Beachaven Vineyards & Winery: Best Wines in Tennessee

Netflix, wine, cheese, and cuddles! This is what my usual wine night consists of without ever thinking twice of how the wine was made. The color, the process, time it takes to make, or everything that goes behind the scenes. I just grab my babies (or fur-baby) to cuddle with and enjoy the night.  Beachaven Vineyards and Winery changed the entire way I look at wine now. It’s not just about the taste but also the patience, care, and passion that the owners and staff at Beachaven Winery put into each and every bottle of wine.

You probably remember the pictures I posted on my Instagram about two weeks ago of the tour during my Insta-Guest event with Visit Clarksville TN. The wine tasting that my husband and I experienced, the big silver containers, the wine bottles, and even their wine lab. These are just a few parts of the entire Beachaven experience.

HISTORY OF BEACHAVEN VINEYARDS & WINERY

Beachaven Winery opened on June 1st, 1986 by Judge Beach and Ed Cooke. They were the 10th winery built in Tennessee and the very first winery in Middle Tennessee. Soon after opening they did an event called “Jazz On The Lawn” to attract more people to come in to the winery. “Jazz On The Lawn” is now a very huge event that they hold every other Saturday during the warmer months of the year. This event now attracts hundreds of people from all over the country. Read all about their opening day here and how “Jazz On The Lawn” helped move their winery towards the right direction.

The winery has only blossomed since then, winning awards for a huge selection of their wines, selling local wine items such as jellies, and sweets, and much more. Oh, did I mention cheese? The cheddar cheese block that they sell is to die for. You can view all of these awards throughout their gift shop and their premises as well as online here.

TOURING BEHIND THE SCENES AT BEACHAVEN WINERY

The tour was very interesting and educational. As one of their staff members gave us the tour, she explained how the wine was made. The machines below were used to rotate the grapes and get the juice. Nothing like back in the days of doing it by hand or worse… with your feet.

THE FERMENTATION PROCESS

We went into the coolers to where the wine sits in these huge metal tanks to ferment. Once fermented they go ahead and start bottling it through their machine. They weren’t bottling any the day we went but I plan to go next time.

THE WINE LAB

The tour guide also showed us the wine lab. We didn’t go in but we peeked through the windows and it looks like a pretty cool lab to be in.  It’s like a chemistry lab but for wine instead of chemicals. I would of loved to have a wine lab instead of chemistry lab in college. I might of passed my class with better grades. In the wine lab they play around with the different wines and flavors to make more award winning wines for us to enjoy.

During the tour we were told about the vineyard’s upkeep. They also explained the importance of the rose bushes at each end of the rows. They help in cases of pests. Most pests will eat the rose bushes first before eating the grapes giving them a chance to resolve the problem before it proceeds to the grape vines.

BOTTLING THE WINE BOTTLES

Our tour guide took us inside to where they do the bottling at. Sadly we weren’t able to watch the bottling process but I am hoping to go next time to see how it is done. They have the tops of the barrels hanging on the walls in the bottling room. Each one has a different hand carved design but sadly the artist has recently passed away. Below is a picture of one created with the owners of Beachaven Winery.

They also have a champagne cellar. This wasn’t a part of the tour but it was pretty cool to go look at. They do not currently sell champagne though but they used to back in the day. You can find the champagne cellar under the stairs in the gift shop area. The champagne cellar is filled with history of the vineyard as well as some historical items.

MY FAVORITE WINES AT BEACHAVEN WINERY

Before purchasing a bottle of wine, I highly recommend doing the wine tasting. It is good to try the different wines before buying a bottle that you won’t like. The wine tasting is only $5 with proof of ID. Must be 21 or older to do the wine tasting. Best of all, Tennessee doesn’t allow the sale of certain alcoholic beverages on Sunday. Luckily, Beachaven Winery falls under the agricultural standards instead so they can sell wine any day of the week. How cool is that. It’s the perfect Sunday loophole.

Some of my favorite wines are:

• Governor’s Red – named after the Governor’s for the Austin Peay State University here in Clarksville, TN. This wine has a perfect blend of berries and grapes. This one is my husband’s favorite.
• Heavenly Peach –  This sweet wine is made of a natural each flavors and a variety of grapes.
• Harmony – This delicious wine is a delicious fruity blend of Riesling and black cherry flavors.
• Blues – This wine is made of a blend of blackberries and blueberries. **Has been discontinued. My new all time favorite which is very similar to the Blues is Tempo. I absolutely love it and it is all I get besides the Governor’s Red. **
• Barrister’s Red – This sweet red wine is made of a variety of black Muscadine.

These are just a few of our favorites with Governor’s Red and Blues hitting the top of our wine list.

EVENTS AT BEACHAVEN

Since Beachaven Winery has opened their events have grown. They now do various different events and you can even plan your own events, weddings, and even huge gatherings here. Some of their most popular events are:

• Jazz On The Lawn
• DJ On The Dock
• Private Wine Tastings
• Annual Poor Man’s Sale
• and even fairs.

You can view all of their upcoming events here.

We really enjoyed our time at Beachaven Winery. The environment was very peaceful and the staff was very friendly and sweet. I can’t wait to go again to view the bottling of the wines and definitely enjoy some more of their events.

If you ever are close to Nashville or in the Clarksville area in Tennessee, don’t forget to check this local winery off your bucket list.

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