Posted:
9/30/2011 8:16:13 PM by
Ed Williams | with
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Sandhills/Coastal Region
This huge land mass, from Johnston County to all parts north, south and east is primarily home to Muscadine, though some vinifera, hybrids and native American grapes grow as well.
Why Muscadine? And why here?
It’s hot. It’s humid. It's paradise for Pierce’s Disease. All negatives, right?
Unless you’re a Muscadine, which prefers warmth, naturally resists Pierce’s Disease, and is thick-skinned and loose-clustered enough to battle humidity. Winters are warmer there, a blessing because Muscadine loathes the cold. The soils often have a higher percent of sand, failing to hold nutrients or water long. Not a problem, because Muscadine has long grown accustomed to that.
“Muscadines have had thousands and thousands of years to adapt to climate and soil and produce all these anti-fungal properties,” says Dave Fussell Jr., president of Duplin Winery near Rose Hill. “We do have a lot of vineyards where there’s sandy loam. We’re going to be warmer day and night versus our neighbors in Yadkin Valley.
“But wherever the Lord puts something natural, that’s where it grows best.”
Which isn’t to say vinifera - in no way natural to this part of North Carolina – isn't grown.
Sanctuary Vineyards, about 15 minutes from Kitty Hawk, is one example. Winemaker John Wright says the vineyard’s proximity to the ocean - and the effects of surrounding Currituck Sound, Albemarle Sound, and North River – moderate temperatures, both during the day and night, while driving stiff breezes that curb rot and mold. The soil – fine and sugary for the first foot before surrendering to compact organic matter and seashells – forces vine roots to fan out, struggling to find moisture.
Wright figures he uses more drip irrigation and does less spraying than vinifera growers in the Yadkin region.
“And we expect Pierce’s Disease so we plant at a much higher density, and we pull out (infected) vines when necessary,” he says. “We cruise through the summer relatively dry. We get less rain in a cumulative sense. But we’re getting a lot of it in the wrong time of year (near harvest).”
At Sanctuary, Wright has made discoveries: Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese are a bust in his vineyard but Syrah and Viognier do OK. He continues experimenting with Spain’s Tempranillo and Albarino grapes. As a hedge, he grows the native American Norton grape, some hybrids, even Muscadine.
“I’ve presided over a couple of good years,” he says. “But we’ve been humbled a few years too.”
Posted:
9/25/2011 8:25:34 AM by
Ed Williams | with
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LEXINGTON - "Nothing petite about them," says Michael Zimmerman, owner of Junius Lindsday Vineyards in Lexington.
I've never seen a red grape like this - Petite Sirah - clusters dense-packed, folding onto and into themselves, globe-size fruit bunched and knotted, tangling amid shoots and stalk, cementing themselves to guide wires.
In four hours of harvest, four tons of Petite Sirah come off one acre - the equivalent of 300 cases. One picker says: "Petite Sirah is generous on the vine."
I'll say. I'm gobbling its small ripe berries all morning while picking; they're packed with sweet blueberry, boysenberry, blackberry.
Some clusters look swell until I swivel the fruit and see how the sun has baked and shriveled the grapes on the other side. And when I encounter a particularly knotty cluster glued to guide wire and hiding nearly out of reach, I surrender and think: "Oh well, those grapes were probably raisiny anyway."
Breaking for lunch, Michael Zimmerman offers his just-released 2010 Roussanne, an obscure French grape many view as a headache. I taste and declare: "This is the best Roussane in North Carolina."
I've never been so confident: Junius Lindsay Vineyards produces the only Roussanne in North Carolina. Last year, only 56 cases of this white wine from the vines.
It's why I've come to experience Roussanne and Petite Sirah at harvest. These two late-ripening and rare grapes offer a harvest experience new to me. This day, there is no sun, heat or humidity. There are no bees, wasps or yellow jackets. There is instead a slate gray sky, threatening rain, temperatures in the 50s - and few volunteers because of cold and clouds.
After lunch, I revel at the ease of clipping Roussanne. The clusters are loose, singular and low-hanging. Because few have seen Roussanne, Michael Zimmerman instructs us what to look for: A reddish brown tincture that polka dots and striates the yellow grape like a bird's egg, signature of ripeness.
