CATAWBA, an amber coloured, richly flavoured wine made from the light-red grape of the same name. The grape is a variety of the Vitis labrusca, a North American and Asiatic species, and takes its name from the Catawba river in North and South Carolina. In 1807 the grape was grown in Washington, D.C., but it was not until about 1823 that the name Catawba was given to it. It spread rapidly in New York, Ohio and Ontario, and in 1928 was extensively grown in the Finger lake section of New York. The vine is extremely prolific, the fruit being large and very sweet. The grapes are readily preserved, and their great use is partly accounted for by that fact. The wine has a muscatine flavour.