Springtime at the coast of North Carolina is amazing! It’s a perfect time to plan a North Carolina beach getaway! It’s also a great time to enjoy the excitement in North Carolina’s coastal wine country. Just an hour inland from the beach, you will find some amazing wineries in our collection of small towns throughout the beautiful coastal plains region.
After you soak in the sun and the salt air, head inland and visit Duplin County to experience one of the ripest regions for wine lovers on the East Coast. If you are visiting during the last weekend of March, stop through Kenansville at the Blue, Brew & ‘Que Festival celebrating bluegrass music, North Carolina craft microbreweries and over twenty cook teams serving North Carolina barbeque.
Historic Downtown Wallace is home to the Carolina Strawberry Festival on May 3rd and 4th. Live music, great food, and kids activities are all on tap.
Duplin County is home to the largest winery in the South, Duplin Winery. If you are visiting the first weekend of September, don’t miss their 43rd annual Grape Stomp, taking place on Saturday, September 14th. Festival-goers get a chance to stomp grapes with their bare feet and the best ones will have an opportunity to participate in a stomp off for a Duplin prize! Throughout the afternoon, there will be special vineyard and production facility tours, as well as exclusive wine tastings. The exclusive tastings book up fast, so make your plans soon!
Enjoy more agritourism and wine by visiting The Tipsy Bee. Learn how small batch wine is made and about the muscadine grapes that you will see grow abundantly in our area. Lunch or dinner at the Country Squire Restaurant & Winery is both an experience in local history as well as a surprise and a culinary delight. Guests have come back time and time again, for over 50 years. In keeping with this tradition of excellence, The Country Squire also has its own winery located in the 18th Century portion of the restaurant. The local owners hail from Scotland, and a certain Scottish flair can be found throughout the restaurant in the decor as well as the winery itself. Visitors also enjoy their Tartan Tasting Room & Gift Shop, open to visitors from Tuesday to Saturday (and by special appointment.)
One of the best ways to enjoy being in Duplin County is to book one of our Escape Packages. The Wine & Dine package is one of the most popular. You can even book a package and stay right on site at the Country Squire at their Vintage Inn! Check out the map to see our location. For more information, please feel free to contact us, or click one of the buttons below.
While you are at the North Carolina Coast, don’t miss many of the additional amazing destinations. Visit Topsail Island and stop in Surf City to see North Carolina’s 2nd most visited attraction, the Sea Turtle Rescue, or do some shopping in Historic Downtown Swansboro. From either direction, Duplin County is just a little over an hour drive, so come and uncork, unplug and unwind with us!
Beulaville is a quaint small town located in the heart of Eastern North Carolina farm country. The southern charm found there is plain as day but can be easily missed on a drive through the country on the way to the beach. Most of our visitors come to “uncork, unwind, and unplug” with their friends and family at our famous Duplin County wineries. But did you know that we have some hidden treasures that can be found a little further off the beaten track? We would love to have you meet some more of our locals that are known to tell some great stories that bring our history and rural roots alive in Eastern North Carolina.
Stop by and visit with Benny & Annette at Tarkil Branch Farm’s Homestead Museum. They have a 375-acre working farm that has been in their family since 1912 and has 32 exhibits featuring more than 850 items that bring out the sights, sounds, feel and even the smell, of bygone days on the farm. You’ll find feed sack dresses, antique quilts, and a foot pedal sewing machine. The chicken house exhibit hall displays the near-forgotten art of gathering turpentine. Learn about forging steel and making useful household items in Benny’s barn. Hours are 9-5 on Saturdays and by appointment Tuesday through Fridays.
It’s hard to miss the aroma of freshly baked bread coming out of the oven at The Country Barn. Located just down the road from Tarkil Branch, it’s a perfect place to stop and capture more of life in Beulaville with that “old-time” country store feeling. Muffins, cookies as well as sourdough and cinnamon swirl breads emerge from the oven daily. They also sell home-made butter, cheese, ice cream, candy, flavorings, bulk flour, grains, sugars, and spices.
Farm to table freshness is the cornerstone of The Tipsy Bee. The small batch muscadine wines are appreciated by sweet wine lovers, and they also produce local products such as bbq sauces, honey, and baked sweets. While visiting one of their three locations, you might meet Christian, an expert baker, and savvy Duplin County local business owner. She enjoys concocting a variety of cupcake flavors made with farm-fresh eggs, so mouth-watering, light, fluffy and fresh – one is simply not enough. Lunch is served at the Beulaville location, so come with an appetite!
