October’s Wine of the Month is Harvest Hurrah, a spiced, semi-sweet white wine that can be served warm or chilled. This wine is similar to Gluwein, a traditional German beverage during cold weather.
Harvest Hurrah’s name is inspired by the harvest season at the winery, and all the hard work we do to create top-quality wine out of the Iowa earth.
Our Harvest Hurrah is typically made with Niagara and Catawba grapes, but this year we also used Brianna, Edelweiss, and St. Croix. In previous years, we have also used Riesling and Frontenac Blanc.
Niagara is one of the largest batches we receive of whole grapes— usually 20-25 tons, and it’s harvested from Michigan. Niagara, like many other grapes, is actually harvested during the nighttime.
This is because Niagara grapes are best harvested at night in hot weather, because they are less prone to damage, with less oxidization and heat degradation. Pulling grapes off vines in the middle of the day, especially if you’re using mechanical harvesters, can result in damage to the fruit.
Wide River Winery frequently gets in our Catawba from New York, and our Riesling in barrels from South America. Harvest Hurrah also contains cranberry, cloves, and cinnamon, to spice it up and make it taste like fall.
Harvest Hurrah is a very popular wine here at Wide River Winery. Because it usually sells out before Thanksgiving, many customers preorder cases of it.
You can pick up a bottle of Harvest Hurrah at any of our locations for $17, order through our website here. Our wines are also available at many local grocery stores. You can view a list here.