Flavor, NC

We spend a day at the NC Mountain State Fair to check out the beef cattle competition, and meet a family of ranchers. And on the menu for this episode? You guessed it, tender delicious beef, all enjoyed family style at the fairgrounds in Fletcher, NC. Bonus dish: the best pound cake you've ever tasted.

A North Carolina cheesemaker is transitioning from cow's milk cheese to sheep's milk. We visit Piemonte Farm to learn all about it, and then join Chef Isaiah Allen to put together some incredible dishes, including Fromage Blanc and Roasted Tomato Ravioli.

In this special episode, Flavor, NC visits three fascinating North Carolina vineyards: Elkin Creek, operated by performance artists from the Blue Man Group; Carolina Heritage Vineyard, a trail-blazing organic winemaker; and spectacular Burntshirt Vineyards, perched high in the mountains of NC.

Dining from a food truck has come a very long way in recent years, and the trend is exploding in growth. We look into why food trucks have become so popular, and spend time with two North Carolina chefs who are creating delicious, healthy dishes in tiny kitchens. We also learn about one NC food truck that's expanded into "farming" at the edge of a corporate parking lot in Research Triangle Park.

From the farm, to the smoker, to the kitchen--it takes a lot of work to craft the real-deal flavor of North Carolina pork barbeque. We meet three Durham guys who have mastered their parts of the process and get a close look at how they do it and how it tastes. Spoiler alert: the flavor is out of this world.

Flavor, NC visits incredible Grandfather Vineyard & Winery, perched more than 3000 feet in the mountains. Also, a trip to A Secret Garden Winery where downhome southern hospitality rules, and we meet the women behind Grapefull Sisters Vineyard, set in the middle of a family farm that goes back nine generations.

Farm-raised crawfish are the fresh water answer to lobster! Flavor, NC checks out an eastern NC farm that grows some of the biggest crawfish around. Then we cook 'em up with Chef Joe Fasy of Fuquay-Varina's Hook and Cleaver Market on Broad.

Flavor, NC follows the fascinating process of producing sea salt for cooking from natural ocean water at Wrightsville Beach, with Amanda Jacobs of Sea Love Sea Salt Co. Then we put her products to the test with Chef Matthew Register of Southern Smoke BBQ in Garland, NC. Prepare to get hungry.

In this "From the Vineyard" special edition of Flavor, NC, we visit one of the oldest vineyards in NC: Westbend Winery and Brewery which pioneered European-style wines in the Yadkin Valley region. We also check out RagApple Lassie vineyard, named for a prize-winning calf. And our winery tour continues at Sanders Ridge Winery where a one-mile zip line course adds to the fun of a vineyard visit.

North Carolina farmers grow an impressive variety of grapes for cooking and snacking. We meet a Charlotte area woman who is carving her niche for locally produced grapes. And we cook up delicious grape dishes with the chef at The Asbury restaurant in uptown Charlotte's Dunhill hotel.

Welcome aboard! Join us on Flavor, NC as we head out to the ocean to fish for Spanish Mackerel. After we lucked up with a large school of the fish, we head over to Wilmington's Ceviche's restaurant to explore Spanish Mackerel dishes with Chef Scott Surratt.

In this "From the Vineyard" special edition of Flavor, NC, we explore an annual Herb Festival at Dobbins Creek and Laurel Gray vineyards. We also get the secrets surrounding a beautiful classic red barn at Baker Buffalo Creek Vineyard and Winery in Cleveland County, and we taste some amazing wine at Rock of Ages Winery & Vineyard in Person County.

We head to Princeton, NC to explore harvest time at a sweet potato farm where they grow 'em large, healthy and delicious. And then we pay a visit to Winston-Salem's Arts District where there's a restaurant aptly named "Sweet Potatoes". Host Lisa Prince works with Chef Stephanie Tyson to learn about creating several awesome dishes starring the sweet potato.

A couple cuts their ties to corporate America and trades in their suits for workboots and a life as winemakers at JOLO Winery and Vineyards. We also take a trip to Shelton Vineyards, where two brothers' visionary enterprise helped lay the groundwork for North Carolina's wine industry. And we head down to the charming town of Columbia, NC, the home of Vineyards on the Scuppernong.