North Carolina Wine TV Review:
The Pilot Mountain Sweet White Muscadine has a light golden color and has the burnt rubber smell of muscadine with some earth and straw. It tastes sugary sweet with good acidity and good tanins. There are some apple and melon flavors and a clean finish. This is a well-made, well-balanced wine and a great deal for the price.

Price: $8.00

Availability: Select wine shops.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

according to the North Carolina Wine Ratings Scale

About Pilot Mountain Sweet White Muscadine (from Total Wine):
Pilot Mountain White is a sweet, aromatic wine made from carefully picked and pressed Muscadine grapes. It has a tantalizing bouquet and a crisp, clean finish. Pair with grilled chicken dishes, vegetables and seafood. (Sweet, Floral, Light-bodied)

About Pilot Mountain Winery:
Pilot Mountain is a private label produced by Hinnant Family Vineyards.

North Carolina Wine TV Review:
The Dennis Vineyards 2007 Carlos is a semi-dry white wine with a golden, caramel color. It smells like a ripped open bag of blue and green sweet tarts and doesn’t have the traditional muscadine burnt rubber smell. The initial taste is also like sweet tarts, which transitions to a sour taste. This light-bodied wine has good acidity and complexity. You could use to season cocktails or sweet tea. And while we didn’t think we would ever say this about a North Carolina wine, it could be a touch sweeter. This would actually broaden the flavor profile a bit.

Price: $10.50

Availability: Directly from the winery and select wine shops.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

according to the North Carolina Wine Ratings Scale

About Dennis Vineyards 2007 Carlos (from the winery):
Light bodied, very fruity white wine

About Dennis Vineyards (from the winery):
Just like all good things, Dennis Vineyards had a beginning. It started with two men that had a never ending love for wine. Pritchard Dennis and son, Sandon Dennis, the founders and master wine makers of Dennis Vineyards, experimented in hobby wine making years before taking the giant step toward professionalism in 1996.

The dream of being prestigious wine makers was birthed into their minds in the 1990’s. After five years of personal research and extensive study, the Dennis’ were ready to begin working toward their dream. After several early hobby batches, they planted about two hundred vines of the mucadine variety (Carlos, Noble, and Ison). This was intended to feed their need for hobby wine grapes. While planting these vines, the decision was made to start a small winery. Within the next year and a half, all the permits were in hand despite the fact of being located in a dry county. In the fall of 1997, Dennis Vineyards started picking their first official wine making grapes. In the Spring of 1998, their first vintage (1997) became available to the public and began to gain popularity with wine drinkers from around the state. The favorite of most people was the very distinct Carlos white wine.

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North Carolina Wine TV Review:
For our One Year Anniversary show, we tried Duplin Winery’s Black River Red as one of the many wines we have tasted over the past year. This blend of muscadine and catawba grapes has some pixie stick, strawberry, blackberry on the nose. It has black cherry kool aid and black tea flavors, which combine to give it a bit of artificial sweetness and dryness on the finish. This wine shows some complexity on what would normally be a simple muscadine wine. It’s a good choice for a Spring or Summer wine.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

according to the North Carolina Wine Ratings Scale

Price: $8

Availability: Widely available in most major stores in the Southeast and from the winery.

About Duplin Winery Black River Red (from the winery)
As a 2007 pre-release, and a 2008 launch, Black River Red is proving to give our best-sellers a good run in popularity. Black River Red is a mellow, sweet blend of Muscadine grapes, dotted with ripe Catawba grapes.

About Duplin Winery (from the winery):
Today, this North Carolina winery has a tank capacity of over 1,000,000 gallons, is the largest winery in the South, and produces the best selling wine in North Carolina. Over 100,000 visitors experience our Rose Hill winery and production facility each year.

Duplin’s award winning North Carolina wines include Magnolia, featured in Martha Stewart Living as a favorite summertime wine, Hatteras Red, a North Carolina favorite enjoyed with good-’ol southern barbecue, and Scuppernong, the oldest wine in America. In 2009, Duplin Winery proudly received honors normally reserved for the traditional west coast winery belt.

