Cypress Bend Vineyards--Backroads Treat

On the way home from a recent trip to Charleston, we decided to take the back roads and stay off the interstate. Of course, I made a point to check the wine guide to see if we could make any NC wine stops on the way! Lucky for me, I saw three opportunities to check out some North Carolina wineries on the way home. A quick stop to pick up a South Carolina map to add to my North Carolina map started us on our way. Before exiting the Palmetto State, we lucked up on a yummy and economical Sunday buffet at Sandy Oceans BBQ outside of Bennettsville. This was a great way to fill up on some good home cooking (a big hit with the whole family) before heading to our first winery stop, Cypress Bend Vineyards (http://www.cypressbendvineyards.com/eyards.com/) in Wagram, North Carolina.

As I always mention, I love a trip down an obscure back road that leads to a great surprise with a nice tasting room and some interesting wine. The journey to Cypress Bend certainly delivered on this experience! Named for and decorated in reference to canoe trips down the Lumber River, the building, grounds, and tasting room are an appealing retreat on a warm day. A canoe motif and natural materials decorate the rustic, yet elegant building. There are plenty of tables to enjoy a glass of wine and the gift shop is particularly well stocked with nice wine accessories and other pretty items. The grounds are beautiful and a semi-permanent tent outside is set up for the many events hosted by Cypress Bend Vineyards. The staff people were very friendly and accommodating of us and our kids. We started our tasting with a few wines made with "traditional" and "conventional" grapes purchased from vineyards in the Yadkin Valley. The wine maker wanted to make some of these wines even though these grapes don't grow well in Wagram.

After these wines, we tasted some wines made with the historic muscadine grape. Anyone who has taken a tour of a North Carolina winery knows that the wine industry in North Carolina is actually quite old and the grape used in the early days was the muscadine. There are actually many types of muscadines. Check out the web site for the North Carolina Muscadine Grape Association (http://www.ncmuscadine.org/). These grapes are praised for their health benefits too. They typically make for much sweeter wine than other "wine" grapes. There are many who prefer this style of wine and there are several wineries in North Carolina devoted solely to muscadine wines. Most North Carolina wineries have at least one muscadine wine on their lists. I will profile some of the other muscadine wineries in some later posts.

Now, back to Cypress Bend. I have tasted a good bit of the muscadine wine in the state; however, Cypress Bend is doing some very interesting and different muscadine wine. They make some of the only dry muscadine wine around. It is definitely worth tasting, even for the dry wine drinker. When I mentioned that I had seen Cypress Bend wines in Total Wine in Raleigh, I learned that the buyer for Total Wine (http://www.totalwine.com/) visited Cypress Bend and liked the wine so much, he started carrying it in the stores. Check it out! The variety of tastes here is fun and the wine is very good. There is a small tasting fee and a souvenir glass. Cypress Bend is definitely worth a stop! When the weather is a bit cooler, bring a picnic and enjoy sitting outside. In the summer, enjoy the cool elegance of the lovely tasting room and gift shop!

My next post will cover the rest of the wine trail home from Charleston. Look for a post soon about Adams Vineyards in Wake County and a missed opportunity at J. Wesley Vineyards near Fayetteville.

As always, I am not a wine professional; I am just an enthusiast who loves wine tasting, road-tripping, and experiencing local flavor in North Carolina!
Check back soon as I continue to take you on the journey through North Carolina wine country! My goal: Visit ALL North Carolina wineries! NC Winery Count: 25