muscadine white or one of many winery’s mild blueberry wines.

Just as inviting, High Country Cellars, because the title suggests is deeper into Appalachia than most. Located on the finish of a excessive gravel drive in dense thickets of woodland that skirt Talladega National Forest, this rustic vineyard is ready in a former home, the place the bedrooms have been repurposed into places of work and the lounge is now a convivial tasting room. The playfully titled Skeeter P apple peach wine is the bestseller, a candy, zesty glass of sunshine that’s very best for a heat afternoon on this genial and serene nook of the South. 

Meet the maker: Jules Berta

Jules Berta, Jules J Berta Vineyards: “I was a mechanic by trade, in the Navy for eight years, with three honourable discharges. When I got out of the Navy in 1992, I was broke, divorced and didn’t have two nickels to rub together. I came down here [northern Alabama] in 1994 and started messing with the grapes. I bought books and learned all I could. With a little trial and error, here we are. 

The white wines do very well here, but they have to be picked fairly early because they ripen up much faster in the heat. The reds just soak up the sun, they love it. 

The local Muscadine is a primitive variety. It has a very specific, twangy flavour to it. It’ll never be considered a serious table wine, but it’s fun. You have to serve it here in the South.

Right now, Alabama wine is in its infancy. A couple of years ago, I took a tour up in Virginia. I met a lot of winery owners there and they told me, ‘You guys in Alabama are where we were 20 years ago.’ They started out with a handful of wineries and now they have over 300.”

Top three wineries in Alabama

1. Jules J Berta Vineyards
While Alabama’s wine trade remains to be very a lot in its infancy, Jules J Berta’s historical past with the grape runs deep. Berta’s distant kin in Hungary made wine within the hills close to Lake Balaton within the nineteenth century and his father— a Hungarian immigrant— introduced that data with him to America and began planting vines in northern Alabama in 1987. Sadly, he handed away earlier than the vineyard opened in 2008, however his son Jules has turned this pastoral spot close to Albertville into one of many state’s most profitable ventures. 

As with a lot of the state’s vineyards, there’s loads of the fruit-forward Muscadine grown right here, although you’ll additionally discover spicy Syrah and Cabernet purple blends just like the Black Widow and a few mild, native Sylvaner varieties, too. Wood-fired pizza is served Thursday and Saturday, which makes for a scrumptious wine pairing. 

2. Wills Creek Vineyards & Winery
Wills Creek co-owner Jahn Coppey calls the Muscadine grape “his medicine” although the cinematic views from the vineyard’s again terrace might be equally as therapeutic. Duck Springs Valley’s rotund hills kind a elegant backdrop, with a close-by lake attended to by eagles, ospreys and hawks sometimes diving for bass alongside the faint rumble of Interstate 59 someplace past the horizon. 

As with Jules J Berta, there’s a European connection right here, too. Coppey is a local of Switzerland and nonetheless has hints of his previous Swiss-French accent. His vineyard grows 10 acres of Muscadine, although there are fruit wines right here too, together with strawberry, pear, blueberry and peach blends. He additionally makes a syrupy candy Muscadine dessert wine. Cheese platters are served to pair with the wine, that includes quite a lot of native cheeses, asparagus, salami sausage and cashew nuts.

3. Fruithurst Winery Co
Just 5 miles from the Georgia state line, Fruithurst Winery Co sits in rural, church-strewn Cleburne County. Wine has been grown on this space since 1894 and whereas prohibition shut down that apply, cousins Dylan and Joshua Laminack opened Fruithurst in 2009 and it’s since turn out to be a regional favorite. 

The creaking rocking chair outdoors their picket constructing seems to be out onto quiet backroads with 20 acres of vines simply to the right-hand aspect. It’s a serene setting for sipping their intense and candy Muscadine white Fruithurst Gem, although Dylan and his spouse Jessica’s affable chatter and tales by no means let the quantity get too low. While there’s not a lot when it comes to meals served, Fruithurst does host a number of summer season and harvest time festivals with meals vans and reside music.