Red Cat Wine is produced by Hazlitt Vineyards. The wine was originally known as HHJ Wine, also known as Red Catawba. Named for the indigenous grapes from which it was made, it was eventually given the beloved nickname Red Cat. The history of wine is an intriguing tale of seduction and youthful indiscretion. Wine was around before Hazlitt Winery was created. In the early 1980s, Jerry Hazlitt created the wine at his home in New York for his family and friends to enjoy. Jerry created the first batch of Red Catawba in a wooden barrel in his driveway, where local grapes were traditionally pitted to create wine for personal consumption.
As the story goes, Jerry’s sons loved having female guests and took it upon themselves to “borrow” some of their father’s wine for a beachfront party that actually featured a homemade hot tub. The boys discovered that his father’s “grape juice” quickly removed consuming inhibitions, resulting in some slightly warm root vegetables. Redcat has built a reputation over the years as a popular wine with the college crowd. T-shirts and other memorabilia bearing the Redcat name are popular. The wine’s cult following is furthered by its mascot, a six-foot red cat who often leads guests into the cellar on the Redcat chant.
Thousands of visitors meet the mascot each year and participate in the Redcat chant. The original story of the Hazlitt sons’ antics makes many laugh, and often results in the telling of other stories of similar indiscretions by wine fans. A winery that started as a home wine production business where the grapes were once trodden into a wooden barrel in the driveway has grown into one of the best to be found in New York. The local distribution of Hazlitt wine has expanded to a global market. With over 20 varieties of wine for sale, Redcat Wine can be found to satisfy the tastes of even the most discerning palate. It certainly still has a favorite spot in the hot tub crowd.