For more information about Duplin County, visit our website or call us at (910)296.2181. Let us create a custom escape package for you! We look forward to seeing you here!
National Travel & Tourism Week takes place from May 7th – 13th and is an annual tradition for the U.S. travel community. It’s a time when travel and tourism professionals across the country unite to celebrate the unique value travel holds for our economy.
Travel is a universal language. It brings people together. Visitors that make their way to Duplin County come for a whole variety of reasons. It could be for a trip visiting family and enjoying our wineries to staying with us on business . Some people enjoy stopping through on the way to the beach and attending our festivals. Others enjoy shopping in our quaint and unique small towns and dining in our restaurants.
Our visitors enjoy Duplin County’s unique brand of hospitality. Whether it’s being greeted by the front desk attendant at one of our hotels, meeting a tour guide or tasting room attendant at one of our wineries or learning about our history from a museum docent, our people and our commitment to a warm welcome are what make Duplin County a great place to visit and that spirit is what keeps our industry and local economy strong.
According to the U.S. Travel Association, travel supports 1 in 9 jobs, is a Top 10 employer and provides 2.3 trillion dollars in economic output. Essentially, travel and hospitality is the front door to economic opportunity.
So when you are out in our community this week at our restaurants, wineries and local small businesses – celebrate the folks that are the Faces of Travel in Duplin County and say “thank you.” They truly deserve it!
For more information about things to do in Duplin County, please contact our staff at our local destination marketing organization, The Duplin County Tourism Development Authority, by emailing tour@uncorkduplin.com or call 910.296.2181.
A Taste of Duplin & More is coming up this Spring and the excitement in the air! This 3rd Annual event is taking place on Friday, 4/28 and celebrates all that Duplin County is, bringing together the talent of our local restaurants, small businesses, community attractions and festivals. It’s all about who we are and what we have to share with the local community and our visitors. Get your advance tickets online here!
Food and wine is at the heart of the event and all attendees enjoy a variety of tastings of wine as well as dishes made by our local talented chefs as they mix and mingle with friends and family. Amongst the numerous contest categories such as Best Appetizer, Best Dessert and Hometown Favorite, is the coveted People’s Choice Award. While you are tasting, be sure to cast your votes of your favorite dishes and make your voice heard.
One stop shopping is a sheer delight, as local boutiques, farms, artisans, and creative entrepreneurs showcase their wares in vendor booths giving everyone a chance to connect and support local businesses in Duplin County.
History is rich in Eastern North Carolina and in Duplin County. Here is your chance to chat with our local historians and preservationists who make it their business to be the experts. Do you have a question about how things were or about pastimes in Duplin County? Here is your chance to learn and know more.
We look forward to seeing you at A Taste of Duplin & More being held at the Duplin County Events Center in Kenansville. Tickets are available at the door and online. Children are welcome and attend free!
A Taste of Duplin & More is a Duplin County Tourism event. For information about being a sponsor or reserving a vendor booth, please contact us at 910.296.2181.
October is right around the corner and The World’s Largest Frying Pan in Rose Hill will be seasoned and ready to go. Celebrate our heritage and the NC Poultry Industry with us on Friday night, 10/7 and Saturday 10/8! Get your fill of fried chicken and enjoy arts & crafts, kids activities, Duplin Winery’s wine and beer garden along with music by The Tams, The Castaways & The Gary Lowder Smokin’ Hot Band.
Faison is one of our treasured small towns in Duplin County. Our proud locals get together each year for their annual Market Day to celebrate their history and heritage. This year, they are honoring their local firefighters and EMT personnel. If you are looking for something to do, why not be a local tourist for a day and check it out!
Beulaville’s Hog Wild Cook Off & Car Show is a great place to bring the family to eat some really good NC BBQ, check out the Car Show and enjoy kids rides, an ice cream eating contest, music and vendors. The festival takes place on Friday night, 10/7 and Saturday 10/8 from 10AM – 3PM at the Civic Center on Main Street.
Are you visiting our area and need a place to stay? Check out our hotel and lodging options. We’d love to see you out and about in Duplin County!
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October 16th - 19th
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