carolina uncorked - Lake James Cellars

CAROLINA UNCORKED
Volume 2, Issue 3
Upcoming Events
Summer 2008
America’s oldest cultivated grapevine may have fed
colonists in 1584
August 28-September 1
Pinehurst Food & Wine Festival
The best of food and wine are at your
fingertips for this extraordinary epicurean feast. For more information, visit
www.pinehurstwinefest.com or call
(910) 235-8708.
The oldest grapevine in
America continues to bear
fruit for the Outer Banks,
where its sweet white
Scuppernong grapes are
found naturally nowhere
else.
September 12
Grape Day at the Raleigh
Farmer’s Market
Featuring free samples of wine, juice
and grape desserts. For more information, call (919) 733-7417.
On Tuesday, July 15,
Mother Vine Premium
Scuppernong Wine was
introduced to the world at
a ceremony on Roanoke
Island, where the Mother
Vine has been cultivated
dating back 400-plus
years. The first English
September 19-28
Biltmore’s Field to Table Festival
Asheville
Savor regional food and wine at this
new festival that features some of the
best names in the culinary world. For
more information call 1-800-Biltmore
or visit www.biltmore.com.
colony in the New World,
sponsored by Sir Walter Raleigh, landed on
Roanoke Island in 1584
and described “grapes of
such greatness, yet wild,
that France, Spain nor
Italy hath not greater.”
The Scuppernong variety
of Muscadine grape
Vitis rotundifolia is North
Carolina’s official state
fruit.
cultivated clippings, thinks
the heritage and biology
of the Mother Vine is
deserving of international
recognition.
David Fussell, whose
Duplin Winery is bottling the new wine from
For the complete story by
Aaron Tuell, visit
www.obsentinel.com.
Whether the vine was
planted by the first colonists, or indigenous Native
Americans, or developed
naturally and then was
cultivated, no one really
knows for sure.
September 27
Muscadine Harvest Festival
Kenansville
Featuring great music and more than
20 wineries! For more information, go
to www.muscadineharvestfestival.com.
For more
upcoming
events, check out
www.visitNCwine.com
Seated, from left, Jack Wilson, Andy Griffith, standing, Senator Fountain Odom and
Estelle Wilson all take pause to enjoy a little fruit of the vine.
2
Carolina Uncorked
Is it a Muscadine or a Scuppernong?
“One not only drinks
wine, one smells it, observes it, tastes it, sips it and
one talks about it.”
– King Edward VII
Hint: All Scuppernongs are Muscadines, but not all Muscadines are Scuppernongs.
Muscadine grapes are native to North Carolina and the southeastern United States.
These large, thick-skinned and seeded grapes grow in small, loose clusters and are often
harvested as individual berries. They can be bronze or black in color. The most well
known bronze variety, Scuppernong, was named the official state fruit in 2001.
Muscadine is a broad category of grape that includes many varieties of both bronze and
black grapes. Scuppernong is one of the bronze varieties included in the Muscadine
category.
Scuppernong is one of the oldest and most popular varieties, so the name is used to refer
to any bronze variety of Muscadine. There are now many other varieties of Muscadines
used in wine production and for fresh eating. So, call it a Muscadine when you’re uncertain of the variety. Some other popular varieties include:
Bronze - Scuppernong, Carlos, Magnolia, Fry, Triumph
Black - Noble, Nesbitt, Ison, Supreme
Pick Your Own Grapes This Summer
For those that want to experience the vineyard first-hand or are looking for a fun family
outing, you can visit a pick-your-own vineyard and harvest your grapes yourself. Grapes
will be ripe for picking in August and September. For a free brochure, call the N.C.
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services at (919) 733-7887.
Recipe Corner: Muscadine Grape Hull Pie
Ingredients:
5 cups Muscadine grapes, rinsed
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tbs. lemon juice
1 tbs. grated orange rind
pastry for 2-crust pie
2 tbs. margarine
Visit us on
the Web!
www.visitNCwine.com
Directions:
Separate pulp from skins. Set skins aside.
Boil pulp until seeds loosen, then press through a sieve to separate pulp from seeds.
Cook pulp with skins until tender.
Add sugar, flour, lemon juice, and orange rind. Mix well.
Put in pastry-lined 9-inch pie plate. Top with margarine.
Add top pastry. Seal edges and slit top.
Bake at 400 degrees about 40 minutes.
3
Summer 2008
Agent in Red Wine Found to Keep Hearts Young
A June 2008 study conducted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison reports that low doses of
resveratrol—a natural constituent of grapes, pomegranates, red wine and other foods—mimic the
effects of what is known as caloric restriction, which has been shown to extend lifespan and improve
cardiac health. Also, according to scientists, resveratrol has anti-cancer and cholesterol-reducing
properties.
“Wine maketh glad
the hearts of man.”
-Psalms 104:15
While the French eat a diet loaded with high-fat foods, they still have a lower incidence of heart
disease than other nationalities. Scientists are saying that the answer to this “French paradox” may
be found in red wine. In France, drinking a glass of red wine with dinner is a tradition.
