SHELTON VINEYARDS, INC.
DOBSON, NC

On the estate, several varieties of vitis vinifera grapes are grown: Cabernet Franc,Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Malbec, Tannat, Petit Verdot, Riesling,Sauvignon Blanc, and Viognier. Interestingly, all varieties of vitis vinifera grown at Shelton Vineyards–and throughout the world for that matter–utilize bud wood of European origin grafted onto Native American rootstocks to create a more disease resistant vine. Shelton Vineyards' belief is that fine wine begins in the vineyard. The location, in the heart of North Carolina's Yadkin Valley, provides the ideal climate and soil conditions. Shelton Vineyards' commitment to sustainable farming practices and hands-on attention enables the vineyard to produce the highest possible quality of grapes. The Shelton Vineyards' wines are reflective of the terroir of the Yadkin Valley. Along with expert winemaking techniques, enhancing what our land has given us, Shelton Vineyards has produced many award-winning wines. The winery is a gravity flow facility. The gravity flow system eliminates the need to pump the product from one step to the next. The more times the product is pumped, the more chances that contaminants will find their way into the final product. Like all decisions made on the production of our wines at Shelton Vineyards, this choice was grounded in the desire to create the highest quality wines. Harvest typically begins in late August, lasting approximately six to eight weeks. Deciding the exact moment the grapes should be picked takes into consideration many factors and measurements. The most obvious of these is the sugar level, or brix, of the grapes. Since it is this sugar that yeast will convert into alcohol, this measurement is very important. Deciding when to harvest is one of the most crucial steps, elevating wine making to an art form, not a mere industry. Shelton Vineyards uses a combination of French, American and Hungarian oak barrels. Oak barrels give flavor and structure to the wine; that is, they enhance the wine as a spice enhances fine food. The winemaker's skill and experience will determine the manner in which barrel aging is employed. The barrel cave evokes old-world charm and is the place where visitors can see theiradopted barrel. Climate control is provided by its underground location, and a waterfall at the back of the room adds to its allure and humidity level. After aging in barrels, the wine is bottled. While the grapes are the building blocks of every bottle of Shelton Vineyards wine, our people are the mortar that holds us together. The expertise and experience of our production team are reflected in each of our wines. Charlie and Ed have worked together in construction and real estate development for the majority of their working careers. The last company they founded was Shelco, Inc. a general construction company which they sold to a group of employees in 2004. They also founded and own The Shelton Companies, a private investment firm based in Charlotte. Other companies founded by the Shelton’s include Fortis Homes, King Sash & Door Company, and Carolinas’ Distribution Services. Charlie and Ed were also responsible for petitioning the federal government for American Viticultural Area recognition for North Carolina’s first AVA, The Yadkin Valley that was approved in 2003. Through their hard work and dedication to their state and community they have helped to put North Carolina back on the map as one of the top wine producing states in the nation. Michael Egües graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a Morehead Scholar with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. Before joining Shelton Vineyards in 2010, he spent 22 years investing in and advising public and private Companies. He began his investment career with First Union Capital Partners making mezzanine and equity investments for the bank’s portfolio. In 2004 he co-founded Triarch Partners, LP, a boutique investment banking firm dedicated to providing mergers and acquisitions advice to middle market companies. Amanda “Mandy” Shelton Houser is Charlie Shelton’s daughter and Co-President of Shelton Vineyards. Mandy is a 1990 graduate of Meredith College with a degree in Interior Design and owns her own design firm. With her design knowledge Mandy has helped to create many of the interesting and creative design ideas that you will see at Shelton Vineyards and all of our surrounding entities. Mandy also serves a dual role as Co-President of our operation and has been actively involved in all aspects of our business since its inception. Mandy brings a lot of passion to our business and is really focused on all the small details that make our experience unique. When not at the winery or working on a design project Mandy enjoys spending her free time with her husband and their two daughters. Ethan has been in the Yadkin Valley wine industry his entire life starting in his family’s winery and tasting room when it was built. He later became their official winemaker when he was 19 years old and has moved on to making wine in North Carolina ever since. He obtained an associate’s degree in viticulture and enology from Surry Community College and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry/fermentation science from Appalachian State University. In addition to his passion for enology, Ethan enjoys brewing science and has been has been a commercial head brewer. Miguel and his staff of vineyard workers are responsible for the planting, maintenance, and upkeep of our vineyard and winery grounds. Miguel, originally from Mexico, is now a naturalized citizen of the U.S. He started his career in agriculture with the Monroe Tree Farm in Monroe, Oregon in the early 1990’s growing and pruning Christmas Trees. In 1994 he joined the vineyard crew at Benton Lane Vineyards also in Monroe and, in short order, became a key component of their vineyard staff. Joining Shelton Vineyards in 1998, he is one of our first employees and has been involved with each and every phase of vineyard development.