WRC Distillery isn’t just the new kid on the block. We received our Distilled Spirits Plant license in 2007. We have enjoyed and still enjoy being North Carolina’s first and oldest winery owned and partnered distillery. We’ve been known by several names over the years, but it’s still us, still the same place, and still the same friendly folks keeping the wheels turning in pursuit of authentic NC grown, and NC produced quality adult beverages.

We’re also known as “the folks with the cage.” In the early days, the government wasn’t entirely comfortable with having a functioning distillery inside of a winery. In lieu of building a separate facility, we were given the option of segregating the distillery from the winery by the means of a lockable, 10 foot high chain link fence, with which we did forthwith comply. We joked with local Law Enforcement Agents as to where else might they find someone running a liquor still out in the wilds of West Yadkin County, NC that came with their own cell? They appreciated our cooperation.

While not the original business plan, existing laws and financial concerns at the time dictated that the distillery primarily existed to serve the winery. Refusing to be hampered by said constraints, we purposed to take the lemons we were given, and turn them into lemonade.