Exclusive Journalist City Tours
Tuesday, March 8, 2016 | 9:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Moravian Culinary Trail
A Dash of Winston-Salem’s Sweet & Savory History
Celebrate our Moravian heritage, history, and tried-and-true destination-defining dishes as you experience Winston-Salem’s Moravian Culinary Trail. We’ll don aprons, whet appetites and pique curious culinary minds as we discover the rich stories behind the wildly popular whisper thin Moravian Cookies, piping hot Moravian Chicken Pie and end with a sampling of slightly sweet and definitely buttery Moravian Sugar Cake.9:30-11 a.m.: A Tour of the Senses at Mrs. Hanes’ Moravian Cookies
With more than a million pounds baked here each year, Winston-Salem has been heralded as the epicenter of the Moravian Cookie production. Nestled in the rolling hills of Clemmons, a charming suburb of Winston-Salem, is Mrs. Hanes' Moravian Cookies. Here become “artists in aprons” and try your hand at hand-rolling, hand-cutting and hand-packaging each of their six flavors of Moravian cookies and one of Oprah Winfrey’s “favorites.” While there, you’ll likely run into Mrs. Evva Hanes, founder and seventh-generation Moravian while on a cookie tour.11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.: Journey back in time at Old Salem Museums & Gardens
Settled by Moravians in 1766, this historic district welcomes visitors to interact with costumed interpreters and explore the historic buildings, most of them original to the settlement. Breathe in sensational aromas drifting from the Single Brothers House and the Miksch House, where 18th century hearth cooking methods are demonstrated and taste sweet samples of Moravian sugar cake freshly baked in the original brick dome ovens at Winkler Bakery -- one of the oldest, continuously running bakeries in the U.S.! *Old Salem will kick-off a yearlong celebration of its 250th anniversary next year.Lunch at Easy as Pie at The Tavern in Old Salem
This family-operated restaurant was built in 1816 as an annex to the original Tavern built in 1784. They are all-in on the use of local ingredients and even doing their own charcuterie. You’ll find a mix of traditional Moravian dishes, especially Moravian chicken pie. Each pie is made under the watchful eye of executive chef Jared Keiper and pastry chef, Lori Keiper, Jared’s mom. This dedicated culinary duo discovered that a touch of cornmeal magically renders a slightly rustic, but still ever-so-flaky, pie crust and the perfect vessel to host piled-high, hand-picked chicken breast and velvety chicken gravy-filled favorite.If These Historic Walls (& Roots!) Could Talk
Historic Homes & Heirloom Gardens
History buffs, avid art aficionados, horticulturists and historians alike discover a tour through Winston-Salem’s collection of historic homes and heirloom gardens revealing wonderful study into our colorful past. Grand estates and lush gardens dating back more than two centuries are today some of Winston-Salem’s fine dining restaurants, elegant hotels and modern-day art museums.9:30-10:30 a.m.: Historic Bethabara Park and Historic Gardens
Winston-Salem’s earliest Moravian settlement, now a popular historical attraction, invites visitors into its restored and reconstructed homes built in the mid-18th century. The Moravians, a German-speaking religious group, settled the area in 1753, calling it the Wachovia Tract (where Wachovia Bank, now Wells Fargo, got its name). Venture into the 1788 Gemeinhaus, the last 18th century German church with attached living quarters remaining in the U.S. Discover more about the community’s Moravian culture inside the 1803 Buttner House, Guests can also dig into more than two centuries of gardening traditions with a stroll through Hortus Medicus (reconstructed), the country's oldest known medical garden, and the 1759 Community Garden. The Community Garden is the only known, authentic colonial Community Garden in the U.S. and the earliest known distiller’s house in the U.S.11 a.m. - 1:45 p.m.: Old Salem Museums & Gardens
One of the country’s most authentic and comprehensive history attractions, Old Salem Museums & Gardens invites you to explore more than 100 preserved and restored homes and buildings. At the doorsteps along the cobblestone sidewalks, costumed interpreters greet you with a smile and a story. Venture into the Vierling House (also referred to as the Doctor’s House) to learn how Dr. Samuel Benjamin Vierling operated his apothecary and what medicinal remedies were used in the early days of the Moravians. Old Salem is also home to the internationally renowned Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA) which houses the only database and historical collection of home furnishings of its kind in the U.S. With "period" rooms and galleries, MESDA showcases the furniture, paintings, textiles, ceramics and metalwares made and used in Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Maryland, Virginia and the Carolinas through 1820.Discover the Single Brothers and Miksch heirloom gardens and “dig up” ingredients that are often times plucked and freshly prepared at the nearby Tavern in Old Salem. An award-winning restoration garden, the Single Brothers’ Garden is the largest interpreted garden in Old Salem. In historic Old Salem, gardeners are preserving and archiving seeds that have been cultivated for more than a century through the ‘Seeds with Stories’ program. Old Salem’s Homowo Harvest Collection features heirloom, open-pollinated seeds from the soils of Africa. Many of the gardens are still grown from seeds more than 150 years old. *Old Salem will kick-off a yearlong celebration of its 250th anniversary next year.
