Wine lovers often have their favorites, whether it’s a type of vino or a specific winery. but rarely is that wine country found in Tennessee.
Muscadines are a sweet grape that thrives in the south.
Since 2016, when Tennessee began allowing wine sales in grocery stores, locally made wines have become easier to find on store shelves.
“You can take great fruit and make great wine. You can’t take mediocre fruit and make a great wine out of it,” said JD Dalton, manager at Tsali Notch Vineyard in Monroe County. It’s the largest muscadine farm in the state, sprawling across hundreds of quiet acres.
But, the weather isn’t always so peaceful. Dalton says each harvest came with varying conditions throughout the year.
“I don't know that out of the 17 years I've had anything that's been identical. Now, that's the challenge of the agriculture, of the farming aspect of it,” Dalton said.
For decades, David Lockwood, with the Tennessee agriculture extension, has helped farmers grow fruit and nuts across the state.
Lockwood says warming temperatures are pushing grape production further north, opening up new opportunities for local farmers.
They also have to continue to monitor the weather and terrain changes from mountain city to Memphis.
“The climate change is fairly significant, and so I think there are a lot of challenges as we go across, but also a lot of opportunities,” Lockwood said.
Lockwood and his newly expanded team believe that shift could bring greater diversity in Tennessee-grown grapes and help shape a wine identity of its own.
“The winemakers that I talked with said that it's the duty of the winemaker to maintain the characteristics of the area in which they're getting the grapes and making their wines,” Lockwood said.
So, they’re researching types that can handle the temperature range and varying rainfall of the area. Fruit specialist Annie Vogel says Tennessee's potential reminds her of the craft beer boom, with many styles and local flavors.
“Don't expect this wine to taste like it's from France, because it's from Tennessee, and that's cool that it's from Tennessee, because it's a different product,” Vogel said.
Another new team member is Pierre Davadant, who brings French roots to his wine research at the University of Tennessee.
“Tennessee is known for country music and for whiskey, so it already has a positive perception among consumers,” Davadant said, adding that he hopes to help “put Tennessee on the wine map of the world.”
Davadant says excessive rain can make growing difficult, so he is focused on developing disease-resistant grape varieties for Tennessee's climate.
Back at Tsali notch, they are focused on working with nature, knowing it can take at least 4 years before the muscadine vines produce fruit.
“Mother Nature takes care of us. You got to take care of her, and she’ll take care of us,” Dalton said.
With research expanding, Tennessee's wine future is still growing vine by vine.
