The Vineyard at High Holly

Written By: Luke Osteen | Issue: April 2025 | Photograph By: Susan Renfro

Tricia and I were excited when Marjorie sent us to The Vineyard at High Holly for a mid-March meal, a return visit after a year-and-a-half absence.

Here’s what a wrote back then in the barely remember year of 2023:

“Here in the 21st century, Lesley and Eric Galloway have opened an expansive retreat on the edge of Scaly Mountain, just up from Sky Valley – The Vineyard at High Holly.

“This breathtaking getaway began working its magic immediately upon arrival – a rolling vineyard; vistas of ridges in shades of emerald, edging into blues and purples, and a landscape dotted with charming cabins, a farmhouse looking like it was lifted from Amboise in the Loire Valley, and a restored 1890 cottage.”

We couldn’t wait to see what our friends (more on that later) had delivered in the intervening year-and-a-half.

Some things were exactly as we remembered – that absolutely enchanting vineyard (now producing – they just uncorked their own rosé last month); the fire pits scattered across the property, inviting both lively conversation and quiet contemplation; and the historic cabins decorated in Mountain Chic style.

But the centerpiece of this visit was the expansive dining room/ballroom, with its broad bar at its center and the cozy seating vignettes on the fringes of the building overlooking the vineyard.

We’d come for a late lunch and the scene was set for languid dining.

We were welcomed back by Lesley – that’s right, though we hadn’t seen her in a year-and-a-half, she instantly recognized us and called us by name. Concierge-level service.

True to our natures, Tricia and I immediately focused on our menus – she to the expansive cocktail choices and the vast, carefully-curated wine list; me to the food possibilities.

She ended up with the Mimosa Collection.

Being a spirits novice, I had no idea what a Mimosa Collection could be, and I surmised that it was a large sifter loaded with an improbable sluice of different varieties of this brunch staple.

Once more, reality far overmatched my imagination – the Mimosa Collection was a bouquet of four champagne flutes vertically arrayed upon a metal form like a Rob Lorenson sculpture on loan from The Bascom. A dazzling presentation. But of course, that artistry would have all the value of a Slushie from the Kwik-E Mart if the four mimosas – a classic concoction, a peach bellini, a cranberry mimosa, and a strawberry mimosa – had been assembled with inattention and in haste.

But these were beauties of the purest pedigrees and I simply couldn’t resist Tricia’s repeated imprecations to just take a sip.

Well, I didn’t take a sip – I took four sips, and later, two large gulps.

Then our food arrived.

I ended up with the Chicken Tenders with Fries. I know you’re thinking that this is something of a lost opportunity as you read this, but come on – for me this is comfort food of the highest order, the heart knows what it wants and needs!

Let’s turn our attention to Tricia’s Choice – the American Wagyu Cheese Burger with Fries.

You may be saying to yourself, “C’mon, Chicken Tenders and a Cheeseburger?!”

Again, we were in the mood for dishes that would smooth our ruffled feathers, and this Cheeseburger was of a higher order. Make that the highest order!

It was built upon Wagyu Beef raised just down the road at Providence Farmstead in Otto. If you’re any sort of local foodie, you know that the Russell Family have quickly established themselves as the purveyors of quality beef and, thanks to their herd of Jersey cattle, incredibly rich and delicious dairy products.

So anyway, our meal was delicious and deeply satisfying on a physical level, but strangely, that’s not the emotional core of our visit.

Instead, I’d invite you to get to know the men and women who attended to us that golden afternoon – Lelsey, of course, (and her husband Eric, who managed to stop by our table for a moment while attending to a full day of chores), Michelle, Abigail, and Don. They’re the animating spirit of this enterprise and their good spirits are relentless.

These are all qualities that make The Vineyard at High Holly unique and to those looking for an escape or interlude or looking to start a new life together (thinking of those wedding parties that flock to The Vineyard at High Holly).