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Mad about muscadine

By Paul Tambasco
News Editor

Seated at the bar, Judy LaRocque, 52, swirls a couple ounces of white wine in a glass, eyes it and then takes a sip.

Red muscadines have roots in North Carolina dating back 400 years. In the late 1980s, commercial production of the grape bottomed out before picking up again in the last decade. PAUL TAMBASCO, GCNT

“Ooh, that’s good,” she says. Suddenly, she looks perplexed. “I like white wine.”

She and an out-of-town friend burst with laughter at the discovery.

From behind the bar, Joyce Adams, co-owner of Adams Vineyards in Willow Spring, looks pleased, though not surprised.

Joyce and her husband, John, savor this part of owning a muscadine winery: the moment a customer tries the ultra-sweet grape and embraces its unique taste.

“The customers are really taken aback if they’ve never tasted it before,” Joyce said.

In September, the Adams celebrated the business’s first year. Their winery specializes in making products from the muscadine grape, a large, thick-skinned species first cultivated more than 400 years ago by the inhabitants of Roanoke Island.

Watch the video: Adams Vineyards is ‘on the fringe’

Despite its long history, the grape is mostly unknown outside of the South East. Those who’ve heard of it opine that its wines are overly sweet, created for taste buds raised on sweet tea. Other descriptions had been harsher.

“One of the descriptors I’ve heard for the wine is ‘turpentine’,” said Connie Fisk, who researches the grape at N.C. State University. “That’s not going to sell a lot of wine.”

In state, the grape enjoys a better reputation, Fisk says.

Fisk serves as an advisor for the N.C. Muscadine Grape Association, an organization that works with state agriculture and commerce officials to promote the grape to the public.

The healthy side of wine

What is selling muscadine wine is an increasing interest in its health benefits.

Popular in the 1970s, muscadine production dropped over the next two decades as the market became saturated, and selling prices slipped. In the last decade, however, the grape has seen a renaissance among growers. In 2002 about 400 acres of muscadines were grown in North Carolina. In seven years, commercial production has ballooned to 1,500 acres.

“It is definitely on the rise,” Fisk said.

New viticulturists like the Adamses, who used to grow tobacco, saw an opportunity and jumped in feet first.

Like other red wines, muscadines have high levels of resveratrol, an antioxidant which research suggests helps protect blood vessels in the heart. Muscadine wines also have greater antioxidant activity than vinifera wines, like Merlot and Chardonnay, Fisk said. Several studies are under way to determine the specific health benefits of consuming muscadines.

A couple of nutraceutical companies have also launched in the state. They make nutritional supplements from the grape’s seeds and skins, which are discarded during winemaking and contain most of the healthful compounds. The Adamses sell some of these products at the winery and are considering producing their own.

A lifelong pursuit

John opted to grow muscadines because he’s been familiar with them since childhood. The grapes grew wildly in the woods near his home, and he picked them for his mother to make muscadine jelly. When he got older, he made homemade wine, giving away what he didn’t keep.

Muscadines are also well-suited to conditions in Wake County. The grape’s vines are resistant to Pierce’s disease, a bacterium which is carried by insects prevalent in eastern and central North Carolina and is deadly to vinifera vines. As a result, most muscadine production is concentrated there.

The Adamses own the county’s only commercial vineyard. Though startup costs are high, Fisk believes the Adamses may soon have some company.

In the meantime, the couple is focused on making good wine, without the snobbery associated with other wines.

“It is something with a flavor that is meant to enjoy,” John said.

Fisk agrees. She says muscadine wineries are targeting mainstream customers. Many facilities are doubling as social hubs, which host jazz shows, corn mazes or other community events. Adams Vineyards recently held a grape stomp and a corn hole tournament.

“[Their marketing] is about hanging out with friends and going to the beach, rather than something more pretentious,” Fisk said.

Fisk and the Adamses hope the wine continues to sneak up on the average consumer.

Some, like LaRocque, have had epiphanies already.

“I thought I wasn’t into muscadines or the fruity, sweeter wines. All of a sudden, I realized they are great during the summer,” she said. “You don’t want anything too heavy.”

Adams Vineyards
3390 John Adams Road
Willow Spring, NC 27592
919-567-1010
adamsvineyards.com
Winery tours: Saturdays, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Tasting room, wine bar and gift shop: Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Related articles:

• Tobacco buyout refresher
• Video: Adams Vineyards is ‘on the fringe’
• Video: Winemaking 101

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