In the past decade there has been no other state that has seen such huge strides made in growing their states wine industry as North Carolina. I was recently on the phone with a close friend who moved to Michigan probably close to 9 years ago. He was telling me about a bottle of Merlot he bought from a winery up there and how great it goes with a nicely grilled hunk of beef. I told him next time he comes back, I'll take him to a couple North Carolina wineries with Merlot that will blow what your drinking away.

He said, "There's wineries now?".

This is when I realized how much the wine industry has grown during the time my friend had lived in Michigan. I started to look up the year he moved and realized back then there were only 25 wineries in the state and now in 2012 there are 115 wineries. That's nearly a five-fold growth. That's massive growth!

I few other stats I found on where the state sits compared to other states :

• Ranked number 10 in total yearly wine production.
• There are 400 different vineyards.
• The total acreage used to grow grapes has more than doubled.
• And the wine industry is responsible for $1.30 billion in revenue and supports 7600 jobs.

That's good news for the state of North Carolina. Also, being one of the biggest tourist destinations in the country growing the wine industry only makes sense. The Smoky mountains in the western portion and the beaches on the coast both have many attractions that draw in visitors from not only all over the United States but also globally.

Many people love a great glass of wine and love the experience of finding and buying a new favorite wine. Now with 117 wineries and the great wines being produced at these establishment this gives vacationers another great reason to chose to visit this state.

I only hope, both individual wineries and also as a concerted effort in the state the word spreads about the great wineries. If they can get the message out and more and more people realize that North Carolina is a great wine state this will generate millions, if not billions of dollars in new revenue for both the people living here and the states government.

If you're currently in or soon to be vacationing in North Carolina and interested in wineries. My favorites are: Chatham Hill winery near Raleigh, Biltmore estates in Asheville and Shelton Vineyards north of Charlotte, near the Virginia state line