Wines, particularly red wines, are a great source of resveratrol. A high concentration of resveratrol
is also found in Muscadine grapes, North Carolina’s state fruit. The new findings, according to
the report’s authors, provide strong evidence that red wine may improve quality of life as well as
cardiac function.
To read more about the findings and see related stories, go to
http://www.news.wisc.edu/releases/14546.
Study Provides Insights Into Winery Visitors
A wine tourism study conducted for the N.C. Wine and Grape Council by Appalachian State
University revealed that visitors to North Carolina wineries in 2007 tended to be middle-aged,
highly educated and have a higher than average household income. And they liked to spend
money at wineries, with purchases averaging $176 per travel party. The complete study, as well as
a PowerPoint summary, is available in the Marketing Tools section at www.nccommerce.com/wine.
Additional coverage of the N.C. Study can be found at the following site:
www.journalnow.com/content/2008/jul/02/study-profiles-visitors-to-nc-wineries.
WRAL’s Bill Leslie Wants to Hear From You
If you want to join in on the conversation selecting the best North Carolina wineries, visit Bill
Leslie’s Carolina Conversations column on WRAL.com. Give Mr. Leslie your recommendations
by submitting to his blog at http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/travel/blogpost/3107306.
North Carolina Wines in the News
“Though youth gave us love and
roses, age still leaves us friends
and wine.”
– Thomas Moore
North Carolina’s own News & Observer of Raleigh is getting the word out too. In the
April 20 edition of the Raleigh paper, the food editor Amber Nimocks said, “Start
drinking North Carolina wines in the coming months and someday you’ll be able to say
you remember when.” For more information and the full article by Amber Nimocks, visit
http://www.newsobserver.com/2773/story/1043587.html.
On July 5, the Charlotte Observer ran a piece on how the wine industry is growing in
Catawba Valley, North Carolina and the significant impact it’s having on the region.
While the manufacturing industries are fading, winemaking is increasing. With six wineries
clustered in western N.C. counties, this area is now poised to become one of North
Carolina’s wine producing regions.
Read the entire article at
http://www.charlotte.com/gaston/story/698634.html.
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N.C. Wine & Grape Council
N.C. D.epartment of Commerce
N.C. Division of Tourism, Film
& Sports Development
4324 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699
Phone: 919-715-WINE
Fax: 919-733-8582
Web: www.visitNCwine.com
Carolina Uncorked
Wine Word of the Quarter
The wine word of the quarter is resveratrol, a natural compound in the skins of red grapes. Its
presence in red wine has been linked to health benefits such as fighting cancer, aging and heart
disease. The most famous of these studies is the “French Paradox ,” which hypothesized that the
inhabitants of southern France who enjoyed foods high in saturated fat still had a relatively low
incidence of heart disease because they consumed moderate amounts of red wine daily. You can
find more definitions in Natalie MacLean’s wine glossary at www.nataliemaclean.com.
Why is Wine So Costly?
“Penicillin may cure human beings, but it is wine
that makes them happy.”
– Sir Alexander Fleming
According to The Classic Wines Newsletter, wine is costly because of the expenses involved in
marketing, producing, utilities, facilities, and shipping. For example, complicated shipping laws mean
that wineries usually pay for overnight shipping charges as well as state-based licenses. Wine Mogul
Kasey Carpenter gives the breakdown costs of making wine in his two-part series, “Breaking Down
the Cost.” For more information, go to
http://www.classicwines.com/articles/breaking-down-the-cost-part-i-1
Recommended Reads
Angels, Thieves, and Winemakers
By Joseph Mills
Press 53
Looking for a different way to think about your wine? Look no
further. Winston-Salem author Joseph Mills provides original
poems about wine in his book, Angels, Thieves and Winemakers. According to the North Carolina Wine Journal, readers
will find it evident how much this N.C. native loves wine.
The mission of the
North Carolina Wine
& Grape Council
is to facilitate
development of North
Carolina’s grape
and wine industries
by enhancing product
quality for consumers,
and encouraging
economic viability
and opportunity
for growers and
processors through
education, marketing
and research.
What to Drink with What You Eat: The Definitive Guide to
Pairing Food with Wine, Beer, Spirits, Coffee, Tea - Even
Water - Based on Expert Advice from America’s Best Sommeliers
By Andrew Dornenburg, Karen Page, Michael Sofronski
These award-winning authors truly believe that the finest food and
drink pairings will yield the best experiences. By enlisting the help of
over seventy experts including famous chefs and sommeliers, the book
becomes a resource for knowledgeable and educational advice. The
pairings are based on more than traditional pairings that solely offer
guidelines for specific types of food; these pairings are based on food
type, time of day, characteristics, seasons and personal moods. There
is also the reverse match that provides the drink, then the food that will
present a mouth-watering experience. Although the focus is wine and
food pairings, they do not limit their advice; this book reaches to other
beverage types by including matches for tea, coffee, beer, spirits and
water.
Adapted from www.amazon.com