2-4 p.m.: Reynolda House Museum of American Art & Reynolda Gardens
Named to the National Register of Historic Places, Reynolda House Museum of American Art is the former home of tobacco baron R.J. and Katharine Smith Reynolds. Built in 1917, Reynolda House showcases one of America's most authentic examples of a gracious country estate of its time. In 1967, Reynolda officially opened its doors as “home” to one of the finest collections of American art in the South. Pieces from 1755 to present include works by Jacob Lawrence, Jasper Johns, Frederic Church, Thomas Eakins and Georgia O'Keeffe. A tour of the this country estate’s attic offers a rare glimpse of the Reynolds' collection featuring vintage clothing, accessories and toys belonging to members of the Reynolds family from 1889 to the 1960s.Located just steps from Reynolda House is Reynolda Gardens. Like her home, the sprawling gardens remain a living reminder of Katharine Reynolds’ vision and progressive thinking. Mrs. Reynolds firmly promoted healthy eating and cooking habits and wanted her gardens to be a beautiful gift to the community and the workers on her country estate. A step into the 1913 greenhouse opens the door to a wonderland of vividly colored plant life. Next year, Reynolda House will kick-off their celebration of the 100th anniversary of Reynolda House and the 50th anniversary of the opening of the museum.
Wine, Dine, Zip & Sip
The Yadkin Valley Wine Region
Winston-Salem has earned a strong reputation as a destination that offers outdoor recreation and is now gaining traction as the “Gateway to Yadkin Valley Wine region” North Carolina’s first American Viticultural Area producing award-winning wines. So how impressive is when a tour combines both? This tour offers three different vineyards where at one we’ll experience wine sipping and zip-lining, a winemaker led hike through grapevines overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains ending with a vineyard trek with llamas. Yes, llamas. With more than 100 wineries and ninth in the country in wine production, 36 of North Carolina’s vineyards are located in the Yadkin Valley.9-11:45 a.m.: A Tour of the Raffaldini Vineyards
Join Jay Raffaldini, owner and winemaker, on a hike through the vineyards at Raffaldini, known as the “Chianti in the Carolinas” one of the premier Italian wineries on the East Coast surrounded by the Blue Ridge and Brushy Mountains.12:30-2:30 p.m.: Lunch and Tour of the Vineyards and Organic Farms at Sanders Ridge
The organic Shore Farms at Sanders Ridge have been in the family for generations. Lunch at Hearth Restaurant where Chef Christian Froelich is dedicated to using much of the organic produce that comes from the property’s farms. Lunch will include specially selected wine pairings. Afterwards, stroll through the vineyards and learn about the adventuresome zip lining operations at Sanders Ridge.2:45 p.m.: Tour and Llama Trek at Divine Llama Vineyards
End the day at Divine Llama Winery and Vineyards. While the wines are exceptional, one cannot-miss experience is the llama trekking – featured on VOGUE.com. We will have a light hike with these friendly creatures while learning the Divine Llama history and enjoying the outdoors under the Carolina sun.Everyone will have the opportunity to pet and interact with the llamas. The visit will conclude with a wine tasting and talk with vineyard owners and architects, Mike West and Tom Hughes. There will also be a demonstration of llama fiber spinning by Sharon Berry.