By Mark Schambach

Legend says that more than 400 years ago, Sir Walter Raleigh sent Queen Elizabeth I a keg of muscadine wine, made from North Carolina grapes in the New World.
On Friday, Jan. 14, Debbie Pullen and Ben Kish of Nature’s Pearl accompanied N.C. Rep. Julia C. Howard to Raleigh to toast Gov. Beverly Perdue’s birthday with Nature’s Pearl Muscadine Grape Juice.
The muscadine grape is North Carolina’s State Fruit. Perdue recognized the importance of the muscadine to the state’s commerce and agricultural industries during her meeting with Nature’s Pearl and Deputy Secretary Dale Carroll of the N.C. Department of Commerce. Joe Sanderson and Joy Hicks from the N. C. Department of Agriculture also attended the meeting.
Headquartered in Davie County, Nature’s Pearl is a North Carolina manufacturer which employs dozens of residents. Using a network of independent distributors, Nature’s Pearl also supports more than 2,500 home-based businesses throughout the United States …