Official Review: Vineyards on the Scuppernong – Columbia, NC

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by The Traveling Winers

Along U.S. Highway 64 traveling through North Carolina toward our final destination in the Outer Banks, we stumbled upon a little winery alongside the road, in a very picturesque setting beside this winding river called the Scuppernong. It wasn’t difficult to catch our eye as you really can’t miss the big red letters on the top of the quaint little building, announcing that a winery resides within the walls. Feeling the need to explore this little stumbled-upon treasure, we decided to take a short break from our travels and visit our first North Carolina winery.

Grape History Along the Scuppernong

As it turns out, although North Carolina isn’t the first state that comes to mind when thinking of the history of wines in the United States, it does have its place in grape history. Way back in the 1500’s, when the European settlers were sent to explore the eastern coast, they found awaiting them an abundant growth of grapes that appeared to be native to the land. The grape was called the Muscadine and was found all along the wide winding river called the Scuppernong. With over 300 cultivars of this varietal, the Scuppernong Muscadine was the very first named.

Vineyard and winery owner, Jack Bishop, owns 300 acres of land along this beautiful river and discovered that his land was also the host of many Muscadine vines. Around the year 2000, Jack began his vineyard planting Muscadine vines as well as another native grape varietal, the Catawba. In 2008, in order to bring his wine closer to the ever-flowing traffic along U.S. Highway 64, Jack opened a tasting room in a restored building in nearby Columbia that used to serve as the town hall and fire station. It is a quaint little set-up with plenty of room for tasters of wine and shoppers of fun, unique and gourmet food items. And lovers of coffee and those in need of early morning or afternoon sustenance are sure to also find something to their liking as there is a small coffee shop/café also available.

Their Wines

Most of their wines are on the sweet side. In addition to using their estate grown Muscadine and Catawba grapes, they also source some Chardonnay and Merlot from outside the state and utilize other fruits such as peach, blackberries, red raspberries, etc. Here are just a few of what they offered during our visit:

Catawba Belle – A semi-sweet white wine with a hint of crispness on the finish

Somerset – Sweet tangerine blended with a touch of lemon

Peach – A light peach wine, nice a fresh for a summer day

Apple Jack – A blend of the Riesling grape and green apple

Tyrrell – 100% Merlot with sweet, smooth berry flavors and a hint of spice

Black “Berry” – Blackberries blended with Muscadine grapes

Jack Ass Red – A sweet red Muscadine wine