Biltmore Estate | Southern Foodways Alliance arrow left envelope headphones search facebook instagram twitter flickr menu rss play circle itunes calendar
October 27-28, 2023
Southern Foodways Symposium ⟶
Donate Join/Renew
Donate Join/
Renew
October 27-28, 2023
Southern Foodways Symposium ⟶

Oral Histories

The SFA oral history program documents life stories from the American South. Collecting these stories, we honor the people whose labor defines the region. If you would like to contribute to SFA’s oral history collections, please send your ideas for oral history along with your CV or Resume and a portfolio of prior oral history work to info@southernfoodways.org.

< Back to Oral History project: Wine in the South

ORAL HISTORY

Jerry Douglas

Biltmore Estate

Jerry Douglas works for Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. His responsibilities include the wine company, the for-your-home business, and marketing and sales for the inn and for Biltmore House and Gardens.

An early and important force in the business, Jerry played a role in the resurgence of the North Carolina wine industry. Under the direction of owner William Amherst Vanderbilt Cecil, Biltmore began planting grapes in 1981 and harvesting in 1984. The winery opened for business in 1985. Over his career, Jerry has served on the boards of a number of organizations, including the North Carolina Wine and Grape Council, Wine America, the Wine Market Council, and the American Institute of Wine and Food.

Date of interview:
2008-09-23

Interviewer:
John T Edge

Photographer:
John T Edge

Download Transcript

“

"I was doing research. And I found it was really interesting that North Carolina wasn’t in the top ten per capita consumption categories – in any category except dessert wines. And I was fairly youthful at the time and, and inexperienced, and I got really excited about the connection between Biltmore and after dinner drinks and fine port… And I dug a little deeper and found out that dessert wine category had Roma Rocket and Mad Dog 20/20 and Thunderbird…So it burst my bubble pretty fast." - Jerry Douglas

Other Project Interviews

Interview

Westbend Vineyards

In 1972 Jack and Lillian Kroustalis acquired land near the west bend of the Yadkin River and planted a handful of…

Interview

Tilford Winery & Farms

Tilford Winery in the central Georgia town of Kathleen, is named in honor of Tilford Taylor, the father of proprietor…

Interview

Still Pond Winery

West of the city of Albany, in southwestern Georgia, not far from the Alabama line, three generations of Cowart men…

Interview

RagApple Lassie Vineyards

Frank Hobson is a third-generation farmer. His family has raised various row crops, including tobacco, on the same land…

Interview

Persimmon Creek Vineyards

Persimmon Creek, under the direction of Mary Ann Hardman and her husband Sonny Hardman, a pathologist, is perched at…

Interview

Pearmund Cellars

Chris Pearmund is a Renaissance man. He has enjoyed careers in the military, in marine biology, and in sporting goods.…

Interview

Oakencroft Vineyard & Winery

Felicia Warburg Rogan is widely considered the First Lady of Virginia Wine. In 1976 she relocated from New York to…

Interview

Monticello

Gabriele Rausse came to Virginia in 1976 at the behest of his fellow countryman, Gianni Zonin, who needed a winemaker…

Interview

Horton Vineyards

Dennis Horton grew up hearing about the official grape of the State of Missouri, the Norton. As an adult, Horton…

Interview

Hinnant Family Vineyards

Willard Hinnant, a dentist by trade, grew up on a farm in Pine Level, North Carolina. When he inherited the family…

Interview

Garden Gate Vineyards

In the hot North Carolina summers of Bo Whitaker’s youth, when the blueberries were ripe and ready for picking, his…

Interview

Duplin Winery

David Fussell Sr., a school principal, was looking for a way to supplement his income when he heard about the price…

Interview

Chesser Island Winery

Like his forebears, Tracy Chesser lives on the edge of the great Okefenokee Swamp, in extreme southeastern Georgia. His…

Interview

Barboursville Vineyards & Palladio Restaurant

In the 1970s Gianni Zonin, a sixth-generation Italian winemaker, visited Virginia and decided to plant a vineyard. Most…

WORKING TOGETHER

WE CAN CULTIVATE PROGRESS.

The Southern Foodways Alliance drives a more progressive future by leading conversations that challenge existing constructs, shape perspectives, and foster meaningful discussions. We reconsider the past with research, scrutiny, and documentation.

BECOME A MEMBER TODAY

Alex Raij Txikito

Let’s Stay in Touch

Sign up for the SFA newsletter to have the latest content
delivered directly to your inbox.