Grape Crush – Feeling fruity

Whether produced from native fruits like muscadines, strawberries and blueberries, or using North American varietals and European-American hybrid grapes, Louisiana wines are available at grocery stores statewide. Louisiana has five wineries:

Amato’s in Independence

Casa de Sue in Clinton

Feliciana Cellars in Jackson

Landry Vineyards in West Monroe

Pontchartrain Vineyards in Bush

Muscadine wines get short shrift. Aggressively fruit-forward with the tight punch of the distinct southern grape, these native wines are always-a-bridesmaid in a world that exalts anything big, red and dry. But with all the talk about eating locally, and with more wine drinkers embracing the world’s sweet wines, why not give this native grape a turn at the table? Hot temperatures welcome uncomplicated sippers and, with the right dish, a local muscadine wine can be a light-hearted novelty.

Feliciana Cellars General Manager Scott Harrington, a fan of the big-red-and-dry himself, says when you approach a wine produced from muscadine grapes it’s helpful to recalibrate your expectations.

“It’s a different product. It has a different feel,” he says. “But it’s one you should take a chance on it. It takes on the characteristics of our culture. It has the intensity of Louisiana—there’s a wonderful nose on it.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture calls the muscadine “America’s first grape,” since it grew prolifically throughout the American South when European settlers first arrived. There are hundreds of varieties of muscadines, and some, like the Carlos, Ison and Welder, are often used in native wine production.

“Muscadines like it hot and humid, and they’re good about resisting disease,” Feliciana Cellars Winemaker Devin Barringer says.

Recently, the muscadine also has been extolled for its health benefits. A study published last year in the journal Cancer Research demonstrated the fruit’s ability to inhibit prostate cancer cell growth. It’s also high in fiber, and its pulp, skin and seeds contain high concentrations of resveratrol, the famed compound found in traditional wines credited for lowering cholesterol.

As for flavor, the muscadine’s powerful, sweet pungency immediately appears on the wine’s profile, making it a better fit with dishes that also exhibit fruity intensity.

Where muscadine wines can excel, though, is the dessert cart. Harrington suggests fruit desserts, like strawberry shortcake or peach bread pudding with the Evangeline, the winery’s dessert-style wine. The state’s fresh peaches are peaking soon, providing a good opportunity for a seasonal, locally-grown match-up.

The terroir that emanates from muscadine wines doesn’t scream Old World Europe or the craggy U.S. West Coast, but it sings with the thick, sweltering southeast, where most grapes falter. That means something to Barringer.

“Being a Louisiana boy, I like that it’s a native grape,” he says. “It may not have the clout and the prestige, but the fact that we can create a good indigenous table wine is a source of pride.”