40 years ago, not many people thought of Rose Hill, N.C. as a source of fine wine. But thanks to the vision of David Fussell Sr. and a deal on Muscadine grapes that fell through, Rose Hill is now home to the award-winning Duplin Winery. These days, Fussell’s sons runs the operation, carrying on in their father’s footsteps and shepherding the winery through the ever-changing wine market.
We sat down recently with David Fussell Jr. to find out about Duplin’s history and where the winery is going in the future.
Tell us, how did Duplin Winery get started?
David Fussell Jr.: On a wing and a prayer. In the early 1970s, a large winery out of New York promised a lot of farmers in the Carolinas $350 per ton for sweet Muscadine grapes, and my family jumped in. And when that promised price ended up being $125 per ton, my folks had to find a market for their grapes. They opened what the locals in Rose Hill, North Carolina, called "A Factory of Liquid Sin." That nickname didn't sit well with my grandmother.
How has the wine industry evolved since Duplin launched?
From the beginning, we did everything by hand, from stomping grapes to licking labels. It was years and years of hard work and struggles. My father even lost our family home to the local bank. Things changed for us and the industry in the mid-1990s, when 60 Minutes aired a segment about how the French lived longer because they drank a glass of red wine every day. Wine sales in America jumped, and this really excited winemakers across our great country. We started digging deeper into growing better grapes and making better wines. With this renewed interest and focus, better practices and equipment were developed.
Tell us about your wine.
Since day one, my father and grandfather only focused on what grapes grow best in the Carolinas. And it's a practice we continue today. We grow about 1,200 acres of sweet vitis rotundifolia grapes, because the man upstairs planted those grapes here a thousand years ago. We nicknamed our native grapes Muscadine, because vitis rotundifolia is too long for us southerners to say, and after the Muscat grapes which taste very similar. So when you drink Duplin, you're truly drinking some sweet southern sippin'.
What is something unique about Duplin that consumers may not be aware of that you would want them to know?
Many may not know that the world's oldest living grape vine is located in the Carolinas. It's in Manteo, and some believe Virginia Dare may have eaten grapes off this vine. Unlike most wine grapes, Muscadine grapes are delicious straight off the vine. At Duplin, we want to capture and retain these natural and delicious flavors at harvest and bottle it up. We don't age our wines, they are best consumed young.
What kind of trends among wine consumers have caught your attention lately?
Rosé is hot, and sparkling wines look to be growing. Plus the sweet wine segment is still strong. Our winemakers are presently working on a new wine that hits all three segments, and I hope our fans get to taste this new wine this spring. I already have, and it's delicious!
What is it like keeping the family business running from generation to generation?
Keeping the business in the family is very rewarding. There's a sign hanging on the catwalk in the tank room in Building C that my fellow coworkers hung. It reads, “In recognition of his infinite devotion to God, family, and friends, we dedicate this building in his name, David G. Fussell, Sr. Through Faith & Perseverance, David made his dreams our own. For this we are Eternally Grateful.”
That's my dad, and I look at that sign every time I pass it on my way to our bottling room. I do feel a great sense of responsibility and I'm honored to walk the same floors and work with some of the same good people they did. I believe my brother, Jonathan, shares the same feelings and thoughts. And I hope with our continued efforts and luck, someone can pose that same question in a few years to my son, Gray, nephew, Ayden, and niece, Camryn.
(Photos courtesy of duplinwinery.com)