The Meadows at Firefly Farm Preserve, a wedding, elopement, and event venue on a heritage farm just minutes from downtown Raleigh, is hosting a picnic and wine pop-up on April 24th from 1-5 to debut their upcoming urban winery!
Enjoy local wine, charcuterie, and music on the beautiful grounds with your family, friends, and well-behaved, leashed pups. Our readers can use the promo code TheRaleighDurhamGirl to get 10% off at checkout – purchase your tickets here!
From Eventbrite:
Wine Tasting Tickets include:
- A tasting of three brand new The Meadows Winery wines
- An additional bottle of your choice with compostable glasses
- Live Music under the market light lit covered patio
- Feel free to bring your own chairs and blankets to picnic in our expansive meadows!
- Leashed well behaved pets are welcome, please pick up after your pups!
- You can also choose to add on a local charcuterie board for two with a charcuterie add-on ticket! Ticket orders for charcuterie close on Wed 4/20 so be sure to grab one while you can!
An Oasis in the City
I had the opportunity to visit The Meadows on an unfortunately dreary day in March – even with the gray weather and pouring rain, the beauty of The Meadows at Firefly Farm was obvious. Tucked away off Tryon Road and surrounded by trees and greenery, it seemed impossible that I’d just gotten a bagel at Benchwarmer’s a few minutes earlier.
Director of Operations Eric Regensburger greeted me at Heron Hall, an indoor/outdoor gathering space that offers gorgeous views of the expansive prairie and woods. While Heron Hall appears significantly more modern than the nearby farmhouse and other historic buildings on the property, many aspects within were rescued from nearby barns and houses destined for demolition. A feature wall is entirely constructed of reclaimed chimney bricks; the bar is made of salvaged tobacco barn wood.
Walking the property with Regensburger (before the rain came in earnest), he stressed that while The Meadows operates as an event venue, their main focus is to safeguard the space as a heritage farm and preserve. The now-protected wetland provides shelter and sustenance for owls, deer, coyotes, foxes, and more local wildlife. Papaws, persimmons, dates, figs, jujubes, and other fruits thrive at The Meadows, along with scuppernong and muscadine grapes. The natural progression: an urban winery, the first of its kind in Raleigh.
A Family Effort
Hosting weddings since 2017, over 150 acres of The Meadows has been renovated, protected, and enhanced by Regensburger’s family. Along with his mom and one of his sisters, the family has committed to preserving urban farming in Wake County. Not a small feat these days, with developers aggressively eyeing Raleigh and its surrounding areas.
Pursuing agritourism posed an interesting, if initially frustrating, challenge for the family as well as for the Wake County government. “It took us a full year in order to get the permitting needed to start our business and it was a real challenge to convince [Wake County officials] that weddings/events would fall under agriculture,” Regensburger said in a recent interview.
Noting the interest of developers as well as the lack of emphasis on urban agriculture, the early days were an uphill battle. “Ultimately we did get our permits and we became a learning experience for the county. Now we work with them regularly and have a great relationship in order to pursue new and exciting agritourism ventures.”
The Winery
The picnic pop-up on April 24th introduces the community to The Meadows Vineyard, which will eventually feature a tasting room with locally-made wines. Sample their Honeysuckle White, made of scuppernong grapes, as well as a pinot grigio and a cabernet sauvignon before settling on a bottle to enjoy during the picnic.
Keep an eye out for future updates on the tasting room! In the meantime, grab your tickets now to the picnic pop-up to take in this hidden gem for yourself. Once again: Our readers can use the promo code TheRaleighDurhamGirl to get 10% off at checkout – purchase your tickets here!
The Meadows Raleigh
1945 The Meadows Lane
Raleigh, NC 27606
Tag us @theraleighdurhamgirl at the picnic!
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