Biltmore Winery is holding a 25th anniversary celebration with special events and activities this week.
The winery began with the planting of the first grapes on the Biltmore property in 1971 and the estates original dairy barn, was converted into the modern winery facility in 1985. The Biltmore Winery is now Americas most visited winery with about 600,000 visitors per year.
The anniversary celebration includes the debut of an updated visitor experience and expanded tasting areas. It also coincides with the grand opening of Antler Hill Village, a pedestrian-friendly venue with new exhibition space, a village green with live entertainment, dining, shopping and a new outdoor adventure center.
Celebratory activities at the winery will include demonstrations and tips from Biltmore experts, a meet-and-greet and bottle signing with winemakers as well as other activities. A rare 1913 Stevens-Duryea Model “C-Six” seven-passenger touring car that once belonged to Mr. Vanderbilt and his wife, Edith, will also go on permanent display in the winery.
The Biltmore Winery operation, which includes 94 acres of vineyards, is an extension of the estates ongoing agricultural program including cattle, sheep and a field-to-table production garden supply the propertys six restaurants. Biltmore ranks in the top 1 percent of the U.S. wine business and produces 170,000 cases of wine annually using estate grown fruit as well as grapes from partners in other premium winegrowing areas.
For more information visit www.biltmore.com or call 877-BILTMORE.
&bsp;
***
&bsp;
Southwest Airlines
The low-cost carrier is expected to begin its service in South Carolina next year.
The announcement comes about five months after discount air carrier AirTran announced that it was leaving the state.
The South Carolina legislature has been considering a bill that would include $15 million borrowed from the S.C. Insurance Reserve Fund for airlines to tap in case they lose money.
The addition of Southwest is expected to boost tourism and economic development opportunities in the state.
Southwest operates in 68 cities and 35 states with a fleet of 537 Boeing 737 jets.
As of September 30, Southwest was the largest carrier in the country, based on the number of domestic passengers.
&bsp;
***
&bsp;
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has approved $24.2 million in grants for new North Carolina State Veterans Homes in Kinston and Swannanoa, using funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The grants will cover 65 percent of the total costs for both 100-bed facilities.
Construction is expected to begin soon and take about 18 to 24 months to complete.
North Carolina currently has two state veterans homes, one in Fayetteville and the other in Salisbury. The new facilities will greatly expand the capacity of the states veterans homes, and each one will employ 150-170 staff members.
&bsp;
***
&bsp;
N.C. Governor Bev Perdue announced this week an additional $10.3 million in federal Recovery Act funding for energy efficiency block grants. The grants were awarded to 38 public school systems and community colleges, along with 58 projects in 52 local governments. The money will be used on projects to reduce utility and fuel bills and create jobs.
The awards include $209,175 for Rutherford County and Forest City to install lighting improvements. The county is also installing room sensors, programmable thermostats, solar assisted hot water systems and other energy and water conservation measures in Rutherford County Schools.
McDowell County will receive $59,279 to improve lighting and install occupancy sensors in seven buildings.
Funds also were awarded to Asheville-Buncombe Community College and Asheville City Schools for similar projects.
“Green energy is one of my top priorities,” says Perdue. “These federal recovery funds will help put people to work, help our schools and reduce cost for communities throughout our state.”
&bsp;
***
&bsp;
The textile and furniture manufacturing industries in North Carolina recently received a boost.
United Furniture Industries NC, a national manufacturer of residential upholstered furniture, is expanding its facility in Davidson County to create 150 jobs over the next three years. United Furniture plans to purchase the vacant Stanley Furniture distribution facility for a new plant in Lexington.
In Lenior County, MasterBrand Cabinets, Inc. is creating 334 jobs and investing more than $3.75 million over the next three years in Kinston. The company will reconfigure an existing facility to complete the expansion.
In nearby McDowell County, Spectrum Mills LLC will invest $2.7 million and create 49 jobs over the next three years through its speciality texture yarns manufacturing operation.
Spectrum Mills is a privately owned company headquartered in Marion. The company will make textured and color polyester yarns for use in wholesale and retail applications.
&bsp;
***
&bsp;
Home sales in South Carolina
Real estate groups reported a 72 percent increase in sales in the Myrtle Beach area in March compared to a year ago.
