Usually, when people think about American wines they think of California or the Finger Lakes region of New York, certainly not the Carolinas. However, far from being a newcomer to the wine table, North Carolina has a 400-year history of wine production. Once the leading wine producing state in the nation, North Carolina has recently regained some of that former glory and is currently the third most visited state for wine tourism.

Take a drive almost anywhere along the coast and you’ll see grape vines growing wild or, more often, in massive vines in someone’s backyard. Known as Scuppernongs, or “hogs eye” grapes, they are part of the Muscadine family and are native to the Carolinas and the Deep South. More easily cultivated than the traditional European-style wine grapes, Muscadines produce distinct and somewhat sweeter wines. Studies have shown that these grapes also contain significant amounts of an antioxidant called Resveratrol, which enhances the circulatory system among other health benefits.

For Colleen Bannerman of Bannerman Vineyard, grape growing is a family affair. Along with husband Scot and the rest of the Bannerman family, she grows Scuppernongs and the dark purple Muscadines on 18 acres near Burgaw in Pender County. Founded in 1973 by Marilyn and Cliff Bannerman, Bannerman Vineyard is one of the oldest commercial Muscadine vineyards in the state and highly regarded in the grape growing community.

After years of selling their grapes to the fresh market and to other wine makers, the Bannermans decided to add their own small winery in 2004. Since then, their wine list has grown from two wines to ten, ranging from White Oak Sweet to the semi-dry Marilyn, named in honor of Marilyn Bannerman They also offer a very popular blueberry wine that sells out quickly each year.

“The wines have been well received in the area and the winery is doing well and continues to grow,” says Colleen Bannerman.

Bannerman says that about a year ago western wineries started asking for their Muscadine grapes to make Muscadine wines in addition to their European-style wines. “I think it’s because of the health benefits,” says Bannerman. “They are getting a lot of requests for Muscadine wines.”

Tours of the vineyard and winery are by appointment and private events such as weddings, graduations, reunions and birthday parties can be scheduled.

A short drive down I-40 brings you to Wilmington and Lumina Winery, named for a famous area landmark. Owned and operated by Dave Hursey, Lumina is a very different kind of winery offering wines and home wine and beer making kits at its location in a small business complex. Hursey opened Lumina Winery in May of 2005 in a 1200 square foot space that he soon outgrew.

“I started out primarily as a wholesale winery, selling to restaurants and retailers, but I found I was getting a lot of people who wanted to see the winery and taste the wines,” says Hursey. He moved the winery to a larger facility in 2007 where he offers free wine tastings in the retail shop.

Most of the wines he makes are from the kits he sells, although last year introduced both a Muscadine and a Scuppernong wine made from North Carolina grapes. By law, in order to be called a North Carolina wine, the wine must contain 75% of North Carolina grapes. Two of his most popular wines are Ice Wine Style and Green Apple Riesling. The wine list varies depending on how much of a particular wine he sells, but the basic list includes 20 different wines.

Travel south on Highway 17 to Ocean Isle Beach, down a dirt road and past an old tobacco barn and you’ll find an upscale winery with a down home country theme. Long time wine enthusiasts, Maryann and husband Dr. ‘Bud’ Azzato first formed a wine appreciation group in their Southport home. After much thought and planning, they decided to open Silver Coast Winery in May of 2002.

Located on 40 acres and on the site of a former barbeque restaurant, the casual country style structure houses production facilities, a gift shop, two wine tasting rooms and a gallery displaying the works of local artists. From its start, Silver Coast Winery produced award winning wines. Five years later, Silver Coast wines continue to win awards, in regional, national and international competitions and the winery draws visitors from all over the world.

Petite and energetic, with long dark hair and brown eyes that seem to dance when she talks about her favorite subject, Maryann Azzato is a woman who knows wine and where she’s going with it.

“Once we decided to open the winery, it took about a year and a half to put the business plan and all the pieces together,” says Azzato, who was always intrigued by the romance of wine. “We’ve followed the plan and everything has worked out. It’s totally exciting and a little over whelming. Bud can’t wait to retire and go to work in the winery.”

