Sweet, local, and proudly off the beaten vine
Downtown Parkway · Gatlinburg · Winery Tasting Room · Visit Website ↗
Updated August 2026
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 29, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Tennessee Homemade Wines’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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Wingman Metrics
Walk into Tennessee Homemade Wines and you immediately know this isn't a Napa tasting room — and that's the whole point. The vibe is pure Smoky Mountains: friendly, unhurried, and built around fruit wines that have zero pretension about what they are. Free tastings greet you at the door, which sets the tone for everything that follows.
This list lives entirely in Tennessee's backyard — blackberry, apple, muscadine, and whatever else grows well in the Appalachian foothills. Don't come looking for Burgundy or Barolo; this is a locavore fruit wine operation and it owns that identity completely. The selection is small, maybe 10-20 labels, but every bottle is made here or sourced from the region, which gives the list a coherence you rarely see. The muscadine alone is worth the trip for anyone curious about what Southern winemaking actually tastes like.
The by-the-glass program is essentially the tasting room model — you can sample your way through the lineup before committing to a bottle, which is a genuinely smart way to run things. With 10-20 pour options rotating through their fruit wine portfolio, there's enough variety to keep a table busy for a while. Don't expect a rotating reserve program; what's on the shelf is what you're working with.
Tennessee Homemade Wines Blackberry — $
At tasting room prices with a free sample before you buy, the Blackberry is the crowd-pleaser anchor of the lineup — approachable, locally made, and priced for a Gatlinburg afternoon, not a special occasion.
Tennessee Homemade Wines Muscadine
Most people reach for the berry wines and walk past this one, but muscadine is the grape that actually belongs to the South. It's funky, thick-skinned, and unlike anything from a grocery store wine aisle — try it once and you'll understand why people have been making it in these hills for generations.
Tennessee Homemade Wines Apple
Apple wine in a tourist tasting room is the path of least resistance, and this one leans so sweet it crosses into cider territory without fully committing to either. Unless you specifically love candy-forward apple, your pour is better spent on something more regionally distinctive.
Tennessee Homemade Wines Blackberry + Local BBQ pulled pork
Sweet fruit wine and smoky pork is a classic Southern combination for a reason — the blackberry's residual sugar cuts through the fat and amplifies the char without fighting the sauce. Grab a bottle and find the nearest BBQ joint on the Parkway.
The Bottom Line
Tennessee Homemade Wines isn't trying to be a serious wine destination and it's better for it — this is a fun, honest, local-first tasting room that delivers exactly what Gatlinburg visitors are actually looking for. Send your friends here if they want a taste of Appalachian winemaking culture, not if they're chasing a Riedel-and-Rhône experience.
Downtown Parkway · Gatlinburg · Cajun, Seafood, American
Come for the crawfish and the balcony view, skip the wine list entirely — or grab a $6 Pinot Grigio and make peace with it. This is a cocktail-and-beer spot that happens to have a few bottles of grocery store wine on the menu.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Parkway Rooftop · Gatlinburg · Mexican, Tex-Mex
Loco Burro is a great spot for a frozen margarita on a Smoky Mountain rooftop — the wine list is just not the reason you're here, and no one pretends otherwise. Order a cocktail, enjoy the view, and save your serious wine curiosity for a different night.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Parkway · Gatlinburg · Pizza, American, Bar
Mellow Mushroom Gatlinburg is a genuinely fun spot for pizza and a cold beer — lean into that and you'll have a great time. The wine list, though, is an afterthought dressed up as a menu section, and no amount of hippie décor changes that math.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Newman Road / Hillside · Gatlinburg · Upscale Steakhouse & American Fine Dining
The Greenbrier is doing exactly what a fine dining steakhouse in a national park tourist corridor should do with wine — keeping it approachable, stocking names people recognize, and not getting too weird about it. It's not a wine destination, but it won't embarrass itself either; send a friend who wants a solid Cab with a great steak and a mountain view.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
East Parkway / Elks Plaza · Gatlinburg · Italian
The Best Italian's wine list does exactly what it needs to do: keep casual diners happy, not drain wallets, and get out of the way of the garlic knots. We wouldn't drive to Gatlinburg for the wine, but if you're already there and want something decent with dinner, you'll be fine.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Cherry Street · Gatlinburg · Winery
This isn't a destination for serious wine drinkers, and it knows that — Smoky Mountain Winery is a cheerful, unpretentious regional stop that delivers exactly what it promises. If you're in Gatlinburg and curious about Tennessee fruit wines, this is the place; if you're hunting for a serious cellar, keep driving.
Plays It Safe
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Las Cruces · Winery Tasting Room
This is a Wild Card in the truest sense — a desert-state tasting room that's actually swinging for something more interesting than you'd expect, at prices that make the experiment low-stakes. If you're in Las Cruces and curious about what New Mexico wine can actually do, this is the right room to be in.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
· Rochester · Winery Tasting Room
Salem Glen is the Wild Card because almost nobody expects to find a legit wine experience in a barn outside Rochester — and yet here we are. If you're open to cold-climate grapes and a laid-back afternoon, it earns the trip.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Occasional
Proper
Central Yountville · Yountville · Winery Tasting Room
Hope & Grace is for the Napa visitor who's tired of Cabernet tourism and wants something with a point of view. The list is short, the prices are fair for the appellation, and the small-lot focus gives you something to actually talk about on the drive home.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
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