Why is a Northeast Ohio Winey Mom writing about North Carolina wine? Stay with me here, there is a good reason for my focus on that state. You see, a few weeks ago, my Winey nest emptied out as the Winey Daughter headed south to start college. Yes, her school of choice is in North Carolina. So now I have a vested interest (not to mention a sizeable financial deposit) in that lovely state. For the record, she chose an amazing school (Elon University – Go Phoenix!) that has everything she wanted. But I truly believe that the fact that North Carolina is below the Mason-Dixon line and thus somewhat immune to the brutal Northeast Ohio winters like the one we just survived was a big factor in her decision. She was accepted at two very wonderful Ohio schools but noooooo…she wanted the south. (She also outright rejected the idea of even applying to The Winey Hubby’s and my alma mater because it is in – brrrrrr – Chicago. We are coping.)
And thus we come to wine, because the state of North Carolina has over 100 vineyards and wineries. Yup, that many. The vineyards plant many of the well-known varietals (Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot), but they also plant a muscadine grape called Scuppernong. This is important because Scuppernong was the very first grape grown here in the United States and is the official fruit of North Carolina. 1 You gotta love a state that has a wine grape as its official fruit, don’t you?
So of course, in honor of the Winey Daughter’s new adventure, I went in search of some North Carolina wine before we left to drive home. Unfortunately, I did so on a Sunday and you can’t buy wine until noon in North Carolina. By noon, we were in Virginia (the Winey Hubby is nothing if not a “speedy” driver). Luckily, you can find North Carolina wines right here in Cleveland. I chose to try Scuppernong (because it’s so much fun to say) and found one from 
Duplin Winery (NV, 12%, North Carolina). Duplin is the largest and oldest winery in the state, and is also the world’s largest producer of Muscadine wine. 1
This is such a fragrant wine! Like breathing pure apple blossoms. The first taste when you sip it is white grapes and honey and some sweet apple. There is something like a line of minerality running through the wine, which ends in a bit of green apple. This is a sweet wine, but it doesn’t feel overly thick and syrupy, like some sweet wines do. And this is a good thing, as far as I’m concerned.
Duplin suggests that you serve this wine very chilled, and, it does taste very nice cold. But, with all of the apple and honey flavors it’s got going on, I’m going to go out on a grapevine here (not a limb, this is a wine review, after all) and suggest that this would be a great wine to warm up and use in mulled wine now that fall is descending on Northeast Ohio. It’s widely available at grocery and wine stores for about $9 a bottle. Chill it for now, warm it for later and enjoy!
Check out my other wine reviews at The Winey Mom.
1 ©2014 North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
