It is a known fact that my husband Paul and I are inveterate adventure seekers or we wouldn’t be trundling down all sorts of roads in our RV. Seeking a plot of land on which to park our rig for the night, we entered a realm of adventure that was way beyond our expectations.
We met the amazing 35 MPH winery dog, Rosie, an irresistible pouch who sets off cross country and outruns her master’s car every time and we almost burned up the brakes on our tow car. The culprit, a 2″ diameter Meyers Lemon trapped in the brake safety system that is hooked to our motor home. Be these adventures as they may, our HARVEST HOST, Tom Burgiss gave us not only the plot of land to park on for the night but a life story that left us breathless.
TOM BURGESS owns the THISTLE MEADOW WINERY, nestled into the Blue Ridge Parkway in the town of Laurel Springs, NC. We were simply looking for an overnight camping site. What we got was an over-the-top adventure. His winery/farm is a member of HARVEST HOST, an RV membership group that offers travelers a mecca for a night for no charge. You may stay on a farm, vineyard, cheese factory or other land.
Tom grew up on this farm and inherited the house and land from his folks. Now approaching his 81st year, he has accomplished enough for several life times. He never stops or runs down according to his breathless employees. Tom and his wife Nancy moved into the family home, expanding it into a luxurious lodge. It served as a B & B, a dance hall, wedding parlor and more for 35 years. They now rent the house for family reunions and weddings. The winery is adjacent to the house and contains the vast wine production and bottling facility, a tasting room, home wine maker supply shop (the Grapestompers) and general gift shop.
His dad was a dentist with his dental office a step away from the house. The old dental drill ran by battery. Pity the last patient of the day. His dad also raised cattle and gave the young Tom 3 calves to raise. Tom grew those calves into a herd to sell, putting him through college and school. He in turn made enough profit on cattle to send his 3 boys to college.
Tom, the Pharmacist taught as adjunct professor for years, flew a plane and raised cattle, and I am sure did more that he didn’t tell us. Traveling through Canada one time, he was given a bottle of wine and liked it so much he went back for more. Learning that the wine was home made caught Tom’s attention. He turned wine making into a successful enterprise and now produces about 60-65 types of wine, making all of it in small batches, environmentally controlled, and constantly under his firm and watchful eye, bottled and corked in beautiful blue bottles. Furthermore, he is opening several retail locations in North Carolina.
We tasted several and purchased the Malbec (yes, Tom imports all of his grapes, including Malbec grapes from Argentina). Our limited storage space diminished our purchases, this time. We’ll return.
Tom loaded us into his car for a tour of the family house as described above and then raced up the hill to the retirement home he and his wife Nancy now live in, accompanied by Rosie leading the way. The retirement house features a “great room” with kitchen, dining area and living room in one space. The bedroom swallows up the king size bed and has a large walk in closet with chest of drawers strategically placed in the center. The house is “wheel chair ready just in case.” Aging hasn’t stopped Tom at all. He is creative, adventuresome and maintains a pure love of life. What fine people these are.
After our wine tasting and sending Tom home for his dinner, with Rosie in for the chase, we spent a beautiful night on the farm, along side the bubbling brook and facing west into the glorious sunset. This is the spirit of this mecca along the Blue Ridge.
For more, see http://www.thistlemeadowwinery.com/ and http://www.grapestompers.com/
As for Rosie the 35MPH dog, I couldn’t catch a photo of her–she was too fast for any camera.
Ann Carol Goldberg
