Fun-seekers take note! If you haven’t been to Cardinal Road yet, you’re in for a treat.
“Brewing” for over a decade, a fun new vibe has arrived on Cardinal Road. Here, a winery, a distillery and a brewery have sprung up, remaking this area into a novel destination for fun-seekers. It is a walkable three-stop-shop to taste, learn about the creation of wine, beer and spirits and enjoy!
Located near the airport amongst essential businesses, Cardinal Road is still a cog in the wheel of Hilton Head Island’s small business scene. These local trades make a big difference in the quality of life on Hilton Head: exterior and interior design services uphold the unique character of the Island, while behind-the-scenes services ensure that your vacation spaces are clean, free of pests and exquisitely landscaped. This is also where you’d go to fix your car, bike or computer.
Cardinal Road’s transformation began in 2006.
At that time, my husband and I owned a winery in NJ. We decided to open a second in our favorite vacation spot — Hilton Head Island. We wanted to apply our successful formula of making classic wines from fresh grapes purchased from renowned vineyards. At the same time, we wanted to experiment with the creation of unique wines made from local fruits. However, Hilton Head Island’s zoning laws (rightly) offered few opportunities for this type of operation.
Island Winery finally found a home on Cardinal Road. Then, in 2015, the folks at Hilton Head Distillery also found Cardinal Road an ideal location for their venture, and to our delight, set up shop right next door! They were looking to create signature, locally-crafted products, and they’ve done it. Hilton Head Distillery offers educational tours about the distilling process, and tastings of their delicious products, which include vodka, gin, aged and flavored whiskey and rum.
2015 was a big year for us.
Hilton Brewing Company, a popular Island destination for over a decade, decided to relocate their business as well. They settled in just a few doors down. They recently added an outdoor dining area with TVs tuned to your favorite events. New taps for a total of 16 brews in their tasting room. Plus, they offer scrumptious and celebrated BBQ. So, while you’re enjoying wine, spirits and beer on Cardinal Road, you can be sure you have a place to fill up on a satisfying meal. Hilton Head Brewing Company’s beers are also found on tap at many local restaurants and their cans are sold in all the major grocery stores.
We are excited to announce that the Cardinal Road experience will get even better this summer! In July, we will be moving Island Winery into a building that we built. The new space reminds us of our first winery on Westfall Farm in NJ. This new location, right across the street from Hilton Head Distillery, will feature outdoor patio seating and a park-like area, where you can picnic while enjoying our wines, and we look forward to hosting live music events in the near future.
We will continue to offer wines for all tastes.
These include crisp white wines, oak-aged red wines and our Low Country Specialty Wines, including Peach on the Beach, Margarita Wine and our signature sangria wine, Southern Passion. This summer, come enjoy our seasonal specialties. We offer Raspberry Honey Wine crafted from local honey and raspberries. And, our Blueberry and Blackberry Wines, made from 100% freshly harvested berries.
For those of you who haven’t come to see us yet, there is no better time to venture off the beaten path to discover the new face of Cardinal Road!
By Georgene Mortimer, Island Winery
The perfect bottle of hand-crafted artisan wine awaits at Island Winery on Cardinal Road. Wine by the glass, cheese platters and tastings are available Monday-Saturday from 12:30-5:30 p.m. and Sunday from 12-4 p.m. (843) 842-3141 or www.islandwinery.com.