Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/528216
S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S 7 4 as this is being written, a new hotel is under construction adjacent to the winery, the outdoor center, and shops in Antler Hill Village. A classic 1900s English style cottage is also available. For more information, rates and reservations, call (800) 411-3812 or visit www.biltmore.com. O n a recent Saturday I visited Biltmore for Target & Taste, a seasonal event that would have more than pleased Mr. Vanderbilt. The shooters checked in at a remodeled farm named for its last tenant, Jones, an estate worker. Some guests, including a young woman who'd never fired a shotgun and her dad, headed for lessons on the teaching 5-stand range. Later I would see her break a bird on the Vineyard course much to her and her father's obvious joy. Other shooters, more confident or untutored perhaps, made a beeline for Woodland's tougher traps. That afternoon, as billows of gray clouds thick with moisture began to fill the April sky, staff from the estate's restaurants spread an array of heavy hors d'oeuvres on the farmhouse porch. No one passed up the duck confit, juniper smoked elk loin, or roast quail. Vintages from Biltmore's cellar—a Gewurztraminer and Chardonnay from the estate's reserve stocks as well as an excellent Napa Valley syrah and a reserve cabernet were served. Targets first, then tastes is always the rule of the day. IF YOU WANT TO GO Shooting lessons and rounds of sporting clays can be arranged through Biltmore's Outdoor Adventure Center, as can float trips, fly fishing, horseback riding, and off-roading. Shotgunners who live in the Southern Appalachians may want to join the sporting clays club and thus receive deep discounts. Others might consider spending a couple of nights at any of the inns on the estate. The Inn on Biltmore is legendary for luxurious accommodations, and Most shotgunners prefer to walk the graveled lanes that thread Biltmore's two sporting clays courses, though carts are available for shooters and their gear.