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(ABCNews) For years,
tobacco was king in North Carolina. The leafy
plants thrive in the state's rich clay and used
to provide a reliable payday at harvest.
But the war on
smoking — lawsuits, new laws and higher
taxes — has left farmers looking for alternatives.
"Tobacco was
going down and down," says Frank Hobson,
a farmer in Boonville. "We wanted a plan
B to keep the farm agricultural so we wouldn't
have to sell it off to building developers."
He decided to give
grapes a try. He figured the fertile land of the
Yadkin Valley in northwestern North Carolina would
grow most wine grape varieties.
He was right, and
the Yadkin Valley is now the state's first federally
recognized American viticultural area, home to
400 acres of vineyards.
Frank Hobson and
his wife Lenna opened RagApple Lassie Vineyards
in 2000. Named after his prize calf, the winery
hosts 500 people a week and sells cabernet sauvignon,
pinot gris, zinfandel, chardonnay, merlot, syrah
and a grape that won't even grow in California's
renowned Napa Valley — viognier.
Wine is not going
to replace tobacco in North Carolina anytime soon,
but the state's viticulture industry has exploded.
In the last six years, the number of wineries
in North Carolina has tripled, bringing in tourists
from all around the world. They come for the wine
and the small-town feel.
"Going to
a winery in North Carolina is different from anywhere
else," says Margo Knight of the North Carolina
Wine and Grape Council. "You're going to
get a truly North Carolina experience with southern
hospitality and really unique wines. And the people
you talk to are probably going to be the owners."
And it's not just
wine growers who are benefitting from the boom.
Hannah Holyfield
saved a century-old family home by turning it
into the Rockford Inn Bed and Breakfast. She says
she probably wouldn't have made the investment
if it weren't for the growing number of wine tourists.
Robin Hester and
her husband Buddy started a second career with
their B & B.
"Ninety-seven percent of the people visiting
our Sobotta Manor are coming to tour and visit
with the local wineries," she says.
Karen and Dominic
Payson opened a European style bakery called Strudel's
to give tourists a break from all that wine tasting.
And innkeeper Twyla
Sickmiller bought a limousine on eBay to take
guests on wine tours. She says they're good customers
because they have money to spend.
"You have
the people who drink soda pop and you have the
people that drink wine," she says. "One
pays 89 cents for the bottle of Coca-Cola and
$15 for the bottle of wine. Now, which one do
I want? I like the $15-bottle-of-wine people."
It's taking others
some time to get used to making money off wine-drinking
outsiders. After all, this is the Bible belt and
the home of the real Mayberry.
But times, they
are a changin'. In May, locals voted to kill dry
laws when they realized the wine industry pumped
$317 million into North Carolina's economy last
year.
North Carolina's
wines are winning awards domestically and holding
their own against the world's best. Frank and
Lenna Hobson hope those wines will continue to
draw people to "Yapa," as they like
to call their Yadkin Valley. The goal is to make
it a must-see destination like California's Napa
Valley.
After all, they
point out, no one ever traveled here to look at
their tobacco fields
Octubre 28 de 2006 |
