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Farm to cork Homegrown wineries have a hard-earned place in North Carolina's agricultural sector The image of a grape farmer relaxing on his front porch, with his bare feet propped up and a glass of wine in hand, makes N.C. State Horticulture Professor Sara Spayd groan. The business of farming grapes for the production of wine is anything but glamorous – an image largely nurtured by the CBS primetime soap opera "Falcon Crest" that aired throughout the 1980s. Spayd and others discussed those false perceptions of and challenges to North Carolina's winery industry during the May 20 meeting of the NCACC Agriculture Steering Committee. Farming grapes may not be glamorous, but those who do so are "passionate" about the industry, Spayd said. N.C. growers may be a little more passionate than others due to the perception furthered by wine snobs (a.k.a. "cork dorks") that a bottle of homegrown wine is inferior to a label imported from Europe or California. As vice president of sales for Duplin Winery, Bill Hatcher knows better than anyone about the knock on North Carolina wine. The muscadine grapes farmed in the eastern part of the state create a sweet-tasting wine – different than a "dry" wine. But with sales that have grown from 30,000 cases annually in the early 1980s to 160,000 cases today, Duplin Winery has demonstrated that there's clearly a market for sweet wines. "People talk dry, drink sweet," Spayd said. Duplin County Commissioner David Fussell, his father and brother began Duplin Winery in the 1970s. The business supports 43 growers and 1,000 acres of farmland – mostly in North Carolina – and employs 68 people. It is one of the top 40 wineries in the country and is the largest in the southeastern United States. The winery is also a major tourist draw in the area, attracting 100,000 visitors each year. From a county economic development perspective, the tourism benefits of wineries excite Yadkin County Economic Development Director Bobby Todd. Just 10 years ago, Yadkin was a dry county with few grape vines, Todd said. Today, 14 tasting rooms are located within the county, and wineries have become so accepted that the industry has become a source of pride for residents. "It has kept family farms in farming," he said. "We don't look at it as an alcohol issue. It's a tourism issue." The industry not only benefits the local economy, but extends regionally and statewide. Todd said that visitors who tour wineries will also make stops in neighboring counties, such as Surry. Hatcher said that most counties feel the industry's impact in some fashion. For example, Duplin Winery's labels are produced in Davidson County, and its corks and marketing efforts emanate from Wake County. "You might not have a winery in your county, but the winery industry is affecting you somehow," he said. Despite its benefits, Spayd said farming grapes is no picnic. Interested farmers need to know that getting started requires lots of time and money – between $15,000 and $18,000 an acre for each of the first three years – and that doesn't take into account land and equipment purchases, she said. The pruning process is year-round, and farmers – particularly bunch grape farmers – apply pesticides every 10-14 days during growing season. And once you get started, it still takes about four years to get a good crop. According to Spayd, Tar Heel farmers primarily grow two types of grapes: muscadines in the warmer East, and bunch grapes west of Greensboro. Muscadines are hearty, since the grape's thick skin makes it more resistant to damage from insects and fungal disease. Bunch grapes, used to make the "dry" wines sold by the Biltmore Estate Winery in Buncombe County, are extremely susceptible to insect and disease damage. All varieties, of course, are susceptible to the extreme swings in temperature and hurricane damage, Spayd said, so there is considerable risk. Federal and state law, and state fees and regulations have taken their toll on the industry as well, Hatcher said. When Duplin Winery was growing in the early 1980s, its products were exempt from state sales tax. The State of California cried foul, claiming the law gave North Carolina wines an unfair competitive advantage, and won a lawsuit. The winery nearly went under. A recently introduced bill in U.S. Congress – H5034 – threatens the industry by proposing a ban on direct shipments of wine and other forms of alcohol. An end to direct shipping "really could hurt the mom and pop" wineries of the world, Spayd said. "That could be the taxation that puts people out of business," Hatcher said. "We're a growing segment of this state. We don't want to hurt that momentum." While the State Division of Tourism is "doing a good job" of promoting the industry, Spayd said, state fees – such as a $10,000 charge per state road sign to help direct travelers to wineries – are over the top, said Hatcher. Presenters also said some N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources regulations are too stringent – particularly a requirement that wineries treat water used on a grape crush pad as toxic. Even California allows its wineries to reapply that water to land, Hatcher said. Etheridge touts TDRs Currituck County Commissioner Owen Etheridge appealed to steering committee members to help support legislation to allow counties to implement Transfer of Development Rights programs (TDRs) as a tool to promote good land-use policy. The NCACC has a legislative goal (under Intergovernmental Relations) to support TDRs, and both Currituck and Chatham counties had local legislation introduced during the 2009 long session that would allow those counties to implement TDRs. Etheridge said Currituck County has had local legislation allowing for TDRs introduced three times, and each time the bill failed to advance past a committee. The homebuilders and realtors associations and Republican leadership have all opposed the concept. Etheridge said that neighboring Currituck and Camden counties have experienced an influx of new residents from the urban southeast corner of Virginia. That has lead to a demand for new development, which has made existing farmland too valuable to farm. Currituck County was one of the first rural counties to implement county-wide zoning in 1972, and Etheridge said "the arbitrary boundaries" are not fair to the landowner whose land is not zoned residential. He suggested TDRs as a tool that counties can utilize that benefit both the landowner and a county that seeks to encourage growth in one area while preserving farmland and open space in another. Etheridge provided an example of how a TDR works, saying that every acre of land has a density that can be developed. The county agriculture zone in his example allows one house per three acres, while the residential zone allows one house per acre. A TDR would allow the landowner in the agriculture zone to negotiate a price on the development rights off his land to a landowner in a residential zone, which has the infrastructure in place to support the additional development. The density rights would be tied to a timeframe. According to Etheridge, TDRs are a way to stave off a lurking crisis in farmland by allowing owners of farms to get value from their land. "Land doesn't change hands from farmer to farmer," Etheridge said. "It changes hands from farmer to developer. Not every acre of farmland in this state can be developed. We just can't afford it." Ben Kurtzman of American Farmland Trust told committee members that TDRs are the most advanced concept in farmland preservation, and said that implementation requires a fair amount of planning. He discussed an American Farmland Trust fact sheet on TDRs (available online at www.farmlandinfo.org/documents/37001/TDR_04-2008.pdf), and said TDRs do not work the same from community to community but that they are effective where they are used. He added that TDRs are fundamentally different than other farmland preservation tools in that they thrive on growth; they are not designed to slow development, but rather move it from one area to another. Kurtzman said in order to make a TDR program, a county must have not only growth, but also the political will to maintain the necessary zoning and a dedicated individual who can explain the mechanics of the program to the community at the program's outset. In other business, the committee:
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