The Rocky Top Wine Trail is just such an adventure and features five local wineries and cider houses in Sevierville and Pigeon Forge.

(Traveling with family? All ages are welcome in the wineries and cider houses, but only guests 21 years of age and older - with a valid I.D. - may sample alcoholic beverages. Bonus: Pets are welcome, too!)

There are two ways to enjoy the Rocky Top Wine Trail.

#1 - Choose the self-guided option. Start at any of the five participating wineries and cider houses. There’s no need to make a reservation or call ahead, just stop by for a free tasting. Once you’ve sampled the wines or ciders, you’ll be given a stamped Passport by your server. Visit the other wineries at your leisure (there is no time limit on completing the trail) and make sure to get your passport stamped. Once you’ve got three stamps, you’ll receive a free gift. Complete all five? You’ll get another gift!

#2 - Opt for a VIP tour. If you’d prefer a curated experience complete with a designated driver, head to rockytopwinetrail.com to book one of three tours.

The Wine Trail VIP tour offers a private tour of three wineries plus extra samples, unique discounts, and a personalized experience. The Shots & Glasses Tour makes stops at two wineries, a hard cider house, and one moonshine distillery and provides a complimentary lunch. The Tastes of the Smokies Tour visits three wineries, a bourbon and whiskey distillery, and a moonshine distillery. Guests on this tour will also receive extra samples, special discounts and lunch.

Hitting the Trail

If you plan to complete this trail at your own pace, here are some things to know.

The official Rocky Top Wine Trail stops include:

Hillside Winery - a Sevierville winery specializing in Italian-style and celebratory wines. Annually, the vintners at Hillside Winery crush over 856,000 pounds of Tennessee grapes. While sampling, be sure to try their Muscadine Mist made with native Southeastern grapes called muscadines.

Apple Barn Winery is located in the popular Apple Barn & Cider Mill Village in Sevierville. This winery uses locally grown apples as the base for their wines handcrafted on site. Watch the winemaking process through large plate glass windows before sampling award-winning favorites such as Apple Raspberry.

Apple Barn Hard Cider House is just a few doors down from the Apple Barn Winery and showcases a wide selection of flavorful house made ciders like Bluebarb, Red Lemonhead, and Honey Basil. Watch workers mill and press fresh apples, then sample the ciders on tap and relax. There are even non-alcoholic cider options so the whole family can enjoy the apple-y flavors!

Mill Bridge Hard Cider Company is a Pigeon Forge cider house offering blended fruit ciders with names like Dolly Llama, Honey Ham, and Secret Squirrel. Relax and enjoy a flight of ciders on Mill Bridge’s patio overlooking the Little Pigeon River waterfall near The Old Mill.

Mountain Valley Winery is one of the oldest wineries in Tennessee and has produced over 200 exclusive wines and earned more than 1,000 medals from various competitions since 1991. While reservations aren’t necessary to sample at the Rocky Top Wine Trail wineries, Mountain Valley Winery does offer a private tour and tasting opportunity called the Grape Escape Lounge that can be reserved for a truly unique experience.

Ready to get out on the trail? Check out this video about How the Wine Trail Works.