Native Vines and Homemade Wines

A phone call out of the blue!” Hey Bob, want to come over to Maggie Valley and try some of my wine?” I have been trying to get up with a friend, John Holmes, for several years as he had related his experience with making homemade wines. I had last seen John when he was one of our chefs at the Slow Food fund raiser for Terra Madre two years ago at Sherrill’s Inn (http://toto.lib.unca.edu/findingaids/mss/sherrills_inn/clarke_history.htm), now Hickory Nut Gap Farm.

John had brought a big smoker for the fund raiser and I wondered if he was doing the same for the family reunion in Maggie Valley he had invited me to. Sure enough, as I asked for directions, all he would say is that they were behind the Jonathan Inn in Maggie Valley (www.jonathancreekinn.com) and to look for the smoke. I could smell the great flavor of hickory smoke before I could even find the place!

John’s sister had married into the Moody clan from Maggie Valley and each year the family gathers to catch up with each other and visit the Moody Cemetery near Cataloochee Valley (http://www.maggievalley.org/cataloochee.html). If you’ve never been to this area, please do so to see one of the great preserved areas in the Smoky Mountains National Park. John is the chef for these gatherings and a great deal of affection was showered by all on this unique guy.

John impresses. He had the grill smoking and the first thing we tasted was the smoked pineapple! This did not last long, especially around the kids. That evening we feasted on melt-in-your-mouth ribs, pork butts, chicken breasts, wings and legs, smoked steak, and all manner of sides and desserts. There must have been 40 of us as we gathered around in a circle and swapped stories about family, friends, and how it used to be in Maggie Valley.

But I stray. John had managed to keep one bottle of his scuppernong wine for me to try and drink it we did! Scuppernong, also known as Muscadine, is the original American Grape (http://herbal-properties.suite101.com/article.cfm/muscadine_the_original...) discovered in the eastern part of North Carolina by the first explorers. It is a sweet white grape, and one of my favorite times of the summer was to pick these grapes that grow wild, hanging down from pines and oaks.

The wine was smooth, not too sweet, and kept the full flavor of the grape. This is what Terroir (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terroir) is all about! John then told me about his famous Blueberry and Strawberry wines and how I’d have to do a road trip down east to see his farm and sample more.

This is what I love most about where we live –food, drink and most of all the people you run into and how generous they are to welcome you and share their home and hearth. So, the next time that your phone rings on a Friday night, I hope it brings you an unexpected surprise such as the one I just experienced!