They say that behind every wine, there is a great story and Restless Soul by Old North State Winery & Brewery is no exception. Old North State Winery & Brewery is located in a historic building in downtown Mount Airy. Built in 1890, the building originally housed a hardware store. In 1924, a huge explosion rocked the building and blew the storefront right off.

There are many theories as to why the building exploded; some people think it was the target of an angry competitor, others speculate that the dynamite stored in the back of the hardware store was to blame, but no one knows for sure.

Even more mystifying was the origins of the skeleton arm that workers found while clearing the rubble. Everyone wanted to know-who did it belong to and where was the rest of the body? Those questions never received a satisfactory answer, so naturally rumors began to spread that the building was haunted.

There may be a bit of truth to those rumors, according to Ben Webb, co-owner of Old North State Winery, late at night when the building is quiet he occasionally hears footsteps. He even invited ghost hunters into the winery to see if they could spot any paranormal activity.

Now, Old North State Winery has been producing wine since 2002 as a co-op, but in 2006, Ben Webb and his partner bought out the other members of the co-op. They kept the winery name but needed a name for their new wine. After tossing around names for they suddenly remembered the old story about the arm and figured it was perfect and so Restless Soul was born.

During a tour of the winery, as you walk through the rooms with their original wood floors you may get an odd feeling, not exactly a spooky feeling, just a sense that the building is interesting and full of stories. You can look for the apparition but Ben says is not active during the day or if it is he figures the noise and bustle of the winery covers it up.

The winery offers 16 different wines, but Ben personally recommends the 2007 Chardonnay. At this time of year, he feels that with its nice crisp oak mellowed flavor that it is the perfect accompaniment to turkey and it pairs well with sandwiches.

There is also the Bare Bones Chardonnay, a stainless steel aged wine that Ben labels as “easy to appreciate”. It is very refreshing, good with fish, and chicken. And don’t forget the winery’s signature wine, Restless Soul; it is a great meal wine that pairs well with ham. It is a soft wine with medium tannins; the taste is just a bit buttery with hints of black cherry and plums.

Ben is confident that “anyone can find a wine they love at here”. The staff enjoys talking about wines and helping visitors find that perfect wine.

A New Brew
In an effort to broaden their appeal, because as Ben says, “every group that comes through to taste the wine has one member in it that doesn’t really like wine“, Old North began brewing beer.

At this point, they are using purchased hops and grains but may begin growing their own. Currently, they have two beers available a Pale Ale and IPA and they are developing an Amber. By spring, they expect to have five beers ready for tasting.

Events
Something is always going on at the winery, every weekend there is live music and on December 5, there will be a Christmas party for the wine club members. You should consider purchasing a wine club membership for that special someone on your gift list.

Members of the Old North States wine club participate in a quarterly blending event that gives members a chance to blend five different red wines. The individual blends are voted on in blind taste tests and the winner is released as next the quarters wine.