Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/56967
VINEYARD Photo: Bill Russ, VisitNC.com SweetSuccess By Linda Murphy "Nothing could be fine-ah than muscadine from Carolina." hat's the sentiment of con- sumers who faithfully pur- chase North Carolina wines made from muscadine grapes. Four hundred years before the Old North State became known for tobacco, NASCAR, college basketball and the winery at the Biltmore Hotel in Asheville, there were muscadine vines, growing wild and so abun- dantly that European settlers wrote home about the wines they would produce from grapes that native Americans ate fresh from the vine, or dried for winter sustenance. Today muscadine grapes (Vitis rotundifolia), whose classic musky aromas and ultra-sweet flavors transfer to the wines produced from them, can be acquired tastes for the uninitiated, and are often assigned second-class status, as northern North Carolina wineries in the Western and Piedmont regions produce wines from Vitis vinifera grapes such as chardonnnay, mer- lot, cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon. Yet North Carolinians have grown up drinking sweet and semi- sweet muscadines and Scupper- nongs (a muscadine cultivar), and a good portion of the state's wine industry remains dedicated to satis- fying those palates. AT A GLANCE North Carolina muscadines satisfy Southern palates 58 VINEYARD & WINERY MANAGEMENT MAR - APR 2012 The muscadine cultivar Scupper- nong is the first grape to produce wine in the United States. Muscadines tolerate the warm, humid conditions of southeastern North Carolina. Duplin Winery is the world's larg- est muscadine maker. Health benefits of muscadine grapes have become major selling points. Muscadines are also used in juices, jellies, dietary supplements and skin care products. WWW.VWM-ONLINE.COM