~ Mother Vine ~

Drinkin' a cup of Joe early morning in Ferguson's store.  I'm waiting to speak with the owner about my genealogy, I've since learned we're related!

In front of Ferguson's store in Fines Creek, N.C.

The Great Smokies...........we live very close to this park!

Mingus Mill.........still an operating mill.

Black Stock Vineyard.....my favorite!

Class 3 rapid on the Nantahala River, 12 minutes from our home.

Black Stock Vineyard

Everyones growing grapevines...............they flourish in N.C.

Cold Mountain, North Carolina

Frogtown Vineyard

In 1524 explorer Giovanni de Verrazzano discovered America's first grape.  Soon named Scuppernong (Scupp-er-non), from the river where it was discovered, this type of grape came from the massive Mother Vine, our nation's oldest cultivated grapevine.  As ancient as civilization, she was described by Sir Walter Raleigh as having a trunk two feet across and vines that stretched 60 feet into the tallest of trees.

Now a fabled state treasure, the Mother Vine still thrives on Roanoke Island today.  Generations of some of the original families on the island have been her protectors.  And in return, the grapes she introduced to the world are said to offer health benefits that no other variety can claim.  With every year that passes, her legacy continues to grow.  She was there to greet some of the first explorers to these lands and then helped usher in many of the vineyards that now stretch across the country.

Today her vines create an extraordinary green canopy that stretches 120 feet in length supported by an enormous arbor.  Wrapping, winding, rambling and stretching, her roots have held her here for more than 400 years.  And anyone who visits this state soon learns why.

Drawn by the rolling hills, rich soil and mild winters, every major type of grape found in the world is grown in North Carolina.  That's something no other region on earth can claim.  And you'll find these eclectic flavors are only rivaled by the irresistible settings.

Wander through any of our vineyards, and you'll experience acres and acres of grapevines swirled within a perfume of fruit.  Though today more than a hundred wineries are scattered throughout the state, the vine that started it all still casts a long shadow.  The first cultivated grapevine in the U.S., known as the Mother Vine, began here and is still thriving-more than four hundred years later.

Here's to the land of the long leaf pine,
The summer land where the sun doth shine,
Where the weak grow strong and the strong grow great,
Here's to 'Down Home,' the Old North State!
Here's to the land of the cotton bloom white,
Where the scuppernong perfumes the breeze at night,
Where the soft Southern moss and Jessamine mate,
'Neath the murmuring pines of the Old North State!
Here's to the land where the galax grows,
Where the rhododendron's rosette glows,
Where soars Mount Mitchell's summit great,
In the 'Land of the Sky,' in the Old North State!
Here's to the land where maidens are fair,
Where friends are true and cold hearts rare,
The near land, the dear land, whatever fate,
The blest land, the best land, the Old North State!

Never, ever in my life have I seen a more beautiful state...............I've been to many, including Alaska twice!  I'm one lucky lady, I've found my geographical home, where our people settled long ago.