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Buck Shoals Vineyards in Hamptonville – in the heart of the Yadkin Valley wine region – works with both vinifera and hybrid grapes. Winemaker Dana Acker’s formula for Bryan’s Legacy is telling of his philosophy on semi-sweet wines. “I really don’t like sweetening with cane sugar,” says Acker, who prefers blending back unfermented grape juice as he nears the end of the winemaking process.

Bryan’s Legacy – named in honor of the son Terry and Joanne Crater (Buck Shoal owners) lost several years ago is predominantly Traminette, a hybrid grape. Acker first blended in some Viognier. Then he added enough unfermented Traminette juice to provide natural fruit sugars and more nuance.

Traminette is reminiscent of Gewurztraminer in that it has both tropical fruit and spice. The spiciness of this wine makes a nice accompaniment to this soup with some spice of its own. 

Ingredients:

* 3 butternut squash

* 2 Jalapeno peppers

* 3 14-ounce cans of chicken broth

Directions:

* Cut skins off the butternut squash, then slice squash into bite-sized chunks.

In a frying pan, lightly brown the squash in vegetable oil. This will have to be done in two batches.

* As squash is browning, pour 2 cans of chicken stock into a large pot and bring to a light boil.

* De-seed the Jalapeno peppers, mince and add to the chicken stock.

* Remove lightly-browned squash from pan with slotted spoon and transfer to the boiling chicken stock. Allow squash to simmer in stock for 15 minutes until tender.

* Transfer squash and Jalapeno to a food processor, adding enough chicken stock to puree.

* Transfer the pureed squash back into the pot with the remaining chicken stock. Add remaining chicken stock from third can to reach desired consistency.

* Heat on medium for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then serve.