The beautiful, waxy green clusters that look like poster-child Chardonnay? "Drop it. Not ripe," Zimmerman says. "And drop these too," he says, clipping and poking through a cluster riddled with shriveled, raisined grapes. "
Unlike Petite Sirah, the rows of Roussanne speak to the headache of grape. It ripens late and yields inconsistently. Picked too early, it's green, tart. Picked too late, alcohol levels soar and it flies out of balance.
As easy as it is to clip and bucket, my experience is this: A quarter is unripe, a quarter is raisin, half is just right.
No wonder North Carolina doesn't gamble with Roussanne.
Junius Lindsay positions itself as a French Rhone-style winery. Zimmerman's 2009 Metro, a blend of Syrah and Petite Sirah, won Best of Class among reds in the 2011 Mid-Atlantic Wine Competition. His 2008 blend of Viognier and Roussanne won Gold at the 2009 Southeast Wine Competition. His 2007 Petite Sirah won Gold at the 2010 Mid-Atlantic Wine Competition.
I leave Junius Lindsay with some 2010 Roussanne. When I return for 2012 harvest, I'll assess what came of our 2011 Roussanne labor. It'll take longer see what became of the Petite Sirah.
Posted:
9/18/2011 4:01:13 PM by
Ed Williams | with
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Piedmont Region
Home to most of North Carolina’s wineries, this area stretches from Wilkes and Caldwell counties to the northwest to as far east as Wake, Lee and Moore counties. It also hosts three federally-recognized American Viticulture Appellations: Yadkin Valley, Swan Creek and Haw River Valley.
European vinifera, Muscadine, native American and hybrid grapes all grow here. But vinifera – Chardonnay, Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah, for example – has established the biggest toe hold, notably in the Yadkin Valley. Why? Vinifera performs better here than elsewhere. And it is the most profitable crop from a marketing standpoint. Vinifera delivers the most return-on-investment, so it's grown where it's punished least.
But why is vinifera better suited to North Carolina's heartland?
In the Piedmont, winter temperatures generally drop low enough to keep Pierce’s Disease at bay. That’s critically important because Pierce’s Disease seems drawn to vinifera, with potentially devastating effect. Additionally, temperatures do not generally drop so low and for so long as to damage vinifera, though Easter 2007 proved an exception.
The Piedmont enjoys a moderately long, sunny, growing season, generally budding when the time is right and ripening when expected. Temperatures are generally cooler compared to Down East - and vinifera does not flourish in the heat of the night.
The clay soils generally need lime and potassium amendments to give vinifera a comfort zone. And growers must battle bugs, mildew, rot and leafy rigor through aggressive spray and canopy management programs.
The downside? Rain patterns - and hail - seem especially erratic. There's the frequent humidity and occasional March/April frosts. All these bear watching - and watching is about all a farmer can do here.
That said, small pockets within the Yadkin Valley belie what most growers may experience.
Round Peak Vineyards north of Mt. Airy snuggles the Blue Ridge Mountain ridge. Owner Ken Gulaian believes his higher elevation holds advantages. “We get a little bit cooler temperatures, particularly at night. The cooler the nights, the better you retain acidity in the grapes.
“ I suspect some of the rain is dumped (on the other side of the Blue Ridge) before it hits us. We’re a little less wet. And we are very, very windy. We always have these breezes in the afternoon and some fairly strong ones at times. At our outside wine tastings, we’ve had wine glasses blow off the table.”
That summer anomaly, he believes, curbs humidity, mildew and rot.
If there is one region – from vinifera’s perspective – where benefit outweighs risk, the Piedmont, particularly the Yadkin Valley, is it.
Posted:
9/11/2011 4:55:29 PM by
Ed Williams | with
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...and sometimes, they even happen in the glass.
I'm a third way through two reds in bottle. I've struggled with these over recent days, sampling each over time and oxidation, One is a blend of Cab Sauvigon plus other red suspects from Argentina. The other is a California Amador County Barbera I had extremely high hopes for.
But the Barbera is prune-y, raisin-y - attractive in increments, but this isn't incremental.
The Argentina red is a tannic monster, losing none of the spinach-leaf drying mouthfeel as oxygen seeps into bottle.
I mix the two - gasp! - and now it's passable, pleasurable, passionate.
This has what to do with NC wines?
I think you'll find - and most NC winemakers will back me up on this - the secret is in the blend. Cab Sauv, Merlot, whatever, has a hard time standing on it's own in North Carolina.
But those extra varietals - those extra spices - make all the difference in the dish.
Posted:
9/7/2011 7:14:46 PM by
Ed Williams | with
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