It is indeed a pleasure to travel west on I-40, through the bustling Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Triangle, past Greensboro, past Winston-Salem onto Highway 421 north and into the Yadkin Valley wine country. A couple of weeks ago, Yvonne and I caravanned with Washington Wine & Gourmet store manager Mary Mehlich and her husband Mark. We followed the familiar "bunch of grapes" directional signs off the highway and through the rolling farmland hills surrounding the Yadkin River valley. It was a beautiful early spring day, with little colts and calves (Chef Yvonne saw the latter as "veals") frolicking in the achingly green fields. We renewed old friendships, made some new ones and brought back some great Carolina wines.
