CVCC, Catawba Farms Officially Uncork Red Hawk Red Blend To The Public

NEWTON, N.C. — Catawba Valley Community College and Catawba Farms officially debuted a new option to help people wine down with the unveiling of Red Hawk Red Blend.

The partnership is the first co-branded wine developed by a college in the Catawba Valley area. It was released during a Sept. 11 ceremony at the Newton farm.

“This wine represents the partnership that we are building,” said CVCC President Dr. Garrett Hinshaw. “The blend is bringing things together to make something perfect. That’s what CVCC and Red Hawk Nation working with Catawba Farms is all about.”

Red Hawk Red Blend is first of 12 projects planned between CVCC and Catawba Farms that will drastically change the area’s hospitality and entertainment market.

“This is just the beginning of what’s possible between Catawba Farms and CVCC,” said Catawba Farms co-owner Twyla Deese. “We have a really robust list of projects that we are either actively working on or we have yet to unveil.”

When developing the wine the college’s Advertising and Graphic Design department was instrumental as a competition was held allowing a group of students to have direct hands in creating the blend. Brandy Grigg and Vince Bryant won the competition in February.

“To me it just feels surreal,” said Grigg. “We’ve waited so long for this to happen. We found out in January or February that we won. Now, it’s eight months later, and it’s finally here. When I saw the box that’s what stood out to me the most. It looks really awesome. I don’t know how to describe it. This is going to allow us to open doors for bigger opportunities.”

Concord-native, Bryant, said the success of the wine that he and Grigg created is helping to open doors for them in the career field.

“It’s huge. It’s creating tons of opportunities,” Bryant said. “I know that the Advertising and Graphic Design department has always wanted opportunities to do something like this. It’s awesome for us to be a part of that and to be able to start something they’ll continue to do. This is our first real project that’s going to be out to the world. For me, it’s just a surreal thing. It’s awesome to see it. I think it looks great.”

Red Hawk Red Blend is described as bright, clear red in appearance with a medium body with floral notes and a hint of ripe strawberry. It has bing cherry notes and red bell peppers on the mid-palate. It finishes with light tannins and black pepper. Red Hawk Red Blend is a blend of 60 percent Cabernet Franc, 25 percent Petit Verdot, and 15 percent Cabernet Sauvignon.

This is the first of many collaborations between CVCC and Catawba Farms for Grigg and Bryant and the impact is expected to last long past the bottle is corked. For every bottle of Red Hawk Red Blend that is sold, $1 goes to the Catawba Valley Community College Alumni Foundation — creating a lasting legacy for the two student winners.

“It’s awesome to be a part of history and the initial two students that were able to do something like this,” Bryant said.

To purchase a bottle of Red Hawk Red Blend, visit https://catawbafarms.com/shop.html.