CityView Magazine

FEATURE NC Wines are good to give, and even better to receive Perfect Pour Carolina boasts some of the nation's most popular wines, so you won't even have to look outside the Tarheel State to find a fantastic bottle for every meal and for everyone on your list. "We've come back to our roots," said Sheree Beck-Lopez, Y the owner of Bob & Sheree's Beer and Wine Shoppes. "The first cultivated grapes in the nation were found here in North Carolina. The mother vine on Roanoke Island is the oldest known vine in the United States. This is our history." There are more than 400 individually owned grape vine- yards spread across the state, producing wines from both the state's native Muscadine grapes and the European-style vin- ifera grapes, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Syrah, Chardonnay and Viognier. "Most people who come to North Carolina think we're just Muscadine and Scuppernong," Beck-Lopez said. "Pinot Noir is difficult to grow in North Carolina, but the Yadkin Valley really does all the other grapes well, any are a good bet. Our Merlots will stand up against anyone's and our Cabernets now stand on their own two feet, as well." The European-style grapes grow best in the Western and Piedmont regions of the state, while the Muscadine grapes 46 | Food & Wine • 2011 BY REBEKAH SANDERLIN ou'll eat, you'll drink and you'll, no doubt, be merry throughout the holiday season, but what will you drink? And what will you give to your friends who like to drink? Fortunately, North grow best here in their native Sandhills. Though many people associate North Carolina wines with only the sweet Musca- dines, 65 percent of the wines produced in the state are made from European grapes, like Cabernets and Chardonnays. In fact, the Biltmore Winery, on the grounds of the Biltmore Es- tate (see page 30) in Asheville, primarily produces wine from European style grapes and is the most visited winery in the United States, drawing more than one million guests each year. Statewide, winemaking is a $1.28 billion industry that provides jobs for about 7,600 people. History Not only are North Carolina's wines popular, but they're aged in tradition, according to the state Department of Com- merce, Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development. North Carolina is the home of the nation's first cultivated wine grape, the Scuppernong, which was discovered in 1524 right here in the Cape Fear River Valley by French explorer Giovanni de Verrazano. The first account of these grapes occurs in the logbook of Verrazano, who wrote that he saw many vines growing naturally that "without a doubt would yield excellent wines." "Scuppernong is Muscadine," Beck-Lopez said. "It's a hy- brid. Carlos, Magnolia, Sterling, Nesbitt and Noble are all cultivars of Muscadine."

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