Veterans remain at the heart of N.C. winery owners’ pursuit of happiness

By Paul Vigna | [email protected]

Haze Gray Vineyards in Dobson is in the middle of harvest, as are almost all of the wineries across North Carolina.

It’s a six-year-old producer, managed by Deane and Becky Muhlenberg, a husband and wife who grew up in military families.

Deane served in the U.S. Navy for 30 years as a flight officer. With Becky by his side, they moved around the country and around the world, and, per the bio on the winery site, their children greeted their new locations with wide eyes. The family loves to travel.

All that travel led them to Snony Knoll, located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina. That purchase of the 85-acre farm in 2015 ended their traveling.

Dobson is the birthplace of the Yadkin Valley American Viticultural Area (AVA), North Carolina’s first federally recognized wine-growing region.

Haze Gray Vineyards opened in December 2019. It’s about a 45-minute drive from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and an hour and 40-minute drive from Charlotte.

One of the things that makes it unique is its acknowledgement of veterans. In addition to making hiring veterans a priority, the winery offers a military discount, and its wall on one side of the tasting room is filled with pictures of servicemen and servicewomen that its customers have brought in to put on the Veterans Wall of Honor.

PennLive featured the winery in 2021 and 2024.

Here are answers to several questions that PennLive sent to Becky.

Q, Are both the Reserve Tannat and Reserve Cab Franc new, or are these just new vintages? Do you source both from your vineyard, and how much of each variety do you grow?

A, We are 100% estate-bottled. We planted 6 acres of grapevines in 2015 and an additional 3 acres in 2016.  We opened in December 2019. We only use the grapes that we grow to make our wines. Deane is the winemaker.  Each of our nine varietals has an acre. (The Tannat is slightly less than an acre.)   

This is our second Reserve Cabernet Franc. It is our first Reserve Tannat. Both vintages are 100% of the varietal.  When we bottle a reserve, there is only one barrel bottled. (approximately 23 ½ cases). The Reserve Cabernet Franc was aged in French oak for 4 years. The Reserve Tannat was aged in French oak for 5 ½ years.

Q, You referenced it in the newsletter … just what kind of a growing season has it been down there? I guess these days there’s no normal.

A, There was a frost across parts of N.C. in April that impacted the initial bud break. You really don’t know right away in the season to know the impact.  In Surry, we had a frost late in April. It has been an exceptionally wet spring, which can increase disease pressure. Excessive late summer rain can dilute the sugars in the grapes. Overall, 2025 has been a wet year in our vineyard.  

Q, What events do well for you there? Have you added or subtracted much over the past few years?

We have music and food trucks (not every Saturday); typically local talent and food trucks.  We also have wine maker dinners (next one is Veterans Day weekend) with our chef being a Navy veteran.   We also do painting classes, cards for the military and wreath making.   We have a very active wine club that holds social and educational events.  Our current Military blend was created by the Aces wine club (it is called Aces) at a wine club blending event. We are hopefully finishing our new lower patio, where we will have more outdoor events.

Q, Always love writing about the veterans angle. I assume that hasn’t changed … still hiring veterans, and I saw where you offer a military discount.

A, Veterans.  Yes, that’s still our focus, although it seems to be harder to find veterans. The veterans who have worked here have completed training and have moved on to their own vineyards. We do have a lot of veterans who help us out with bottling and with harvest. We still stay focused on our wine blends. They all have a military name, as we donate $1 of every bottle of our blends we sell to veterans organizations. We have had Boot Camp Red, Two Bells, Aviator Red, Aces (current), White Glove (current), Check Six (second release coming soon), General Quarters, and Wingman (new release soon).  Of course, we give veteran discounts  We can spot them out as soon as they talk.

We also have our Veterans Wall of Honor with more than 200 photos. 

Q, Still enjoying? I’m sure the work never stops.

A, We purchased our property and planted in 2015.  We have learned so much, formed relationships with so many people across the state in the industry. We continue to grow little by little each year. On the farm, we also raise honey bees, Black Angus cattle, and we have adopted five horses that are loving the pasture. We have been open for 5 ½ years now.  I have been on the North Carolina Winegrowers Association (NCWGA) board for four years. I was honored to be elected president at last year’s conference. The NCWGA is striving to educate and grow the maturity of the industry. We want to make great North Carolina wines and get the word out to the wine-drinking community that North Carolina is on the map.