Uncork and Explore the Best Gatlinburg Wineries
Are you looking for a perfect weekend (or weeklong) escape in the Smoky Mountains? There’s not much better than spending time exploring the best Gatlinburg wineries. With tasting rooms and stunning scenery, sip your way through Gatlinburg – a wine-lover’s wonderland – with this comprehensive guide to all that Gatlinburg has to offer.
From rich reds to crisp whites, there’s something for every palate – so plan your self-guided tour of Gatlinburg wineries that wind through the incredible Smoky Mountains in Tennessee while you’re at it!
Rocky Top Wine Trail
The Rocky Top Wine Trail was created in 2008 and includes five participating wineries throughout Sevierville and Pigeon Forge, welcoming folks to sample a sip from more than 70 award-winning wines.
While wining (and dining!), visitors can support local farms and businesses from the food they eat to the stores they visit. Head to the website and after you sign up, and you’ll get a free itinerary and passport to log your travels through the trail.
Apple Barn Winery
Open seven days a week, Apple Barn Winery on Little Pigeon River in Sevierville takes a different approach to their wine – using locally grown apples in their winemaking process. It’s a family-friendly establishment and is one of the most visited wineries in the Gatlinburg area.
Apple Barn Cider House
Just a stone’s throw from Apple Barn Winery is Apple Barn Cider House. Not only can you do free hard cider tastings, but you can also purchase the product (which is made on-site). Our personal pick is the Simply Muscadine, which is described as “a semi-sweet hard apple cider blended with white muscadine.”
Hillside Winery
Transport yourself to Tuscany without leaving the Smoky Mountains. How do you do that? By visiting Hillside Winery in Sevierville!
The decor and menu are inspired by the Italian countryside and culture. Open seven days a week, you can enjoy free wine tastings, tour the property or order unique wine slushies. Have a fur baby? Bring Rover along for the visit, too! It’s an impressive operation – in fact, Hillside processes more than 856,000 pounds of Tennessee-sourced grapes a year!
Mountain Valley Winery
Another seven-days-a-week establishment with free wine tastings, Mountain Valley Winery offers sweet and unique wines like Hot Cocoa, Watermelon, and Muscadine Sweet Tea Cooler. As one of the oldest wineries in Tennessee, it’s clear the winery is good at what it does. Since 1991, Pigeon Forge-based Mountain Valley has earned more than 1,000 medals for their array of wines. Did we mention the menu of wines are vegan-friendly, too?
Mill Bridge Winery
Get the best of both worlds with local wines and hard cider! There’s lots of charm at Mill Bridge Winery, which is in the Old Mill Historic District in Pigeon Forge. There’s outdoor seating that provides a relaxed atmosphere as you marvel at the Little Pigeon River, and the winery is pet-friendly (so you can have your pooch by your side as you sample cider and wine slushies). Be sure to give Straw About That Basil, a semi-sweet hard apple cider with strawberry and basil, a try.
Gatlinburg Wine Trail
Looking for a different wine path? Check out the Gatlinburg Wine Trail. This grouping of popular wineries started in 2019, and can be a self-guided tour (don’t forget to get your wine passport!) packed full of unique wines and free tasting. You can also reserve tickets for a VIP Wine Tour, if that’s more your style.
If you don’t have a designated driver, that VIP Wine Tour will provide transportation to three of the wineries while also providing more samples and deeper discounts.
Little Bear Winery
Let’s talk about some truly unique wine flavors. There’s Sweet Treat (it tastes like cotton candy), Racoon Red (blackberry, pomegranate, and watermelon), and Two Berries (blueberry and blackberry) – all available at pet-friendly Little Bear Winery. Located in downtown Gatlinburg at 631 Parkway, can also take your pick of wine slushies that pair perfectly with cheese trays.
Sugarland Cellars
Whether you’re looking for traditional wines to the highly sought Cherry-Kee (sweet cherry flavor, similar to cherry pie), you’ll find it at 1133 Parkway – aka Sugarland Cellars. Each wine name reflects historical significance, referencing a person, place or fact. The winery also teamed up with local artist Robert A. Tino to create a limited-edition label, and a local nonprofit Friends of the Smokies to generate funds that protect the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Cades Cove Cellars
Immerse yourself in rustic wonder at Cades Cove Cellars, established in 2012. Family-owned and -operated, the team has more than eight decades of winemaking experience. Take your pick from bubbly wines, ciders, or traditional dry and sweet wines.
