| Carolina on My Mind: The Great Grapes Wine Festival | | | | By: Eve White |  Page 1 of 3 next >> |
The smell of food wafting in the air, the sound of upbeat rhythms from the white-canopied bandstand, and the taste of North Carolina wine await on the lush green expanse known as Symphony Park. Welcome to The Great Grapes Wine, Arts & Food Festival in Charlotte, North Carolina, an all day consumer tasting where North Carolina wines are showcased against a backdrop of cooking demos, food booths, crafts and the laid-back music of jazz and blues.
The white tents dot the park-like setting and although the ground is soggy from a few days of heavy rain, it does not dampen the spirits of wine lovers making their way across the manicured lawn, to buy local artwork, grab a bite to eat and sample the fruit of the vine. Eager tasters line up in front of the tents of nineteen participating North Carolina wineries pouring at Great Grapes Festival, chatting with the owners and winemakers about their vineyards and their wines, and most hail from the AVA (American Viticulture Area) known as Piedmont, North Carolina. The rich clay soil of Piedmont, where tobacco was the cash crop for so many years, now produces a variety of grapes from Chardonnay to Cabernet and Mourvedre to Muscadine – the staple of North Carolina grape growers.
Muscadine, though often maligned, is an integral part of the history of wine in this region. The abundant muscadine grape fueled the early growth of the wine trade centuries ago. The earliest accounts of wild grapes in North Carolina came from explorers in the 16th century and 100 years later colonists remarked on the profusion of muscadine varieties, and made them into wine.
The perfumed air of the native scuppernong grape, a muscadine variety, enchanted centuries of winemakers in North Carolina history. A key figure was Sidney Weller who wrote pivotal articles on viticulture, encouraging every able citizen to grow the prolific grape, and whose Medoc Vineyards led the country in wine production in 1840. Later Paul Garrett, the businessman who turned winemaking into a profitable venture, took his wines to the Paris Exposition and returned with medals attesting to the success of Carolina viticulture.
In spite of early success, devastating losses plagued the North Carolina wine industry over the years, causing this once thriving wine region to rebuild twice in the last two centuries. Consider that in 1800, over 25 working wineries flourished in the area, but as recently as 1970, only two wineries still existed in North Carolina. The Civil War destroyed the land and vineyards, bringing the industry to its knees. And the subsequent suppression by Northern leaders killed any hope of revitalization until the early 1900’s, when the industry showed signs of resurgence, only to collapse again in the 1930’s under the force of Prohibition.
Today North Carolina winemakers predict steady growth, with over 45 wineries in existence. Even so, by industry standards the Piedmont, North Carolina AVA is still very young, and many of the local wineries are less than 5 years old. Muscadine is still produced by many winemakers, but the noble “vitis vinifera” (European vines) dominate the vineyards, and below are a few of the festival wines and participating wineries that are uniquely North Carolina.
At Rag Apple Lassie Vineyards, in Boonville, the cow jumped over the moon, or perhaps it just sat there, sipping a glass of wine. This whimsical Holstein (for you city-slickers, a Holstein is a black and white cow) is the namesake for the winery and was once the boyhood “Grand Champion” of winery-owner Frank Hobson. Frank and his wife Jenna work with winemaker Linda King, to produce award-winning varietals, and are one of the few wineries outside of California ever selected as finalist for “Best New US Winery” by The Wine Appreciation Guild in San Francisco. The 2003 Chardonnay is pleasing, with fragrant fruit and light acidity, for a mellow glass of wine with regional appeal. The Cabernet exhibits currant and berry with a hint of vanilla and a smooth finish for its youth.
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