I originally wrote this article for a Connecticut food blog two years ago. However, it is as true today as it was then. I have modified it for Charlotte audiences here.
I am the first to confess that I have a lot to learn about wine. Sure, I know enough not to make a fool of myself at a wine tasting, or so I hope, but other than that, I like to sit back and listen as my wine-expert friends discuss different aspects of their favorite wines.
But I must admit, there is one thing that bothers me about all this talk of wine.
During my first and only year in law school (in Connecticut), I mentioned to someone during a discussion of wine that she might be interested in visiting some of the Connecticut vineyards while she had the chance. She looked at me in horror and said something like, “They don’t make REAL wine in Connecticut!” This is what gets me about the “wine snob” culture.
It seems to me that blowing off a whole lot of food and wine because it is not from the areas that you believe it should be from (here, read France or Napa Valley), is not the point of wine tasting. In places like Connecticut and North Carolina, wines do not pretend to be French or Napa wines (and believe me, I love both French and California wines).
Connecticut specializes in fruit wine and cold-climate grape wine. North Carolina, on the other hand, has an even more unique specialty; the muscadine grape. This southeastern grape is native to the region. There are several hundred varieties of muscadine growing in the United States. North Carolina is known for the Scuppernong, a large sweet grape. Scuppernong grapes are most popularly used to make a wine of the same name, a sweet syrupy wine. Muscadine grapes have a very distinct flavor, and I highly recommend trying the grape itself if you happen upon it at the store.
More importantly, go try the wine! I do not take issue with people who have tried, and genuinely dislike local wines, but I do take issue with those who simply blow them off because of the location of the vineyard. That just seems silly, you could be missing something interesting! I am willing to bet that most sommeliers are well versed in local wines, no matter where they are.
The best advice I ever received was from a wine expert in Perth, where I had the opportunity to sample the fabulous Margaret River wines. He said, “The best thing you can do when it comes to wine tasting is forget everything, taste each wine, and buy what you like the best.” I’ll drink to that.
Related Links:
North Carolina Wine
Vineyards near Charlotte:
~Aurora
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