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NorthCarolinaWine.TV Review:
The Cypress Bend Roseneath is orange in color and there is citrus on the nose. There is also the burnt rubber smell of many muscadine wines. This is a semi-dry wine with a spiced citrus tea flavor. It is one of the better muscadine wines we have reviewed and we recommend it as a place to start with muscadines. It’s not too sweet and doesn’t have too strong a muscadine flavor.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars according to the North Carolina Wine Ratings Scale

Price: $9

Availability: Grocery stores, select wine stores or available directly from the winery.

About Cypress Bend Vineyards Roseneath (from the winery):
Our tribute to Catherine Campbell’s homeplace, this blushing beauty recalls the rose-colored marble of the ancestral castle in Argyllshire, Scotland. Spirited flavors of citrus and sweet plum with a rich ruby hue. A perfect complement to spicy dishes.

About Cypress Bend Vineyards (from the winery):
Cypress Bend Vineyards officially opened its doors in late June of 2005. After four years of cultivating thirty acres of muscadine variety grapes (better known as Scuppernong), Dan and Tina Smith have decided to share their passion for these grapes with the public. Growing the muscadine cultivars — Carlos, Noble, Magnolia, Doreen and Triumph — Cypress Bend Vineyards is taking the sweet taste of the muscadine grape to new levels in their eleven muscadine table wines and one after dinner wine.Cypress Bend’s wide variety of wine includes a Chardonnay and a Syrah.

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North Carolina Wine TV Review:
The Hinnant Family Vineyards Muscadine Blush has a typical nose of muscadine with straw, clay and burned rubber band. This pale peach colored wine also has some peach Kool-Aid notes and some sandiness. While well-balanced in the mouth, there is a metallic taste at the top and some earthiness to this wine. It is a solid middle of the pack muscadine wine that is not overly sweet. And this episode was shot a couple months ago, which is why it includes a reference to the nice weather and snow on the ground. It was still winter.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

according to the North Carolina Wine Ratings Scale

Price: $8.50

Availability: In select wines stores and directly from the winery

About Hinnant Muscadine Blush (from the winery)
Our Award Winning “Best of Show”. Rich berry flavors, and smooth from start to finish, this blush wine is made from two varieties of muscadine grapes to make a wonderful treat. Pair with barbeque and spicy foods.

About Hinnant Family Vineyards (from the winery):
Since the first vines went into the ground in 1971, the Hinnant family has dedicated years to cultivating and maintaining the largest muscadine vineyard in North Carolina. It was not until October 2002 that the Hinnants started producing wine commercially.

Locate Hinnant Family Vineyards:

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North CarolinaWine.TV Review
This semi-dry muscadine wine, Cypress Bend Isabel, is made from Magnolia grapes and appears viscous. Nose contains butterscotch, caramel, earthy with an organic woodsy smell. The predominant flavors are orange peel with candied apricot. There is a mineral water feel as well, which we described as mineral water without the bubbles. This is a good muscadine wine to share as a gift.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

according to the North Carolina Wine Ratings Scale

Price: $12

Availability: Select wine stores or available directly from the winery.

About Cypress Bend Vineyards Isabel (from the winery):
A bold, semi-sweet white Muscadine revealing the nuances of the Magnolia grape,Isabel was inspired by John Charles McNeill’s verse. Bright and beautifully balanced on the palate, with a special affinity for hors d’oeuvres, salads and cheese varieties.

About Cypress Bend Vineyards (from the winery):
Cypress Bend Vineyards officially opened its doors in late June of 2005. After four years of cultivating thirty acres of muscadine variety grapes (better known as Scuppernong), Dan and Tina Smith have decided to share their passion for these grapes with the public. Growing the muscadine cultivars — Carlos, Noble, Magnolia, Doreen and Triumph — Cypress Bend Vineyards is taking the sweet taste of the muscadine grape to new levels in their eleven muscadine table wines and one after dinner wine.Cypress Bend’s wide variety of wine includes a Chardonnay and a Syrah.

