In the end, the top two gold medal reds vying for Best in Show - a Malbec and a Tannat - were both made by Old North State this spring.

Judges went back and forth, and by the slimmest of margins, the Malbec took Best of Show in red. It was a Malbec from a N.C. vineyard that does not yet exist in name. But the fruit is processed and made by Old North State in Mt. Airy.

So Old North State could, and should, claim two really good reds.

April's featured wines arrived - the 2008 Westbend Vineyards Viognier and 2009 Chambourcin.

Viognier harkens back to France.

Chambourcin? Pretty much a grape we can call our own here on the east coast of the U.S. of A.  

Very tasty.

Westbend Vineyard's 2008 Viognier was this month's featured wine for club members. The delicate dry white, with green apple, grapefruits and hints of tropical fruit, seemed perfect as spring temperatures warm.

Westbend produced only 224 cases of this varietal. Viognier is a finicky, shy-bearing grape. It's inconsistent yields drive growers crazy. But when the stars align, and the grape is allowed to fully ripen and its harvested before the late summer rains hit, it can produce a glorious alternative to even the richest Chardonnays.

In the early 1970s, the grape was all but extinct, planted in a few vineyards peppering the French Rhone region.

Some inconoclastic California winemakers took a shine to the wine, experimented with it on the West Coast, got good results, expanded plantings and resurrected the grape. Australia also helped breath new life into this varietal.

My wife tells this tale at my expense....

I was returning from a shopping trip in the mountains when I chanced upon a roadside vegetable and fruit stand.

The woman running the stand, I thought, looked Native American. When I pried she allowed as to how she was part Saponi, part Cherokee.

We commenced to chatting about my earlier shopping and then began dickering on price for my purchase.
 
By turns, she looked at my purse, spotted the brown paper bag tucked inside and asked: "What's in that brown paper bag tucked inside your purse?"

I beamed with pride: "It's a Merlot. I got it for my husband."

The woman nodded wisely and said: "You made a good trade."

 

The Beaufort Wine & Food Festival is April 27 - May 1. 

Ahh, the coast.

Learn more at www.beaufortwineandfood.com