- Our state has nearly 1800 North Carolina century farms or farms operated by the same family for at least 100 years.

Stony Knoll Vineyards is one such farm and producer Teresa Litsky recently met descendants of two families who've worked this land for decades and now their legacy includes wines.

[soft music] - What is Stony Knoll Vineyards?

[speaker whistling] - [Teresa] It's not a simple question to answer or so Van Coe believes.

He and his wife, Kathy McCormick Coe, are the fifth generation of their families to own the land.

And the 50 or so acres it comprises has meant many things to many people over the years.

As early as 1896, it was their ancestors' family farm.

Then it began producing for the masses.

- We grew tobacco from the forties until the eighties.

- And I remember I was sort of like my son-in-law.

I was a young boy helping my father-in-law.

- And then that span in the late eighties to late nineties was cattle and hay.

And in late nineties and early two thousands is when we started converting everything to grapes.

- [Teresa] Stony Knoll planted the first grapes in 2001.

- [Jonah] 10 acres in total and nine varieties.

- [Teresa] And their tasting room was finished in 2003.

- Now to become a winery and a vineyard like it is today, that was a straight up learning curve right there.

Because see, when you grow tobacco, you get it to a certain point and take it to market.

You know, you finish.

Here when you get your grapes in, whew.

Boy, there's a lot of work to do.

Very good.

- [Teresa] The unique thing about Stony Knoll is that it's been a working farm in the same family for at least 100 years before Van and Kathy, there were four other generations that put their blood, sweat, and tears into this land, which is why the vineyard now has the distinction of being a North Carolina Century Farm.

- I wanted to acknowledge each one of those families.

So we had to legally do a title search.

And we have listed every one of those families since 1896 that owned this property.

And we know that they worked really hard.

I mean, we've got one wine named after one of them that their husband passed, and there was a woman left with four kids.

Granny Ardella, you know, we have our Ardella Blanc.

[soft music] - [Teresa] Another descendant of Granny Ardella is Patricia Coe Hoosier, Van's daughter and Jonah Hoosier's wife.

They're now the sixth generation positioned to take ownership of the land.

- I kind of laugh and tell people, you know, there's no pressure, but you do have a legacy and it is fulfilling to feel that you are part of that legacy.

- [Teresa] Jonah was in construction finance until 2019 when he decided to join the vineyard and winery full time.

- Jonah has come on.

He runs it all now.

He's digitized the tasting room, he's changed the winery, he's changed the vineyard, he's changed structures of different things that yields better to future.

So I'm very optimistic.

- [Teresa] In 2007, they also restored the old family log cabin built in the 1860s.

They call it the Wine Lodge and offer it as a vacation rental for guests.

It's another chapter in their family story they love to tell.

- You see, people come in and they're weathered by their day-to-day jobs.

They come out to the cabin, they're overlooking the vineyard.

They have a glass of wine sitting on the front porch.

And you kind of see all those troubles fade away.

- [Teresa] The lands always had that effect on its stewards and it's one reason Van wanted to be recognized as a North Carolina Century Farm and why he and the rest of the family want to share it with the world.

- This whole piece of property is like a memorial with a vineyard winery that has started on it to leverage the future of the property.

- Now that we have hopefully the seventh generation in line, there's just nothing better than that.

- So what is Stony Knoll?

It's your soul.

You know, you're here to say goodbye to a generation.

You're here to say hello to a generation.

It's quite a feat.

It's quite a feat.

[soft music] - Stony Knoll Vineyards is at 1143 Stony Knoll Road in Dobson, and they're open Monday and Thursday through Saturday from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM.

For more information, give them a call at [336] 374-5752, or go online to stonyknollvineyards.com.