Our Story

FernCrest Winery

FernCrest Winery Tasting Room is open in downtown Andrews. We have a large space as well as our outdoor Courtyard.

FernCrest Winery and Tasting Room are family owned and operated by Jan and Kurt Olson. The name FernCrest is based on the house and winery being on the crest of a hill in the Snowbird Mountains and Kurt growing ferns from spores and being able to identify wild ferns on sight. Our logo is a family crest with a fern and fiddlehead.  The top of the crest is a representation of the Snowbird Mountains. All our wines are named after Ferns.

We have wines that are dry to sweet so there is something for every taste. We started as home wine makers using wine making kits. We bought our first grapes to make wine in 2007 from a vineyard in North Georgia. 

In the Snowbird Mountains above the Western Carolina Regional Airport, we planted a small vineyard of Chardonel, Vidal Blanc and Cynthiana grape vines in 2010. We began making wine from them in 2013.  Both the 2013 Chardonel and 2013 Vidal Blanc won Gold medals at the Wine Maker's Magazine's International Amateur Competition in 2014.  

We have partnered with 7 vineyards in the local area, North Georgia, and western North Carolina to purchase their grapes to make great wines. Blackberries are picked each season in Andrews and the blueberries are from an organic farm in NC.

Kurt's wine consistently wins medals. We won Double Gold for our Ghost Lady White made from Seyval Blanc grapes grown in Cherokee County (in 2022), Lace White made from Cayuga White grapes from our Upper Hiwassee Highlands American Viticulture Area in N. Georgia (in 2019), and Fiddlehead Red made from Cabernet Franc, Mourvedre and Arendal blend from Reems Creek (in 2024), Gold for your Appalachian Pink, Catawba grapes grown in Andrews and Silver for our Southern Lady White a Chardonel we grow and get from Reems Creek at the 2022 NC State Fair. Our Vidal Blanc won a Gold medal and our Chardonel and Cynthiana won Silver medals at the 2016 Asheville Wine and Food Festival. Our Vidal Blanc won another Gold and our Chardonel won Silver at the NC State Fair 2016. Other vintages of Vidal Blanc and Cynthiana won Silver and Chardonel won Bronze at the NC State Fair 2018. Our blackberry/blueberry wine won a bronze medal at the 2017 NC State Fair.  We won Bronze for our Dry Cynthianna grown in Cherokee County NC in 2019. 

Come and experience our wines for yourself. 

We are looking forward to seeing you soon.