Here at the Wilkerson Nature Preserve, this trail loops around an old farm pond.

It's a really beautiful place to hike.

And, you know, in farming, the conditions that are good for growing apples are the same as for growing grapes.

So why not make wine from both?

Producer Clay Johnson and his videographer, Erik Olsen, take us to a farm in Hendersonville where they're doing just that.

[upbeat music] - [Clay] This Henderson County farmland has been in Alan Ward's family for nine generations, including acres of apple orchards.

- We knew it was a great place to grow apples.

Apple's been grown here since really the 1800s.

- [Clay] And Ward knew what's good for apples is also good for grapes.

- [Alan] The soils here are great.

They're mineral rich.

The altitudes, the slopes are really important here for air drainage.

It's just a wonderful place to grow grapes.

- [Clay] Ward planted his first vineyard here in 2007.

He opened Saint Paul Mountain Vineyard to the public in 2012.

- And we use equipment that helps us remove the fruit off the stems.

- [Clay] Ward's new production facility produces about 10,000 cases of wine a year, mostly from French vinifera.

The winery makes six reds, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, and Malbec; six whites, including Chardonnay, Riesling, and Vidal blanc; and a couple of sparkling roses and fruit wines.

- Hello, guys.

How are you doing?

- [Clay] Tastings come in flights, served up with a little wine education.

- [Employee] These first two, for each side, you have your Vidal blanc, and that is a grape that goes really well here in Western North Carolina.

- We come here to escape from our jobs, to relax.

Great people, wonderful service, and it's just a great place to kick back and relax.

- We really want them to relax and enjoy wine and take the mystique out of the wine.

We want people to learn where the wine comes from, how it's made, what it takes to produce a great wine, and that North Carolina can grow fruit and make tremendous wines, just like any other part of this state or the world or the country.

- [Clay] In 2017, Ward opened Appalachian Ridge Artisan Hard Cider, just down the road from his winery.

- [Alan] Cider is actually a wine.

A lot of people don't realize that.

It's not brewed.

So we make the cider as a wine, and then we add some sparkling to it.

- [Employee] Ward planted an orchard from apples he brought back from Normandy, France.

- [Alan] Normandy is really the cider capital of the world.

So our ciders are different than a lot of the grocery store ciders.

They're true European-style ciders.

- [Clay] At the same facility where the wine is made, Ward blends the Normandy apples with local apples to make ciders.

- Apples we use are usually a blend of about seven different apples.

They have tannin, acidity, where we've got a broad spectrum of that taste.

- [Clay] The cidery's tasting room is located in a beautifully restored 1880s barn, where guests can sample hard ciders and spirits.

There's plenty of outdoor seating, too, with views of the mountains and orchards.

- Welcome.

Welcome to Appalachian Ridge.

So today I have six hard ciders available for you.

- [Clay] Like the wines, cider tastings are served in flights with descriptions of each.

- The Bearwallow Mountain is our original hard cider.

So there you're gonna hit a little bit more of that apple note, but without getting too sweet.

- To us, it's a really family atmosphere.

We love the folks that work here, the friends we meet.

It seems like you can come and do a tasting or have wine or cider and just sit and meet new friends.

- [Clay] There's always a few bad apples, and kids love to launch them with a giant slingshot.

♪ She won't be surprised walking down the road ♪ - [Clay] Both the cidery and winery feature music on the weekends, often accompanied by food trucks or catered meals.

Together, they are Saint Paul Mountain Farms, an effort by Ward to serve up fine wines and ciders and keep his family land in farming.

- [Alan] We just have a philosophy here in this world.

You know, you don't rent to own, you rent, and we just wanna make it a better place for that next generation.

♪ It's your highway ♪ - Saint Paul Mountain Farms is at 588 Chestnut Gap Road in Hendersonville, and they're open daily.

For more information, give them a call at 828-685-4002, or go online to saintpaulfarms.com.