Wineries

Believe it or not, North Carolina, the largest tobacco producing state in the nation, is also the twelfth largest wine producing state. In fact, the earliest explorers from Europe called America “Vinland” because of the profusion of grape vines they found growing here. Our friend Giovanni de Verrazzano discovered grapes growing in the Cape Fear region in 1524 and reported that he saw “many vines growing naturally there that without doubt would yield excellent wines.”

The original wines produced in North Carolina were from the Scuppernong variety of muscadine grapes originally discovered by Sir Walter Raleigh’s colonists on Roanoke Island. The “mother vine” there has a trunk two feet thick and covers half an acre.

Initially just called the “big white grape,” cuttings from the mother vine were introduced into an area around Scuppernong, a small town in Washington County, and it became know thereafter as the Scuppernong. Wine making, which had long been a farm activity, saw its first commercial winery, Medoc Vineyard, in 1835, and by mid century, North Carolina was the leading wine producing state in the nation.

Unfortunately, the Civil War followed by Prohibition took its toll on wine making in North Carolina, and many of the vineyards declined. However, during the 50s and 60s, muscadine growth rebounded as did wine production. In recent years, wine producing in North Carolina has been so successful that while we had just 25 wineries in 2002, that number more than doubled to 55 by 2006, with more on the way.

Pressing The Flesh

For those of you interested in pressing the flesh – of the grape, that is – three wineries are located within an hour of Wilmington and offer tours of their facilities.

To the north, just off I-40 in Rose Hill, Duplin Winery produces an unusual variety of wines that don’t exactly fall into old-fashioned conventional wine categories. With names like Bald Head Red, Blackberry, Scuppernong (the oldest wine made in America), Almondage Champagne, Carlos and Carolina Red, Duplin Winery produces wines that are a bit off the beaten path of winemaking.

As the oldest winery in North Carolina and the largest muscadine grape winery in the world, Duplin Winery produces nearly 200,000 cases of wine per year. Pressing grapes from 43 growers in three states for their wines, Duplin also uses the magnolia and scuppernong grapes from their own vineyards to produce their estate wines, Midnight Magnolia and Beaufort Bay. Those wines plus Hatteras Red, Magnolia, Pink Magnolia and Scuppernong Blush have received gold, bronze, silver and double gold awards.

Bannerman Vineyard and Winery is located in Burgaw, the county seat of Pender County. The Bannermans began cultivating grapes in 1973 and added a small winery more recently. In addition to numerous wines made with muscadine grapes, newer wines are offered, including NC Strawberry and NC Peach wines. For those who prefer wines on the dryer side, Bannerman also offers Airlie White Oak and Airlie Red Oak varieties. The Bannermans support the two seasonal Farmers Markets in the area; they are at Poplar Grove Plantation on Highway 17 North on Wednesday and at Wilmington’s Riverfront market on Saturday.

Silver Coast Winery is located west of Wilmington and a bit north of U.S. Highway 17 near Ocean Isle Beach. Situated on 40 acres of vineyard surrounded by lush woods, Silver Coast produces about 10,000 cases of wine per year. The winery offers tours of their facility that take you from the vineyard to the bottles in the wine cellar.

Silver Coast wines may be sampled in their lovely tasting room and are available for purchase by the glass or by the bottle. The winery has picnic grounds for their visitors plus an art gallery showcasing works by local artists.