Starting a winery is no small feat. Such a colossal undertaking requires much due diligence. In the case of the partners who opened Delta Blues Winery in February, it meant visiting some 200 wineries across Tennessee, California, Texas and other states.
“It took about three-and-a-half years from the conception of the idea to opening,” Jim Wilson said. “We found a way to put our plans together and our dreams together and we have, I’d say, one of the nicer wineries in the state of Tennessee.”
The five partners come from a varied backgrounds. Wilson was a general contractor for 30 years. His wife, Sheila, owns Master Design Salon.
Dianne Day, another of the partners, worked at the University of Memphis in biology. Her husband, Ed Stevens, retired recently from his job as a professor of microbiology at the University of Memphis.
The fifth partner, Jerry Michie, owns Memphis Scale Works Inc.
Wilson said he was familiar with the operation of a winery from working with his cousin when her winery opened. Wilson’s cousin, Rita Howard and her husband, Peter, are the owners of Crown Winery in Humboldt, Tenn.
Working with his cousin piqued Wilson’s interest in winemaking. After traveling to California to visit wineries on a vacation with some of the partners, they all began to think seriously about opening their own winery.
Located at 6585 Stewart Road, Delta Blues Winery rests on 15 acres in the Lakeland area, carved out of a 100-acre farm Stevens owns.
The property is easily accessible and is between Millington and Arlington, just off Tennessee 385.
Although the winery is close to the interstate, Wilson said the three acres at the front of the property act as a natural barrier that buffers outside noise.
“It’s very serene,” he said.
An 8,000-square-foot building on the property, surrounded by 3 acres of vineyards and an 8-acre lake, is ideal for a number of uses, such as corporate retreats and weddings.
Several weddings are already booked, with the first scheduled for mid-May.
“We have such demand,” Wilson said. “We probably get three or four calls a week about it.”
Rent for the space varies, depending on the day. Weekday rentals start at $400, while weekend rentals of the building start at $3,000. “We hope that interest will continue to grow,” Stevens said.
The Southern-style architecture is reminiscent of a plantation home.
“Of that, the front room is for rent,” Wilson said. “It seats about 150 people.”
With a 13-foot wraparound porch encircling three sides, the building gives visitors space to relax and enjoy the scenery.
“We also have a 15,000-foot grassy area where people can put a tent to have a wedding there,” Wilson said, noting that they plan to construct another building on that spot in the future.
The partners decided to erect the winery building on a hill that which dips down to a valley, creating a natural amphitheater in which they built a stage that is already being used.
The grand opening was on Feb. 13, and by April 17 a free Friday night concert series known as “Rewine” had begun. Concerts runs through October and feature mostly local musicians, although some Nashville bands have been booked.
The amphitheater stretches several acres and is a perfect place to enjoy a picnic supper, and take in the scenery while listening to the music.
Wilson called the place family friendly, but that does not extend to furry family members. Dog are not allowed. Because of state law, attendees also are prohibited from bringing alcohol onto the property.
In addition to the concert series, owners are planning several other ongoing events, such as a gathering on the third Tuesday of each month, “Wine, Women and …” with the last word in the title changing, depending on the plans for each month.
“Blending buddies” events will be held quarterly, when teams compete to concoct the best-tasting blend of wine.
Because it takes grapes three years to reach maturity, the wine in stock was made from selected grapes grown at other Tennessee wineries.
“We buy grapes and juice and turn it into wine,” Wilson said. “We’ve been making wine for a couple of years, so we’d have wine when we opened.”
After the wine is bottled, it must rest for a certain time. For white wine, that period is between 90 and 120 days, while reds must rest for about a year, he explained.
They used equipment at Crown Winery initially, until the required licensure was complete in January, to allow the bottling to be done locally.
Delta Blues Winery has its own stainless steel tanks, so wine made in Humboldt is transported to Lakeland for bottling, but that will soon change.
“We’ll start making the wine here,” Wilson said.
They have big plans for future production of wine at Delta Blues.
“We hope to eventually get to 50,000 bottles a year,” he said.
Delta Blues Winery currently sells eight different wines, but as soon as the 3 acres of grapes growing there are mature, the winemaking will all be produced on the premises.
“We’ll have two more wines in the next couple of months,” Wilson said. “The wines are everything from semi-dry to sweet wines.”
Presently, the winery has three varieties of red and three varieties of white wine, along with a muscadine wine and a peach wine. It sells for between $13 and $18 a bottle. Sodas and bottled water are also available for sale.
Hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, though the winery stays open until 10 p.m. on Friday nights for the concerts. Sunday hours are from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., and it is closed on Monday.
The winery is allowed to sell bottles of its wine on Sundays because it falls under the category of agritourism, Wilson explained.
“They consider us a farm, which we are,” he said. “We go from vine to wine.”
Tourists from as far away as Delaware and New Jersey are visiting.
“We’re getting people from all over,” said partner Dianne Day.
From the venue to the bucolic surroundings, Delta Blues Winery promises to offer people in the area something new and unique.
“It’s a little different than most wineries,” Wilson said.
For more information, visit the Delta Blues Winery Facebook page or their web site at deltablueswinery.com.
Written by Suzanne Thompson, special to the Express. Contact her at writer4561@yahoo.com.
