Cloer Winery

🍇 Winery Walkthrough: Cloer Family Vineyards

A “Power Suits & Wine Boots” Field Note

📍 Location: Apex, North Carolina

🗓️ Date Visited: June 2025

👢 Boots on the Ground: Melissa & Freddy

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🌿 First Impressions:

Cloer Family Vineyards is the kind of place that instantly invites you to slow down and stay awhile. Nestled just outside Raleigh, this peaceful, family-owned vineyard charmed us from the moment we stepped out of the car.

The lush gardens were bursting with butterflies, fluttering from bloom to bloom like they owned the place. It felt whimsical and wild and grounded all at once — a perfect setting for sipping and dreaming.

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🐴 Horses, Butterflies & Unexpected Joys:

For Melissa, one of the biggest highlights was getting to pet the sweetest horses on the property. As lifelong horse lovers, it felt like such a meaningful moment — one of those small, quiet joys that stays with you long after the wine is gone.

Between the horses, the grazing sheep, and the abundance of butterflies everywhere you turned, Cloer felt more like a sanctuary than a tasting room. It reminded us of what we hope to build someday — a place that’s about more than just the wine.

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🍑 What We Sipped:

The Riesling absolutely stole our hearts. Bright, clean, and perfectly balanced — this wine hit all the right notes. With hints of peach and apricot, it was a beautiful summer pour: light enough to be refreshing but flavorful enough to keep us sipping.

We brought a bottle home… and honestly? We wish we had brought three.

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🧀 Pairing Vibe:

This Riesling was made for:

   •    Peach-glazed grilled chicken

   •    A shaded back porch and a breezy afternoon

   •    Soft cheeses, crusty bread, and nowhere to be

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🛋️ The Experience:

This is the kind of vineyard that reminds you why you love wine. Not for labels or prestige — but for moments like this. Quiet, real, joy-filled. Cloer doesn’t try to impress you. It just welcomes you.

And sometimes, that’s more powerful than anything fancy.

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💡 What We Took With Us:

   •    A renewed love for Riesling (especially when done this well)

   •    A few peaceful moments we didn’t realize how much we needed

   •    A deeper understanding of the kind of vineyard we’d love to create — one full of beauty, family, animals, and calm

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❤️ Would We Go Back?

Absolutely. Again and again. For the wine, for the horses, for the butterflies — and for the reminder that simple can be stunning.