Mother Vine

This is a guest blog post by Michelle Turner, exploring wine from America's oldest known grapevine

---

I recently stopped by Duplin Winery in Rose Hill, North Carolina, the oldest and largest winery in the state. They offer tours of their wine production facility and have a lovely bistro serving lunch and dinner. I was most excited to have a look around the shop where they offer wine tastings and sell their many varieties of wines. Duplin wines are widely available in stores throughout North Carolina and surrounding states. I had already tried many of them, but it was the elusive MothervineWine that I was searching for that day. I read about it a few years ago and had been on the lookout for it but was never able to find it in stores. The wine is made with Scuppernong grapes, a variety of Muscadines native to North Carolina. MothervineWine is special because Duplin Winery obtained exclusive clippings for their vineyards taken from the oldest cultivated grape vine in America known as the Mothervine. The Mothervine is located on Roanoke Island, N.C., and was first cultivated by early English settlers 400 years ago. It is still going strong today and producing lovely and fragrant, bronze Scuppernong grapes each year. Of the nearly 5,000 clippings Duplin took from the Mothervine, 104 vines flourished and are now producing grapes in their vineyards to make MothervineWine.

I purchased a bottle of Mothervine Wine and eagerly opened it a few days later. This is probably where I should say I am not a wine expert at all and know little of the proper wine terminology. I enjoy many kinds of wines simply because they are delicious but I’ve never learned all the technical terms wine connoisseurs know. I can only offer my opinion as a native North Carolinian with an affinity for sweet wines made from our native grapes. The Mothervine Wine is 14% alcohol and has a nice golden color. It is very sweet, smooth and fruity, which is typical of wines produced by Duplin Winery using different Muscadine varieties. The sweetness of Mothervine Wine would probably cause most people outside our region to consider it a dessert wine, but here in North Carolina, we love our sweet wines pretty much any time. I can’t say it differs greatly from other varieties of wine made by Duplin Winery which vary in their levels of sweetness. However, I enjoyed sipping a glass of Mothervine Wine after dinner and reflecting on the novelty of drinking wine made from grapes that descended from the oldestcultivated vine in America. The next time I pass through Rose Hill, N.C., I’ll stop by Duplin Winery and buy another bottle.

For more information about the history of the Mothervine on Roanoke Island and Duplin Winery’s Mothervine Wine:

http://www.themothervine.com/

http://www.ourstate.com/mother-vine/

https://www.duplinwinery.com/product/1103007/mothervine-wine/

---

Thanks very much to Michelle for sharing her experience of a wine we may never get to try, from historic North Carolina.

If you'd like to write a guest post about a winery visits or unusual wine you've tried, do get in touch.
Cheers!