Native Americans enjoyed muscadines long before European settlers reached North America

Marie Johnson of Hickory Hollow Vineyard.

A few days back, I had the pleasure of spending some time at the Hickory Hollow Vineyard at Goodway. While there, owner Marie Johnson gave me the grand tour of the place, and we had a good, long talk on a wide variety of subjects, including the history of her family vineyard and the ins and outs of its operation. I hadn’t been to this vineyard in about 30 years, and it was nice to see that it hadn’t changed much since the early 1990s.

Through the woods, I grew up a short distance from Johnson’s vineyard, and I’ve always felt a special attachment to the Goodway community. My Womack ancestors, including my grandmother, were from the Goodway area, just down from Enon Church, and during my teenage years, me and many of my friends all went to church at Goodway Baptist. To this day, we are probably the only group of kids to get so rowdy during a church volleyball game that the deputies were called because a little old lady who lived next door to the church thought we were having a big fight.

After leaving the vineyard, as I made my way back to Monroeville, I took State Highway 21 north from Goodway Junction. At Megargel, I stopped at Lowe’s Quick Stop to see if my cousin Justin was around, but since he wasn’t, I didn’t linger. Instead, I bought a bottle of Coke and some peanuts and struck off again north towards Frisco City.

As I drove along, I thought about how my grandfather had a scuppernong vine down the hill behind his house. As a child, we’d pick scuppernong grapes sometimes after getting off the school bus, and I’d eat so many of them that I’d almost make myself sick. My favorite way to eat them would be to get them cold in the refrigerator first, but I’d eat them right off the vine too.

Scuppernongs are just one variety of muscadine, but people often use these terms interchangeably. I also hear people call them a “bullis.” Like scuppernongs, a bullis is another variety of muscadine, often much darker in color than other types. Scuppernongs are usually bronze in color.

Muscadines are native to the Southeastern United States and were consumed by Indians long before the first Europeans arrived in the New World. Sources say that Indians would dry out muscadines, essentially turning them into raisins, for a winter food source. They also made different types of drinks and poultices out of muscadines, and they also had a way to make blue dye out of muscadine grapes.

Probably the most famous Indian drink was the “black drink” that was used during ritual purification ceremonies. Most of us probably first heard about this drink during Alabama History class, and some of you may remember that this drink was made from the yaupon holly plant, not from muscadine grapes. You can make wine out of muscadines, but as best that I can remember, I’ve never sampled any.

In the end, big thanks to Mrs. Johnson for taking the time to talk with me about her vineyard and for giving me a tour of the place. If you’ve never been to see this vineyard for yourself, think about taking the time to do so. If you’re like me, you’ll leave wishing you had time to stay longer.