Guide to Charlotte: Childress Vineyards

NASCAR and beer seems logical to me. I mean what's a trip to the track without a cooler full of Miller Lite (or your drink of choice)? Would you ever consider taking a bottle of wine with you to the track? Can you imagine popping the cork there in the stands, maybe putting someone's eye out, and passing glasses of the best wine out to those sitting around you? I didn't think so. Wine and NASCAR just don't seem like a logical combination. Of course someone forgot to tell Richard Childress this.

View of the Childress Vineyards grounds

The first time Jenn mentioned Childress Vineyards I'm pretty sure I laughed or made some sarcastic comment. I seriously thought she was joking that such a place existed. I now know she wasn't. While it might not be your cup of tea the Childress Vineyards are a cool place to visit if you are in the area.

Entrance into the Childress Vineyards Bistro and Gift Shop

• Childress Vineyards are located in Lexington, NC. It's about an hour drive from downtown Charlotte to the Vineyards. Here's the map and directions in case you need them.
• Childress Vineyards offers wine tasting and you can even tour the grounds if that's your thing.
• There is an eatery on the grounds though I can't testify to the quality of the food. If your interested you can check out he menu on their site.
  
• There are tons of different wines to try or purchase at the gift shop including the signature Childress wines. Sorry, I'm clueless about wine.
  
• The building is fancy and depending on how you are dressed you might feel a bit out out place at first. Don't worry you will get over that quickly once you get into the gift/wine shop. There will be lots of race fans there in jeans and tshirts just like you.
  
• There's plenty of parking at it's right in front so you won't have to worry about walking a mile.
• The gift shop has a lot of cool things to check out. Most of them are related to wine but not all. You can purchase everything from salsa (Jenn's favorite purchase) to pasta sauces along with just about every type of wine imaginable. They also have stemware and china.
  

Some fans bypass this stop which is understandable because it's not really NASCAR related. However, if you want to see what one of the sports most successful owners is up to when he's not at the track stop by for a quick look at the vineyards.

Have you been? Tell us your thoughts!