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Richard & Laura Labarre
Richard and Laura LaBarre in the vineyard at Enoree River Winery. “We want people to feel comfortable when they come here,” says Laura. (Photo by Walter Allread)
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Enoree River Winery Reunion
Family and friends of Josh Erickson, a long-time Enoree River Winery fan, enjoy a meal and live jazz during a reunion he held there July 5. “I brought family from every corner of the planet—Hawaii, LA, San Francisco, Miami. We’re all originally from Hawaii,” Erickson noted.
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An Evening with Wine
Jaime McGough and Leilani Madrid enjoy a glass of wine overlooking the Enoree River Winery vineyard.
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Grapes of the vineyard
Black Spanish grapes ripen on the vine after an early July rain.
As he traveled the country for his job as regional director of Vietnam Veterans of America, Richard LaBarre and his future wife, Laura, made a point to stop in at local wineries wherever they would go as a way of meeting new people and engaging a community.
“We’d always have fun, and the people who owned the wineries were always so friendly and helpful,” says LaBarre, a Newberry Electric Cooperative member. “I realized there were always people there [at wineries], no matter how far off the interstate it was.”
After they would leave, the couple often thought about how neat it would be to have a winery of their own one day, and after a lot of consideration— and maybe a glass of wine or two— the LaBarres finally pulled the trigger, launching Enoree River Winery in 2004.
Owning a winery isn’t a new idea. Putting a winery in Newberry, S.C., however, is.
LaBarre says he picked Newberry for several reasons, not the least of which being the beauty of the property he found and the fact that it’s where his wife is from (they married at the winery in 2006).
“I got pretty lucky with the location I found in more ways than one,” LaBarre says. “The soil and the weather are actually great for growing grapes here, and being so close to the interstate is ideal.”
LaBarre converted a former 18-acre pasture into a vineyard where he planted 800 muscadine vines along with other red and white grapes. From those grapes and other juice they purchase, the LaBarres produce a rotating list of about 11 varieties of wine.
Besides the wine, there’s also a South Carolina gift shop on the premises, and the rural setting has provided a beautiful backdrop for weddings, picnics and parties in addition to a friendly, comfortable tasting room they designed themselves.
“We want people to feel comfortable when they come here, sit down and relax and enjoy themselves, and that’s what they do,” Laura says.
To learn more about the winery, visit enoreeriverwinery.com.
Enoree River Winery to host Newberry Harvest Festival
The Newberry Harvest Festival will be held 2–7 p.m. Sunday, October 13, at Enoree River Winery.
The family-friendly event will feature local musicians. Parking is free. No coolers are allowed. Wristbands given to all attendees over 21; you must be 21 or older to wine taste and everyone must provide picture ID. Bottled water and non-alcoholic beverages will be sold.
Admission is $10 per person 21 and above, which includes wine tasting and souvenir wine glass to take home, and $5 for those under 21. Wines will be available from Enoree River Winery and City Scape Winery. Wines can be purchased by the glass or bottle.
Directions to the winery, located at 1650 Dusty Road, Newberry: Take Exit 74 off I-26 (Hwy. 34), turn toward Winnsboro Go a half-mile, turn right on Dusty Road Winery entrance is half-mile ahead on the left.