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She’s one special lady: The woman who inspired Duplin Brice’s Creek
You know, I often hear folks say that some people have a remarkable ability to make anyone they meet feel special. But, I must say, Mama Carr had a an ease and grace about her like I have never witnessed before. Her warmth and kindness were effortless, touching the hearts of everyone who knew her.
My maternal grandmother’s full name was Jesse Brice Carr, but all us grandkids called her Mama Carr. Most other people did, too, as far as I can remember. I used to could not wait to go to Mama Carr’s house. Built by my great-grandfather, it stood on a foundation of pine stumps. Workers used the trunks of those sawed-off pine trees as building materials for the house.
That home was one of the happiest places of my youth. Mama Carr and my grandfather tended all sorts of farm animals on the remote property. It was truly “the country” to my brothers and me. We thought busy little Wallce, N.C., was the big city.
Mama Carr raised chickens and gathered their eggs. She milked cows too. And she made the best stewed collards straight from the garden. My grandparents home was situated on Rockfish Creek, but Mama Carr always told us kids it was “our creek.” Brice’s Creek! We played and fished there with such joy that just thinking about it lifts me up to this day.
As a child, I once asked Mama’s Carr how she could live without the luxuries of town. She smiled gently and simply replied, “I have love.”
When Daddy and Uncle Dan decided to start Duplin Winery in the mid-’70s, Mama Carr never hesitated to do whatever she could to help. She was right there sticking labels on bottles one by one or making food to share with all the other moms, dads, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, grandkids, in-laws and friends who chipped in to help. All you had to do was call her and let her know what to do.
As the Duplin catalog of wines expanded, we knew we wanted to dedicate an incomparable wine to Mama Carr. We named it Brice’s Creek, and I smile every time I sip a glass, thinking about those wonderful days with my grandmother. What an honor it is to set aside renown Scuppernong grapes for Brice’s Creek. We blend these spirited grapes, native to North Carolina, with the gentle sweetness of Niagara grapes to embody the easy nature and pure loveliness of the true Southern lady that was Mama Carr.
We share this beloved wine with you because everyone deserves to experience the joy and comfort that Mama Carr brought into our lives. Her memory is truly a blessing to us all.
