Melvin Wine

Melvin Wine (April 20, 1909 – March 16, 2003) was an American Appalachian fiddler from the state of West Virginia. He was a lifelong resident of Copen, in Braxton County, West Virginia.

Early life Wine was born in Burnsville, West Virginia, to Bob Wine, a fiddler, and Elizabeth Sandy, a singer of ballads and hymns. His grandfather John Nelson "Nels" Wine was not a string musician but learned to whistle and sing his father's tunes. The Wine family fiddling tradition began with Melvin's great-grandfather David S. "Smithy" Wine, who was born in 1829. and was unable to read or write, or to read music. He picked up the fiddle at age nine, while his father was out of the house working as a farmhand. One of the first tunes young Melvin learned was "Bonaparte's Retreat", which he played for his father. His father in turn taught Melvin some of the songs he had learned from his father.

Career During the Great Depression, Melvin and his brother Clarence performed together away from Copen in restaurants and bars, and over regional radio. But after only a few months, they returned home to Copen. Melvin took whatever work he could find, including many years as a coal miner and then as a farmer. Since the late 1960s, Wine was regionally well known for his lively style of old-time fiddling. Some of the many younger musicians he has influenced include Jenny Smith

Wine and his music was the subject of a 2002 book titled Fiddling Way Out Yonder. was about the relationship between Wine and his protégé Jake Krack, and was the official West Virginia entry into the 2011 National Book Festival.

Personal life Melvin Wine met and married Etta (pronounced Etty) and held on the state Capitol grounds as "a free celebration of the arts, music, crafts, and food that reflect West Virginia's heritage". which is the United States government's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts.

Discography Solo albums Cold Frosty Morning: Traditional Fiddle Tunes from Braxton County, West Virginia (1976, Poplar Records LP-1; reissued 2001 by Roane Records) Hannah at the Springhouse (1989, Marimac Recordings AHS #2; reissued 1999 by Augusta Heritage Recordings AHR 021R) Vintage Wine (1993, Marimac Recordings AHS#6)

Various artist compilation albums