Napa Out...North Carolina In!!!

Supermarket guru®, Phil Lempert, said North Carolina is "the new Napa" in a segment on food trends on the "TODAY" show on March 27. Lempert cites Napa's grape-growing industry as "out" due to global warming and climate issues. Check out the segment below.

Clip of segment: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/23827032#23827032

North Carolina Wine Fact Sheets

Here are a few Facts about North Carolina Wine that I picked up from www.visitncwine.com.

*North Carolina is home to more than 80 wineries. The number of wineries has more than tripled since 2001. The industry has two focuses - native muscadine grapes and European-style vinifera grapes.

*Commonly planted vinifera grape varieties include Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Syrah, Chardonnay and Viognier. They are planted in the Western and Piedmont regions of the state.

*Plantings of native muscadine grapes, also known as Scuppernongs, are relatively pest resistant and thrive in the hot sandy conditions of the Coastal region. Muscadines contain high levels of Resveratrol and other health-enhancing antioxidants. Some wineries even sell grape skins to nutraceutical companies.

*Scuppernong is the first grape cultivated in the United States and is the official fruit of North Carolina. The Mothervine in Manteo on Roanoke Island, North Carolina is a 400-year old Scuppernong vine and is the oldest known cultivated grapevine in the nation.

*North Carolina ranks 10th for grape and wine production in the United States.

*More than 400 individually owned grape vineyards are spread across the state, covering 1,450 acres.

*According to a recent study, the annual economic impact of the North Carolina wine and grape industry is $813 million with 5,700 jobs created.

*The Yadkin Valley is North Carolina's first federally recognized American Viticultural Area (AVA). It is located in northwestern North Carolina, and there are currently more than 20 wineries and 400 acres devoted to vineyards in the Yadkin Valley.

*Asheville is home to the Biltmore Estate Winery, which receives more than one million visitors annually and is the most visited winery in the United States.

*Medoc Vineyard in the town of Brinkleyville in Halifax County was the first commercial winery established in North Carolina and led the country's wine production in 1835.

*At the turn of the century, 25 wineries operated in North Carolina, making it one of the most productive wine states in the U.S. The industry closed with the onset of Prohibition.

*A 2007 national survey sponsored by the Travel Industry Association (TIA) in partnership with Gourmet magazine and the International Culinary Tourism Association (ICTA), cited North Carolina as one of the top five state destinations for wine and culinary tourism activities in the United States.

*Duplin Winery, the largest and oldest winery in the state, is the world’s largest producer of Muscadine wine.

4th Spray

If it would ever stop raining...maybe we could go another 14 days without spraying. After two straight days of rain, we had to spray AGAIN. This time we didn't use Sulfur but Elite, because it was going to drop down to the mid 40's tonight and tomorrow night, and Sulfur stops working once temperatures fall below 60. This time we sprayed Elite/Diathane.

Third Spray of 2009

I know...I know...we just sprayed on Monday but after 2 days of complete rain we had to spray again because whatever we sprayed on Monday is gone. So we reapplied Sulfur/Diathane today.

Pushing The Envelope.

Well we kind of pushed the envelope over these past several days by allowing our spray schedule to got out to 13 days. We have never allowed for it to go past 10 days in the past but because of the lack of rain and conflicts of schedule we had to cross our fingers extend it a few days. We finally got a spray of diathane and sulfur down this morning.