A TASTY TAR HEEL CELEBRATION

By Doc Lawrence

NORTH WILKESBORO, NC- It’s the childhood home of the great Junior Johnson, the man who made NASCAR a national sport and gave Moonshine some legitimacy. Immortalized by Tom Wolfe’s story in Esquire as “The Last American Hero,” Johnson remains a legend in progress selling country hams and promoting his Midnight Moon, legal North Carolina-distilled moonshine that is, according to the irrepressible racer turned entrepreneur, “smoother than vodka and better than whiskey.”

This annual event, the “Shine To Wine” Festival showcases the food, art, music, folk traditions and yes, the always amazing and delicious wines of North Carolina. Daniel Boone once lived here and Tom Dooley, the subject of the folk song of the same name was executed here after the Civil War. Karen Reynolds’s outstanding play ‘Tom Dooley,” suggests that he might have been innocent. You make up your mind after watching the play performed locally during the ensuing season.

Carl White, the host and producer of the highly popular television series, “Life in the Carolinas,” is a native of Wilkes County and a familiar face in this small and lovely city considered by tourists as the gateway to the Blue Ridge Mountains. White’s television programs explore the cultural treasures of North and South Carolina. His programs have no equal anywhere in the South.

While the music may be favored to Bluegrass, North Carolina has a rich music heritage and everything from jazz to gospel manifests almost on cue. What draws visitors here, I believe, is authenticity. This is America and it is the South. You almost want to bottle everything, particularly the lovely, gentle accents, knowing that they will be absorbed by popular culture and soon disappear.

Some of my favorite wines from wineries I know well and admire were represented here including wines from Laurel Gray Vineyards. Kim and Benny Myers’ exceptional Viognier, Pinot Gris and  Meritage reminds the nation that North Carolina’s Yadkin Valley wineries are major forces on the Southern dinner table.

With some works by local artists, two bottles of Junior’s Midnight Moon and some Laurel Gray wines in the trunk, the next destination beckoned. But, I’ll be back. For those who love the unspoiled South, North Carolina from the Tennessee border to the Outer Banks is almost an obligatory journey