In the early 1920’s, John Hanes of Hanes Hosiery bought a one room cabin on over one thousand acres of land surrounding a small stream called Grassy Creek.
His sister Lucy fell in love with Thurmond Chatham of Chatham Manufacturing Company and the two influential families began converting the cabin and property into a stylish retreat for vacationing and hunting and the Klondike Cabins were born. The creek and rolling hills were the perfect setting for breeding polo ponies, training bird dogs and soon raising the prize herds of “Golden Guernsey” cattle that produced “the best chocolate milk in the world” at the Klondike Farm, a working dairy farm founded by the Chathams and Mr. J.C. Penny. The property was eventually purchased by the Chatham family and became the official guest house for Chatham Manufacturing Company.
In 1992, Derrill and Lori Rice, along with their one-year old daughter, Caroline, came to Elkin, NC as Derrill started his job at Chatham Manufacturing Company. They lived at the “official guest house,” Klondike Cabins, while they searched for a home. A decade later, Chatham Manufacturing was ready to relinquish the property and Derrill went out on a limb to preserve a site with such history and personal memories.
In 2003, Jim and Cynthia Douthit joined Derrill and Lori Rice on fulfilling their dream of starting a vineyard and winery.
Vineyard planting began that April and continues to this day. Varietals included cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, merlot, sangiovese, syrah, viognier, pinot grigio, grenache, among others. Besides the estate vineyard, Winemaker Jim Douthit uses grapes from his own personal vineyard for Grassy Creek wines. The first wine bottles was from the 2004 vintage, our Red Barn Blend released to the general public in 2005.
The Clark and Nycum families have now joined the Grassy Creek team, along with countless friends and relatives who have helped plant, prune, tube, mow, spray, pick, de-stem, stomp, crush, ferment, pump, rack, fill, cork, cap, label, box, market, sold, deliver, and of course taste…