Home sales rose in Charleston 22 percent and in Greenville 18 percent. Year-to-date home sales were up 6.1 percent in Greenville, where the median price of $139,000 was unchanged from a year earlier.
&bsp;
***
&bsp;
The Balsam Mountain Preserve development on the Haywood/Jackson county line has made a comeback. The development took a six-month hiatus but recently resumed club operation and sales of its remaining 120 home sites. The former development owner, Chaffin/Light Associated, defaulted on bank loans last year and Vestlyn BMW LLC foreclosed on the property. Vestlyn recently reopened facilities, including the award winning Arnold Palmer Signature golf course at the development, which already had 170 property owners.
Last year the golf course and other amenities, including a pool, fitness center, activity center and nature center, were closed and most of the 90 employees were let go. The low-density development is on a 4,000-acre preserve. Average lot prices are now in the low $300,000 range, down from an average of $550,00 previously.
&bsp;
***
&bsp;
The Patchwork Folk and Fabric Festival
&bsp;
***
&bsp;
Grammy Award-winning saxophonist Branford Marsalis will perform on June 8 in Raleighs Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts to raise funds for the North Carolina Symphony. The concert comes as the symphony continues to raise $8 million by June 30 to move ahead with a reduced season due to budget cuts. If the symphony reaches the goal, it will earn an additional $1.5 million matching grant from the state.
For more information, visit ncsymphony.org, or call 919-733-2750.
&bsp;
***
&bsp;
The National Science Foundation recently awarded a $1.8 million, three-year grant to UNC-Chapel Hills Skynet Robotic Telescope Network. Skynet is a software program developed by the university that controls telescopes remotely. The grant will allow it to expand from three to four continents.
A new 32-inch diameter optical and infrared telescope will be added at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in the Chilean Andes. Thousands of North Carolina high school students have used Skynet via a Web interface to observe the night sky in locations thousands of miles from Chapel Hill.
&bsp;
***
&bsp;
Carnival Cruise Lines
The State Ports Authority is planning a major overhaul of the Charleston cruise terminal and surrounding property to better accommodate the increased traffic.
&bsp;
***
&bsp;
The BMW manufacturing facility in Greer, S.C. recently launched “The BMW Experience,” an effort to give individuals and groups “more options to come experience BMW vehicles firsthand.”
Visitors have three options. They can arrange behind-the-scenes access inside BMWs only North American manufacturing plant, take the wheel and test skills on the track with a certified BMW performance driving instructor, or get up close with legendary BMWs from private collections around the world. The company invites visitors after the tour to experience the “splendor of the Upstate of South Carolina.”
&bsp;
***
&bsp;
Robin Schoolfield, a Marine Corps wife of the Marine Corps Air Station in Sneads Ferry, N.C. was recently awarded the 2010 Military Motherhood Award.
She and her husband Maj. Samuel Schoolfield have four children from ages six to 11, including one who was adopted from Russia and is a special-needs child with autism.
Schoolfield will receive $5,000 cash and a trip to Washington, D.C. to attend a ceremony in her honor. She was chosen from nearly 600 nominations submitted from around the globe. Schoolfield has a masters degree in adult education and serves full-time as a Family Readiness Officer. She also provides summer teaching for a church group to assist an orphanage in Africa, volunteers with the Boy Scounts of America and is completing flight training to become a pilot.
Schoofield has endured nine moves and five deployments of Maj. Schoolfield, who is currently deployed to Afghanistan.has launched a new weekly service that will make the Port of Charleston, S.C. a cruise home port for the first time. The cruise line plans to have a ship call on the port at least once a week, bringing 2,000 people to the city every few days. will be held on Saturday, June 5 at the Jackson County Recreation Center in Cullowhee. The traditions of spinning, weaving, quilting, caning, blacksmithing, sewing, hand stitchery, and other folk arts will be presented. During the week before the festival, June 1-4, the sponsors of the festival have taken the arts and crafts a step further by offering classes to the public. Call 828-293-3053 for more information. jumped in March in the states major metropolitan areas. has announced plans to add service to the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport, along with the Charleston International Airport.