Locate Cypress Bend Vineyards:

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North Carolina Wine TV Review:
This red muscadine wine has sawdust and grape juice smell on the nose with a touch of alcohol. This is extremely dry for a muscadine wine even though it is slightly sweet at very first. This is a well balanced wine that is a good example of dry muscadine wine. In the mouth tart cranberry comes through heavily.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

according to the North Carolina Wine Ratings Scale

Price: $10

Availability: Directly From the winery and select wine shops in North Carolina.

About Vineyards on the Scuppernong Tyrrell:
This dry red wine is from Tyrrell County’s finest Noble variety of Muscadine grapes. It pairs perfectly with any beef or lamb dishes and is enjoyed by those who love a full-bodied wine.

Locate Vineyards on The Scuppernong:

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Merry Christmas from North Carolina Wine TV. We hope you are having a great day with family and friends, and are drinking some North Carolina wine. We created a hot wine beverage using Duplin Christmas Wine and spiced cider and paired it with homemade chocolate chip cookies. Watch this episode for a number of firsts on North Carolina Wine TV and to see how the pairing works.

Watch Wednesday’s wine tip to see how we made the mulled wine.

North Carolina Wine TV Review:
The North Carolina Red Christmas Wine from Duplin Winery has a traditional muscadine nose of burnt rubber and earth, with a side of cherry candy. In the mouth, this wine begins with a sweetness that dissipates on the finish. Kipp’s description is of Fun-Dipp Cherry dumped into muscadine wine, but we also describe the winemaking style as a little different from other Duplin wines. A good, solid Christmas wine for the sweet wine drinkers in your family.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

according to the North Carolina Wine Ratings Scale

Price: $7-10

Availability: Widely available in most major stores in the Southeast and from the winery.

About Duplin Winery Christmas Wine (from the winery)
Just one of the most favorite things shared by Duplin lovers during the holiday season! Christmas Wine is a limited-release, seasonal wine.
Start a new Christmas tradition with Duplin Winery’s festive wine that is sure to warm the soul. Christmas Wine is a wonderful blend of North Carolina Muscadines and will brings in the taste of a true Southern Christmas.

The sweet berries laced with a hint of spice is a holiday favorite and perfect paired with the season’s culinary delights.

About Duplin Winery (from the winery):
Today, this North Carolina winery has a tank capacity of over 1,000,000 gallons, is the largest winery in the South, and produces the best selling wine in North Carolina. Over 100,000 visitors experience our Rose Hill winery and production facility each year.

Duplin’s award winning North Carolina wines include Magnolia, featured in Martha Stewart Living as a favorite summertime wine, Hatteras Red, a North Carolina favorite enjoyed with good-’ol southern barbecue, and Scuppernong, the oldest wine in America. In 2009, Duplin Winery proudly received honors normally reserved for the traditional west coast winery belt.

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North Carolina Wine TV Review:
This is a light and fruity muscadine, more than most we have had before. The earth and burnt rubber traditionally found on the nose and palate play background notes on this wine. While not very complex this wine would be a great starter for someone who is just starting to drink wine.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

according to the North Carolina Wine Ratings Scale

Price: $12

Availability: From the winery and in stores across NC

About Old North State Winery:
Old North State Winery started as a cooperative in 2002 and has since evolved into a winery owned by two families with one vision. Our vineyards were established on farms that have been in our families for generations. We hope you enjoy the culmination of our dreams, our devotion to our farmland, and our passion for our wines produced at Old North State Winery.

Most of our wines start out as luscious wine grapes grown on Yadkin Valley North Carolina family farms. We are the Old North State Winery, Inc. located in Mount Airy, in the headwaters of the Yadkin Valley AVA. Wine, beer and fine foods are our passion and our legacy.

Locate Old North State Winery:

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