Made In Tennessee: Century Farms Winery

“It began as a retirement hobby for my mom and step-father and it kind of got out of control.”

The owners of Century Farms Winery started growing grapes in 2003.

“It kept growing and growing and we’ve expanded three times now.”

Bart Horton runs the day to day operations for Century Farms.

He and his family moved back to West Tennessee last year to help his mother and step father run the winery because of how much it has grown over the past fifteen years.

For Bart, one of his favorite aspects of running the winery is interacting with the customers and helping learn more about the wine.

“I’ve got a bit of a culinary background, so for me, it is really interesting and fun to pair foods with the wines and to explain to people what I would recommend go with each one of the wines.”

And by the time grapes here at century farm winery go from wine to vine, they can be worked on by the whole family.

“We have four generations currently that are involved. From my grandfather who is 98 this year to my children, who the youngest is eleven, when we bottle you could have four generations involved in the operation at one time.”

Horton says a big component of the winery’s growth and success over the years has been location.

“For us, part of the success has been the location. We’re not far from i-40, we get a lot of visitors throughout the week off i-40 between Memphis and Nashville.”

To keep up with demand for their product, Horton says they are looking into opening a new store or two.

“One of the things we are really looking into is remote or satellite tasting rooms whether that be Nashville or Memphis.”

Century Farms Winery will be one of many West Tennessee wineries participating in this weekend’s Toast of Jackson Wine and Art Festival.

If you have an idea for our Made in Tennessee series, let us know.

Send us an email, news@wnbjtv.com.