Spotted Cat Winery ‘keeps it natural’

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

    GREENVILLE — Denise Preston started making homemade wine as a hobby more than 25 years ago, mostly as a “labor of love” rather than a profit-making venture.

Observer photo/Mike Lange

    SPOTTED CAT WINERY — Owner Denise Preston shows off some of her selections. The newly-opened business on Scammon Road in Greenville also has glasses, figurines and other unique gifts.

    But her pastime has now evolved into the Spotted Cat Winery, a cozy building at the edge of an organic farm on Scammon Road in Greenville operated by Denise and her husband, Alan. “He takes care of the fruit and I take care of the fermenting,” she quipped.
    Spotted Cat Winery’s goal is to “keep it natural,” explained Preston, even though growing fruit in Maine — best known for its short summers and lengthy winters — can be challenging. “We have lost some grapes since we started,” she noted. “But there are six or seven varieties on the market that can be grown for cold climates. You just have to hit the right combination.”
    One thing Spotted Cat Winery won’t do is skimp on the quality. “The raspberries we use are quite different than the ones you get in the grocers. We even use organic sugar,” she explained. “We also buy as much local product as possible.”
    The current selections at Spotted Cat are pinot grigio, a soft-texture fruit wine best enjoyed with cheese, fish or fowl; two strawberry wines – one very dry and the other slightly sweet; raspberry, a fairly dry wine that can be used for a spritzer or served chilled “straight up”; blueberry, a medium dry wine with Maine-made ingredients; merlot, which can be served at room temperature to complement red meat meals; and pinot-plum, an unusual combination of California pinot noir and the Prestons’ homegrown, sweet plums.
    Spotted Cat Wines are also filtered before they’re bottled.
    The winery also has glasses, figurines and other unique gifts, although space is somewhat limited. “We’re going to expand a little at a time,” said Preston. “People are finding us through word-of-mouth, and that’s encouraging.”
    And yes, there’s a real spotted cat: 3-year-old Aphrodite, the baby of the Prestons’ three felines.
    For the time being, Spotted Cat Winery is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., but Preston will make arrangements to open at other times. Just call 695-2870 or email 2preston@myfairpoint.net.
    They’re not on the web yet, but a Facebook page is under construction.