Silver Coast Winery offers 15 different European style wines including Chardonnay, Merlot and Rose. When they first opened, they had a contest for local artists to design their labels and received 380 entries. Today all of their labels are designed by local artists and reflect the character of the wine, such as their Touriga (Cape Fear Blood Wine) label that depicts a pirate guarding his treasure. The winery offers tours of the wine making facility as well as monthly events throughout most of the year. Each January they hold an amateur wine making competition, a wine glass design competition and a toast contest.

Fifteen miles from Silver Coast Winery and just off Highway 904 in Columbus County is another family owned Muscadine vineyard and winery, Grapefull Sisters Vineyard. The sisters, Amy Suggs and Sheila Suggs Little, inherited the family tobacco farm and decided to grow grapes after discovering vines growing wild along the creek at the back of the property. The vines had been planted 95 years ago by their Great-uncle Pinkney, who was reputed to have made very good wine.

Opened in July 2006, Grapefull Sisters Vineyard is one of the state’s newest wineries, producing exclusively Muscadine and Scuppernong wines. They currently offer ten wines ranging from the sweet Picnic to Sister’s Folly Carlos, which resembles a Sauvignon Blanc. In addition to the winery, which has an extensive gift shop offering items by local crafters and artists, there is a three bedroom bed and breakfast inn upstairs featuring European-style sauna steam showers, that the sisters call Inn d’evine.

“We're not far from Myrtle Beach, so Amy and I have tried to create a peaceful getaway and the inn is part of that,” Little says. “We just want people to come here and relax and enjoy the country. This is definitely a destination.”

Events are scheduled regularly throughout the spring and summer and include the Grapefull Shag Festival, an old fashioned barbeque pig picking, and the annual Chocolate and Wine Festival. The winery is often a venue for weddings and private gatherings as well.

Wineries are considered agri-tourism, so it’s all right to take the children, especially during harvest and crush when the whole family can learn about grape cultivation and wine production. Wineries are usually small operations, so don’t be surprised if you are pressed into service for washing barrels or labeling bottles. Still the best job has to be quality control and that means tasting the wine.


Create Your Own Wine Tour

Duplin County
The Country Squire Winery
748 NC HWY 24/50,
WARSAW, NORTH CAROLINA
(910) 296-1727 or TOLL-FREE NC (877) 830-1602
www.countrysquireinn.com/winery.html

Duplin Winery
505 N. Sycamore St.
Rose Hill, N.C. 28458
(910) 289-3888 or Toll-free: (800) 774-9634
www.duplinwinery.com

Pender County
Bannerman Vineyard
2624 Stag Park Road
Burgaw, NC 28425
(910) 259-5474
http://www.bannermanvineyard.com/

New Hanover County
Lumina Winery
6620 Suite H Gordon Rd
Wilmington, NC 28405
(910) 793-5299
www.luminawine.com

Brunswick County
Silver Coast Winery
6680 Barbeque Rd.
Ocean Isle Beach, NC 28469
(910) 287-2800
www.silvercoastwinery.com

Columbus County
Grapefull Sisters Vineyard, LLC
4903 Ramsey Ford Rd.
Tabor City, NC 28463
(910) 653-2944 or (910) 880-0326
www.grapefullsistersvineyard.com/default.aspx

Bladen County
LuMil Vineyard
Suggs Taylor Road
Dublin, NC
(910) 866-5819
www.lumilvineyard.com/

Horry County, South Carolina
La Belle Amie Vineyard
1120 St. Joseph Road (off Highway 90)
Little River, SC 29566
(843) 399-WINE (9463)
www.labelleamie.com

Carolina Vineyards
4922 Highway 17 South (at Barefoot Landing)
North Myrtle Beach, SC 29582
(843) 361-9181
www.carolinavineyards.com

Coastal North Carolina Wine Tour, copyright 2008, Pamela Watson. No part of this article may be reproduced or reprinted without written permission from the author.