Home to the Muscadine grape!
Well, not officially, but by nature of the beast.
What do we mean by that? Well, there’s only three vineyards in the state with listed websites (might be some mom & pop backwoods ops that don’t make the mainstream, but we can’t speak to those unfortunately). Four if you throw in the only meadery in the state, but that’s a reach to say the least as mead isn’t wine, but its own category of liquor.
All three of the state’s vineyards focus on the Muscadine grape as it’s acclimated well to the climate.
So to celebrate MS Wine Month, we’ll just let you know about the 3 best (and only) places to try some MS grapes if you find yourself in the state, or passing through.
In no particular order, the first winery we will look at is the Old South Winery. These guys can ship, and they claim to be the best in “everything muscadine!” – so if you live somewhere they can ship legally, give ’em a go. Sadly the original owners have passed, but the about us page is a great story of how the winery was founded in 1979 and the family history of making Muscadine wines in the direct, local area.
Next up is the Hillside Vineyard & Berry Farm. Their website doesn’t say much about their property, and their online store is all non-alcoholic beverages (a red and white variation Muscadine juice) and jams/jellies, but in a series of rotating comments on their site, a lady from Washington State claims to have gotten the Muscadine bug, and the juice from Hillside scratched her itch…but was it juice or wine? This may be a non-alcoholic vineyard when you really break it all down. But hey, a vineyard is a vineyard, so they get some note here!
And last on our list (by no means other than literally being the 3rd vineyard with a website we found in MS) is Boggy Creek Vineyard. At 30 years of age, trellised vines populate the property and their claim to fame is harvest, when folks can show up and harvest their own grapes. Their site has some solid recipes for Muscadine and Scuppernong grapes, but no word of any winemaking, much like Hillside Vineyard above.
So when you get down to it, there’s only one winery to be found currently in MS. And on that note, for good measure, here’s a bit on the only meadery in the state that we found:
Queen’s Reward Meadery claims to be the first meadery of MS, and who are we to challenge that fact? They have an online shop, and a quick browse of their offerings has us actually populating our cart. States they ship to are clearly listed, so there’s no confusion about if they can or can’t ship to you. The meadery looks sleek, modern and beautiful, and if you’re in the area, stopping by for a tasting looks awesome and won’t break the bank. If we were in MS, we’d go without a doubt.
So there you have it folks, Happy MS Wine Month! (and, sure, why not, mead too!)