Cades Cove Wears Valley
Get all of the same vibes from Cades Cove Cellars in Townsend, but in nearby Wears Valley. Ciders and wine are on tap, with slushies available from the same masterminds.
Bootleggers Homemade Wine
Bootleggers Homemade Wine is brought to you by two sisters who make small-batch fruit wines without big machinery. (It’s bottled by hand!) Take your pick from Homegrown Strawberry Wine and Scuppernong (grape wine with an apple-pear finish) to decadent dessert wines. It all started with two sisters, sipping wine from the bottle on Grandma’s front porch!
More to Choose From at These East Tennessee Wineries
Would you believe there are even MORE wineries in and around Gatlinburg? These wineries are waiting to welcome you!
Smoky Mountain Winery
While you’re in Gatlinburg, you have to stop at Smoky Mountain Winery. It’s the oldest winery in eastern Tennessee and offers more than 20 award-winning wines. What should you do after sampling some vino? Shop! Visit the Winery’s gift shop and you have yourself a fun, unique experience.
Gatlinburg Winery
There’s another cotton candy wine on the must-try list at Gatlinburg Winery. They’ve been known to make fun flavors like Birthday Cake, Key Lime Cheesecake, and Mountaingria. In business since 2017, free tastings are available at this seven-day-a-week Gatlinburg wine cellar that specializes in sweet wines. There are two locations – 702 Parkway and 531 Parkway, both in Gatlinburg, TN 37738.
Tennessee Homemade Wines
With locations in both Gatlinburg and neighboring Sevierville, you can’t go wrong with some sweet wines from Tennessee Homemade Wines. This winery also offers an Experimental Series – Peanut Butter & Jelly, Mountain S’more, and Honey Peach, to name a few – aimed to please your palate. Cider and more are also available (this is the same company that operates Tennessee Cider Company, which you’ll read about in a few minutes).
Goodwater Winery
In 2004, vines were planted. Today, Goodwater Winery is a multi-generation business with two locations: one in Gatlinburg and the other in Mosheim, Tennessee. Small batch wines include the occasional fruit variety, and while you’re in town, consider a catered picnic where the Goodwater chef will cook just for you and your group.
Elkmont Winery
Established in 2020, Elkmont Winery takes the classics, like Moscato and Sangria, and puts a new twist on them. Enjoy Peach Cobbler, Huckleberry or Watermelon Moscato, or the Elkmont Red Sangria. The winery was named after a portion of the upper Little River Valley in the Great Smoky Mountains, and stays true to southern hospitality with relaxation and comfort at its Gatlinburg location.
Wet Your Whistle at These Gatlinburg Stops
There’s more than delicious wines in eastern Tennessee. There are also cideries and distilleries that focus on robust tastes, all with great times to be had when you visit Gatlinburg.
Tennessee Cider Company
Hard cider. Flushies. Wine. What’s not to enjoy at Tennessee Cider Company? With locally made hard ciders and more, this cidery really puts its money where its flavor is. Free daily sips, dessert wines, a club – you’ll have a great experience here.
Ole Smoky Moonshine Holler
A popular choice from Ole Smoky Moonshine Holler is, of course, Apple Pie moonshine. With their many flavors, you can also procure jars of Moonshine with peaches, cherries, or pickles.
Sugarlands Distilling Company
Moonshine tastings and touring are a hit at Sugarlands Distilling Company, which has been open in downtown Gatlinburg since 2014. High Rock vodka is available through Sugarlands, and was crafted from a partnership with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his wife, Amy.
Let Relax Gatlinburg Guide Your Winery Experience
A trip to the Gatlinburg wineries is a great way to relax and enjoy yourself. In fact, it could be the perfect getaway for you and your friends, or even just a solo adventure. You don’t have to be a wine expert to appreciate the beauty of every vineyard, because there’s something special about simply sipping a sweet wine while taking in views of the Smoky Mountains.
The Gatlinburg wineries we’ve recommended are some of the most popular locations – each one offers its own unique experience for you to savor! And once you pick a few of these great spots, don’t forget to visit our site where we can help you plan your entire Gatlinburg trip.