North Carolina vs. Virginia

I have two homes - Virginia and North Carolina. It amazes me how much these two states are alike and so different. When it comes to wine, no doubt Virginia is the up-and-comer in the United States. Just today, a posting on www.virginiawine.com lists DuCard Vineyards for its new winery sneak peek. Virginia will never overcome its mysterious wine aura that so many California wineries don't have to worry about as they chuck out fruit bombs left and right for the mass market. "Wine from Virginia?! Who ever heard of such a thing. California? Okay."

On a tour of Chatham Hill Winery located outside of Cary, North Carolina, our guide not once mentioned Virginia. Instead, we were told North Carolina was the up-and-comer, just shy of 100 wineries. As a new resident of North Carolina, I find this fascinating though I must say I tend to scoff at North Carolina wine. The other night I had Scuppernong and was put into a sugar shock (literally I fell asleep for several minutes). Scuppernong is a native grape found in the Eastern parts, specifically Roanoke Island where the colonists discovered it in the 1500s. Virginia has its Norton (later post about that to come), North Carolina has its Scuppernong (the official fruit of North Carolina, by the way). The fact that Virginia and North Carolina have native grapes that can be turned into wine is amazing. California can't claim that.

North Carolina wineries offer up a lot of fruit-based wines, which appeals to the mass market. It works. People buy it. But for these two states to be taken seriously as wine-producing states, a hit-em-dead Merlot or Voignier is needed. Virginia has already achieved this to some degree (though more work is needed). North Carolina not so much. Now that the vines are ready in the Yadkin Valley of North Carolina, I think we will see some sensational varietals and blends in the future. North Carolina has a lot of catching up to do, but just like a good bottle of wine, give it time. Give it time.