Agriculture is in Erick Byrd’s blood.  

Born and raised on a tobacco farm in Wilson, North Carolina, Byrd’s curiosity about and eventual pursuit of studying agritourism came naturally.  

“Agritourism preserves the agricultural landscape for which North Carolina is known as well as stimulates economies in rural areas,” says Byrd, an associate professor of hospitality and tourism at UNC Greensboro.  

The wine industry in North Carolina is part of this agritourism. 

The Bryan School of Business and Economics has partnered with wineries since 2008. In fact, North Carolina boasts 200 wineries – from Cherokee to the Outer Banks – and the industry has a $6.1 billion annual impact.  

Robust Partnership 

In North Carolina, grape wine, fruit wine, cider, and mead are all considered wine, and the state ranks seventh in the nation for grape and wine production and tenth for number of wineries.  

As more wineries emerged in the state, a partnership with this industry made sense to Bryan School leadership.  

Therefore, now Bryan School Dean Joy Bhadury and Samuel Troy pursued collaboration. The Department of Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Hospitality and Tourism was also soon added to the Bryan School, which would support the relationship.  

Byrd eventually began meeting with winery owners and tasting room managers and developed strong, professional relationships across regions.  

Full-Bodied Efforts   

For years, the Bryan School has participated in many activities to support the North Carolina wine industry.  

In 2021, Byrd facilitated the NC Wine Stakeholder Familiarization Tour, a tour for N.C. social media influencers to introduce the Hendersonville emerging winery region. The tour visited five wineries.  

As part of a research team, six UNCG Bryan School students conducted and completed a consumer marketing study in 2023, in which they collected data from wine consumers.  

“One winery, Raffaldini Vineyards in Ronda, was so enamored with Bryan School student Tanya Farr, they hired her following graduation,” says Byrd.  

In a Destination Planning course, students helped Yadkin and Wilkes County develop strategic plans for tourism development and marketing and produced a Tourism Trade Show. 

“We partner with the N.C. Department of Commerce to identify communities in which students can conduct projects,” Byrd says.  

Off Balance  

In September 2024, Hurricane Helene shocked western North Carolina.  

Byrd and Troy had just visited multiple wineries while working on their third strategic five-year plan for the North Carolina Wine & Grape Council, a partner of more than 10 years. They were scheduling other visits when the hurricane hit. 

“One of the amazing things I have done over the past decade is make great relationships with NC wineries,” Byrd says. “Following Helene, I was immediately on my phone asking winery owners how we can help and how they were doing.” 

Byrd connected with Parker-Binns Vineyard and Linville Falls Winery. Both said they were okay but knew many others were less fortunate, with washed out roads or no power. One winery was a total loss, and one had all inventory washed away.  

But what struck Byrd most was the camaraderie amongst the impacted wineries.  

“We saw the wineries rally around each other and work together,” Byrd says. “Parker-Binns was even wearing other wineries’ merchandise. The industry really gathered together to support each other.”  

Byrd leveraged this solidarity in his proposed strategic plan: He indicated the need to highlight “the community feel” as a competitive advantage for promoting North Carolina wine.  

Byrd presented the plan to the Council, and it will guide the industry’s growth.  

A Return to Rosé 

The biggest challenge that remains, according to Byrd, is both in-state and out-of-state visitors do not think western North Carolina is open, but it is and needs tourism to thrive again.  

NC wineries rely on visitors to come to tasting rooms to buy their wine.  

“They really need that influx of tourism dollars,” says Byrd. “We need to ensure the narrative is Western N.C. is open and ready to welcome visitors.”  

Byrd introduced Sociologist Ray Oldenburg’s notion of a “third place” when he described our state’s wineries, noting they are not home nor work, but they are a place to hang out with family and friends.  

“Wineries are about wine, yes, but they are becoming a ‘holistic experience’ and have become drivers for these rural destinations,” says Byrd.  

Byrd promises there is an amazing experience to be had at North Carolina wineries.  

Story by Amy Burtch, AMBCopy   
Photography by Sean Norona, University Communications