In December of 2009, Phil and Lydia Butler George decided it was time to go home. With aspirations of turning their love for great wine into the reality of a vineyard and winery for all to enjoy, what better place to make this happen than the heart of Middle Tennessee where the wine industry was beginning to make great strides in producing quality and award-winning wines. So they came home to the place where they both were raised – Lewisburg, Tennessee. Back in the spring of 1950, Phil’s parents, Macklin and Elinor George bought a 90 acre farm on South Berlin Road outside of Lewisburg. These gently rolling hills with two meandering creeks, woodlots of oak, hickory, and cedar trees, and some pasture and crop land were a fine place to raise a family. The most unique feature of this farm was the old abandoned railroad bed running east to west across the property. Some sixty years later, that farm which had once been tended for corn, tobacco, and hay would now serve as the home of Pickers Creek Winery. Their vision for Pickers Creek was to combine elements of things that make life more enjoyable – great music, art, and wine. They purchased the remaining acreage from Phil’s parents (who still make their home on the south end of the original property) and built a venue for tasting delicious wines while showcasing Lydia’s mosaics and paintings along with paintings by Phil’s sister, Janet White, and other local artists. Phil’s brother David created the stained glass that is the centerpiece of the tasting room. A visit to Pickers Creek will provide the opportunity to listen to plenty of great live music while sampling wines produced from Cabernet Sauvignon, Chambourcin, Muscadine, and other grapes that flourish in the Tennessee climate. With names like “Harmony” (a Chambourcin and Cabernet Sauvignon blend), “Tennessee Twang” (made from southern Muscadine grapes ) and Blackberry Blues (a sweet berry wine), a tasting at Pickers Creek is like having the old Charlie Daniels Volunteer Jam in your mouth (without the taste of reefer, whiskers, Leon Russell, or fiddle bow rosin.)
