CVCC, Catawba Farms blend together for wine partnership

Red Hawk Red Blend — the first co-branded wine developed by a college in the Catawba Valley area — will makes its debut in late April, donned by a label and marketing effort created by students from CVCC’s Advertising and Graphic Design program.

02/27/2020

Catawba Valley Community and Catawba Farms in Newton are coming together for the perfect blend of not only wine, but also student achievement and alumni support.

Red Hawk Red Blend — the first co-branded wine developed by a college in the Catawba Valley area — will makes its debut in late April, donned by a label and marketing effort created by students from CVCC’s Advertising and Graphic Design program.

The wine was officially unveiled on Wednesday during an announcement held at Catawba Farms, located at 1670 Southwest Boulevard in Newton.

“What we are celebrating is the talent of our students, the talent of our faculty and staff and the future partnerships that we will continue to build with Catawba Farms,” said CVCC President Dr. Garrett Hinshaw during Wednesday’s announcement. “There are opportunities all around us. This isn’t just about wine. Our Horticulture and Turfgrass programs are already working with Catawba Farms. We are looking at a bigger argobusiness situation that we are going to be involved with regionally. We are also going to be looking at an opportunity to develop a hospitality academy for this region that will affect all sectors of the hospitality market.”

Catawba Farms co-owner Twyla Deese said the Red Hawk Red Blend project is the first of many that her organization and CVCC have talked about heading into the future.

“We started this relationship two years ago with the CVCC Furniture Academy where we purchased furniture for our wine bar in downtown Newton,” she said. “About that same time, we came up with a whole list of opportunities for our two entities to work together. We’re here to unveil the wine label, which represents what we hope will be a milestone in meeting the hospitality and entertainment market needs for educated people to help us become a destination for the northwestern corner of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg region. That’s the bigger vision.”

In order to design a label and marketing for the Red Hawk Red Blend brand, a competition was held among five sets of students in CVCC’s Advertising and Graphic Design program.

The eventual winners of the contest were 31-year-old Vince Bryant, of Concord, and 25-year-old Brandy Grigg, of Sherrills Ford.

The duo’s logo was officially unveiled during Wednesday’s announcement. 

“I just want to thank everybody for coming out and also for the opportunity from Catawba Farms and Catawba Valley Community College for just believing in us to be able to do this,” Bryant said during Wednesday’s announcement. “I also want to thank (Advertising and Graphic Design Director) Jennifer Cobb and (Administrative Assistant) Aaron Tallman for really pushing us to come up with great products and just really promoting the Advertising and Graphic Design program to be able to do something like this for the school. There was a lot that went into it.”

Grigg explained the duo’s logo concept during Wednesday’s announcement.

“The idea of the label was to embody both the partnership between Catawba Farms and CVCC Alumni Association,” she said. “In order to do that we developed this Red Hawk illustration that also mimics the same idea of a tree or a wine vine. The two branches start at the base of the illustration and intertwine with each other as they go up, and they branch off in opposing directions. This signifies the different ways a student can grow from CVCC and how the partnership is working together as one to better the community and build a better future for everyone involved.”

Hinshaw was extremely impressed by the work of not only Bryant and Grigg, but from all five groups who competed to earn the right to have their logo and branding work showcased.

“When we saw the samples, it blew me away,” he said. “It was a true testament to the quality of what we do.”

Not only are current students being showcased with Red Hawk Red Blend, but a portion from the sale of any bottles of wine will also go to the Catawba Valley Community College Alumni Association — adding another layer into what is a growing relationship between CVCC and local businesses.  

“This is the tip of the iceberg,” Hinshaw said. “We are going to continue to build these partnerships throughout Catawba and Alexander counties. We’re going to help the industry to continue to grow in this area. That’s what we do.”

Photo Credit: Cody Dalton/Catawba Valley Community College

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