Source: NCDA&CS, 5/27/21


Wineries across North Carolina have been savoring the spotlight of N.C. Wine Month* during May, but it’s okay if you missed the memo (from highlights in lifestyle magazines, blogs and social media). You may have missed a special event, but there’s certainly no restriction on the best time to enjoy a North Carolina wine.

When you reach for a bottle of wine, you might not think about the agriculture behind it, but it’s worth at least a passing thought. Behind the North Carolina wines you love are many grape growers operating their own vineyards and supplying the wineries.

“A lot of work went into that bottle of wine, and people don’t realize it,” said George Barber who grows grapes for Duplin Winery.

Duplin is a good example of a North Carolina winery that sources grapes from independent vineyards. Those vineyards supply about 90 percent of the company’s grapes. Barber is one of 54 growers – all family operations – contracted to grow grapes for Duplin Winery. His White Hall Vineyards operation is in the Lisbon area of Bladen County, and he’s been growing grapes for Duplin Winery since he started a vineyard in 2001. He’s added more vines over the years and now tends about 80 acres. He said it’s allowed him and his wife to have a better life along with their three sons. The vineyard business has helped pay for two sons so far to go to college, with the third likely to follow soon.

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