Wine connoisseurs assert that novice tasters should never pair red wine with fish, white wine with red meat, or excessive wine with jury duty. Lap up today's Groupon in moderate proportions: for $10, you get $20 worth of wine and more at Mountain Valley Winery in Pigeon Forge.

Members of the Tennessee Farm Winegrowers Association, Mountain Valley Winery's grape-stomping entrepreneurs bottle internationally inspired vintages with the fruits of local vineyards. The winery took home nine Wines of the South Awards in 2010, with winners including gold medalist loganberry, silver medalists blackberry and collier reserve, and honorable mention frankenberry.

Peruse well-stocked shelves of bottled house wines, with sippable mainstays such as chardonnay ($14.49) and merlot ($15.49), or pluck freshly ripened fruit wines, including mountain berry ($13.99). All wines are available by the bottle, by the case, or as members of mix-and-match six-packs ($66) and 12-packs ($132).

Mountain Valley's gift shop also houses a crew of vino-friendly comestibles, with cheese, crackers, spreads, and other Tennessee farm products ready for pairings with fine-wine selections. Due to the vintner's insistence on carbonating each bottle one bubble at a time, today's Groupon may not be used toward sparkling wines.

Oenophiles can take advantage of complimentary tastings and tours of winemaking facilities, located under one roof at the winemaker's German-inspired, rotunda-style building. Visitors during bottling season might catch glimpses of crafters shepherding vintages into new glass homes or harvesting stoppers from nearby cork bushes.

Reviews

Forty Yahoo! Travelers give Mountain Valley Vineyards an average of four stars. Twenty-five TripAdvisors give it an average of three owl eyes, and Catchwine reviewers recommend it.

• definitely don't miss out on taking home bottles of the Blackberry wine. – Yahoo! Traveler who posted on 4/23/09
• I have tried wines from many different wineries and from all over and I was so amazed at what I found at Mountain Valley Winery. – kimminswinetime, TripAdvisor