Make The Happy Hours Count With Naughty TEA

Nashville, Tennessee is known for many things including its honky-tonks, meat 'n' threes and believe it or not, its wine country.  The beautiful hills of Tennessee make the perfect backdrop to not only enjoy a glass of wine, but make it, too.

Located just a hop and skip from Nashville, Natchez Hills is a boutique family-owned winery that creates small batch, old-world style wines. Although old-world wine is typically dry, Natchez Hill's has one exception to their collection – Naughty TEA!

Naughty TEA is a southern sweet tea wine.  Naughty TEA is classified as a wine, but contains no grapes.  Essentially, you get the benefits of drinking both!  Now available in bottles and 8ox cans, learn more about Naughty TEA in The Daily Meal's Q&A with owner Jim Odom.

The Daily Meal's Heidi Carter: How did you get started in the wine business? Do you have a degree in wine making? Let's hear how you got started.

Natchez Hill's Owner, Jim Odom: I have a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering and an M.B.A. So no, not a degree in winemaking. I am a retired Air Force fighter pilot, which allowed me to travel all over the world. During that time, I visited many vineyards and wineries in Germany, France and Italy and took an interest in the small, family-owned wineries and their immersion in the whole "bud to bottle" culture. It's through those experiences that our love for wine and palates really developed. After twenty years in the Air Force and fifteen years in the Corporate world, this "Southern Boy" came home and we found property that reminded us of northern Italy, where grapevines were flourishing in rocky, undernourished soil. From there, we planted a vineyard and built a winery (Natchez Hills) that opened in 2012. We are now a small, boutique family-owned winery that creates small batch, old-world style wines patterned after the small family-owned wineries we visited in Europe.

What was the inspiration behind Naughty TEA? How did Naughty TEA come about?

Naughty TEA was inspired by the signature beverage of the South—Sweet Tea. We really wanted to create a product that was new, unique and not being produced by anyone else. From there, we experimented with fermenting Southern Sweet Tea blends and Naughty TEA was born.

What would you say is most unique about Naughty TEA?

Naughty TEA is 100% natural black tea and herbal tea that is sweetened just like you make at home. By putting this blend through the winemaking process, it comes out with an alcohol content of 10%. Most wines of this type are grape-based.  Meaning grape wine is flavored to achieve the tea-taste profile. We do not use a grape wine base. TEA is a 100% natural sweet tea. While Naughty TEA is technically a wine because of process, we encourage you to drink it the same way you would iced tea—chilled and over ice!

What makes Naughty TEA so naughty?

That's a fun question. Sweet tea has historically (and still is) thought of as a decorous and genteel beverage. It's also a southern staple that people enjoy in social settings in a variety of different contexts–on a porch with friends, around a table with traditional southern fare, and of course at various types of party engagements. Naughty TEA adds the perfect amount of fun and kick to the quintessential southern classic and elevates the sweet tea and wine lover's experience–making it the ideal beverage for nightlife areas, outdoor recreational spaces, and festivals. It's really the perfect marriage of sweet tea and wine–does it get any better than that?!

What wine-making decisions did you find most important in making this grape-less wine?

It was important that we stay true to the concept of winemaking where the wine is an expression of the fruit. In this case, that's the tealeaves and their flavor profile. I.e. not using an artificially flavored grape wine base.

Considering Naughty TEA is a first of its kind, how do you suggest it be enjoyed?

Chilled and over ice.  Just like iced tea.

What do you most admire and find special about Tennessee Wine Country?

It's a small but growing industry that consists primarily of small, family-owned vineyards and wineries. Plus, much like California wine country, it's surrounded by beautiful countryside, which if you ask me, is the perfect setting for enjoying a glass of wine.

When it comes to pairing, what would you suggest for Naughty TEA?

Naughty TEA pairs great with American and Southern cuisine, and really anything you would serve iced tea with!

How would you describe Naughty TEA in three words?

It's not exactly three words, but Southern Sweet Tea with a Kick.

Where is Naughty TEA sold?

Naughty TEA is available for purchase at all three of our tasting rooms (the Farmers' Market, Fontanel and at Natchez Hills Vineyard) It is also sold in more than 140 locations in Middle Tennessee, and distrubited nationally. 

How does Natchez Hills stand out from other Vineyards?

In a region where sweet wines are the norm, we focus on Old World (Re: dry style) style wines. While we have a variety of wine styles that range from dry to sweet, our signature wines are dry. Exception is Naughty TEA.

What makes Tennessee a great wine country?

It's a relatively young and growing industry with a beautiful country landscape that's dotted with small family-owned vineyards and wineries.

Is there anything else you would like to include about Naughty TEA that wasn't covered?

No. Thank you for the opportunity!