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Local Wine Making And Mulled Wine

Grapes On The Vine

Happy post-Thanksgiving, everyone! Since we're completely sick of turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes, today's show is about local wine making -- no food in sight. The folks at the Oliver Winery were good enough to open up their facilities to us, so we'll be following some grapes from the vine to the bottle. Cheers.

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Local Wine Making And Mulled Wine



Fall is usually a busy time at the Oliver Winery, with harvesting and wine making in full swing, but this year has been especially interesting because warm temperatures and sunny days have elongated the harvest season into late October and early November. Today, Vineyard Manager Bernie Parker and a slew of harvesters are picking Catawba grapes at the Creekbend Vineyard which will be processed into a rosé wine.

Wine maker Dennis Dunham says Catawba is one of the neatest varietals they grow. "The flavor is like a watermelon Jolly Ranchers, or sometimes I almost get a cotton candy flavor out of them." The process of turning the grapes into wine (from running them through the crusher, the press and then cooling them in a tank) is a relatively quick one -- he hopes to be bottling this wine in early December.

Then, your house will smell amazing by the time our mulled wine is ready to drink. And the best part? All those herbs and spices add some fantastic richness and flavor to your mulled wine, but they also do some great things for the body. Chef Daniel Orr suggests serving the wine in a caramel rimmed glass to really spice up your night.

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