Food & Wine – The Muscadine grape

THE FLORIDA MUSCADINE

TIME TO PICK YOUR OWN GRAPES FOR WINE AT HOME.

BY STEVEN KING

Iknow some ambitious people who built a winery in Florida. They bought some property that had gentle rolling hills of wide-open space. They envisioned vast fields of the finest French grapes thriving in the Florida sun. A rustic tasting room would be open to the public so folks could experience the magic of winemaking firsthand.

OK, property acquired, winery under construction, it was time to head to France and collect those amazing grapes. The intercontinental flight streaked across the Atlantic and they collected grape vines from world famous French vineyards. Within a week, the vines were back in Florida and in the ground. The fledgling winemakers waited for the vines to grow— the fruit that would be the core of their vino laden dreams.

They watched every single vine wither and die in the blistering Florida heat.

It is too hot in Florida for French wine grapes to grow. The optimum yearly temperature should be around 57 degrees for old world grape vines to thrive. The humidity in Florida fosters mold, another enemy to grape vines that flourish in windy drier climates.

All hope was not lost as they turned to a grape that thrives in Florida: the muscadine grape. This fruit grows wild throughout the state and resists Florida’s punishing heat, daily rain, high humidity, disease, and pests. The wine produced by the muscadine grape has a very unique taste, but at the end of the day, produces a palatable wine.

If you want to have an interesting experience, visit the wineries in Florida. Many Florida wineries are allowing guests to pick their own muscadine grapes now through the end of September. You can also find some great homemade muscadine wine recipes to tempt your taste.

Also, visit wineries around the U.S. You will find the tastes as diverse as the people of this country.

People produce wine in most states of the union although some varieties do not come from grapes. There are dandelion, raspberry, peach and other fruits that make up regionally popular wine. After all, the definition of wine is an alcoholic drink made from the fermented juice of specified fruits or plants. A few years ago I visited the Schnebly Winery in south Florida. This winery is the southernmost winery in the continental United States and creates some unique wine from mango, passion fruit and lychee. Located south of Miami and north of Key Largo the Schnebly Winery is nestled in a tropical country setting boasting lush tropical waterfalls. I also found a nice Port wine in St. Augustine at the San Sebastián Winery. They have an expansive tasting counter featuring 11 different wines to include dessert and sparkling wine.

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