Muscadine wines...

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- Brian
  
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posted
19 years ago

Tue, Jun 15, 2004 10:03 PM

Really easy question here, to which I have no idea:

How good are wines made with the muscadine family of grapes?

The reason I ask is, my wife and I just purchased a home with enough land to plant some grape vines. The problem is, we live in Virginia Beach, host to a bunch of nasties with a taste for other grape vareties better known.

I have never tasted a muscadine grape, let alone had a muscadine wine. I haven't been able to find a review of one as yet.

Any info on whether or not it would be worth my time to plant muscadine for the purpose of making wine would be greatly appreicated!

Brian

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- Aaron Puhala
  
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posted
19 years ago

Tue, Jun 15, 2004 10:53 PM

Muscadines have a very musky/foxy aroma which I personally do not like although some people do. If I were you I would try Norton. I recently tried a 2001 Norton from Mount Pleasant Winery in Missouri... It's no wonder they call it the Cabernet of the Ozarks!

CHEERS!

Aaron

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- BallroomDancer
  
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posted
19 years ago

Wed, Jun 16, 2004 12:35 PM

There is a winery located in Knotts Island, NC; just south of Virginia Beach. Might be worthwhile to contact them and find out what type vines they have had good results. I'm in Chesapeake, so they are southeast of me. There is a large winery in Williamsburg, they produce a bunch of different wines from different grapes, but Knotts Island terroir is more likely to be close to Virginia Beach. Jim

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- Dwayne
  
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posted
19 years ago

Fri, Jun 18, 2004 3:53 AM

Brian, of all the wines I have tried, I like muscadines best, especially the dark ones. The wine has a rich good tasting flavor. I tried mine at a winery in Arkansas that allowed us to taste each one they had, and I bought several bottles of that one for special occasions.

They also make a very good jelly. You have to freeze them and then thaw out just enough for one batch of jelly. If you make too much at one time, it looses the musky taste. Everyone here in Kansas that has never tasted it, has fallen in love with the ones my wife has made and given away.

I have also canned the juice from some, but havent used any of it yet, so I dont know it the jelly will come out or not. All of my wife's folks in Arkansas, use the freezing method, not the canning method.

Dwayne