In 1972, Kroustalis and her husband Jack went against the advice of experts and began their vineyard by planting Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot as well as other vinifera varieties. Up until that point, no one in the Yadkin Valley region thought those varieties could survive the North Carolina climate.

#westbendvineyards is considered one of North Carolina’s oldest #wineries. The winery was bonded in 1988, and by 1990 became one of the largest wineries in the region. After the passing of Jack Kroustalis in 2006 at the age of 74, Lillian Kroustalis continued to run the winery until February 2012. When the property didn’t sell it went up for auction.

Meanwhile, Sonia and Walt Breathwit started looking for wineries in California, Washington and North Carolina. After the property didn’t sell at auction, the Breathwits contacted Kroustalis and chose to purchase the winery after passing up other opportunities. “We wanted to do something different, something for our boys to take over someday,” said Walt Breathwit.

The ’93 Chambourcin by West Bend Vineyards & Brewery still remains kind of a mystery to us at this point. We were only able to find very little information regarding non-vinifera varietals produced by Westbend. Were these grapes purchased from a neighboring vineyard in North Carolina at the time? Did #naylorwine play a role in sourcing #Chambourcin grapes for Walt Breathwit? We may never know.