Several years ago the Moersch family, which owns the Round Barn Winery in Baroda, Mich., was approached by Chicago entrepreneur Dave Otis who thought he had a great idea.

Instead of turning grapes into wine, why not turn them into vodka.

"Dave had the concept but needed someone to make it happen," Christian Moersch said recently while minding the family business.

His brother, Matt Moersch, was in France for 20 days polishing his vintner skills and his parents, Rick and Sherry Moersch, who started the business almost two decades ago, were vacationing in Arizona.

"It was a perfect match," he continues. "Dave had the idea and we had the fruit and the still."

After almost two years of experimenting, the family finally created DiVine Vodka, a word play on the fact that this vodka is made from the grapes of the vine. It is, according to Moersch, the first and only estate vodka to be distilled and bottled in the United States and made from grapes and one of only five in the world. Hence the tagline "Vodka from the Vineyard."

According to Moersch, Otis, owner of a national paper company and a vodka lover, saw a huge void in the ultra-premium domestic vodka category.

"Most vodka is imported and he thought that there was a market for a domestic high-end vodka that wasn't made from grains or potatoes like most vodka," said Moersch, the general manager of Round Barn Winery. "He thought grapes were more romantic."

Grapes also produce a softer mouth feel, Moersch said.

"There's still a slight hint of fruit to the vodka, but it is very smooth, much smoother than grain vodka," he said.

Indeed, a sip of DiVine vodka impacts a very clean taste with just a hint of grape at the back of the mouth.

The Moersch family always has been open to creative ideas. After all, when their dad first decided to use local fruits to make brandies, the family embraced the concept and began making their fruit brandies with flavors coming from the rich cornucopia that the local orchards produce. This abundance of fruit, blueberries, black currants, black cherries, apricots, apples, peaches, pears and plums, are distilled in a 70-gallon handmade copper-and-stainless-steel still imported from Germany that takes nine months to build.

It is that still which now is used for distilling the vodka, a laborious process that can take up to a week.

"It's very similar to making brandies," Moersch said. "We start off with a proprietary blend of grapes, the main one of which is Ugni Blanc, the same grape used in making cognac."

Because Southwest Michigan, where the winery is located, is ideal for growing grapes (many of the grapes used in Welch's products were grown here at one time, though much of that has been outsourced to South America), Moersch said the family would like to incorporate the abundant Niagara and Concord grape varieties. So far, they've had the most luck with the Ugni Blanc, which is a wine grape, not a juice grape. Because using local grapes is so important, Moersch points out that the grapes used in their vodka came from the Lake Michigan Shore American Viticultural Area.

A mash (fermented grapes) is made from the grapes which is then placed inside the gleaming still (almost a work of art with its hammered exterior) where a paddle stirs it while it heats up.

"Alcohol has a lower boiling point than water and it rises to the top of the still," Moersch said. "It's like wine making, a bit of an art form and a bit of science."

Once the alcohol vapors have risen to the top, they are then condensed by cooling coils which turns it back into a liquid. That liquid is then distilled numerous times (sometimes up to 10 times said Moersch) until a smooth-, very refined-tasting vodka is produced. Each distillation strips flavors and raises the alcohol content. The whole process, starting with 70 gallons of grape mash, takes days and ends up producing about seven to 10 gallons of vodka. The final product has to be 180 proof, otherwise, according to Moersch it's considered to be brandy.

The family is hoping to speed up the process by the addition of a packing column which is on its way from Germany. The column is made by Christian Carl Manufacturing, the same company that made the still.

"It'll take half the time to produce vodka," Moersch said, noting demand has been high since DiVine was introduced last Memorial Day.

Round Bar Winery

Rick Moersch, founder of the Round Bar Winery, was at one time a high school science teacher who decided instead to become a vintner. He first worked at the Tabor Hill Winery before setting up his own place just down the road.

Originally called Heart of the Vineyard, the name Round Barn came from the 1911 white round barn that Moersch had moved from its original site in Rochester, Ind. He also remodeled an old post-and-bank-style barn, built in 1881, that had been moved to its present location in 1911. This style of barn, which is built into the side of a hill, was designed to house cattle on the lower level so that they would keep warm in the winter and remain cool in the summer. Now that the livestock is gone, it's great as a wine cellar. Upstairs is a tasting and display area.

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Round Barn Winery

When: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily

Where: 10983 Hills Road, Baroda, Mich.

FYI: (800) 716-WINE (9463) or www.roundbarnwinery.com or www.divinevodka.com

Win DiVine vodka

Turn to Foodie Finds to learn how to be the first caller to win a voucher to be redeemed for a bottle of DiVine vodka.

Round Barn Penne alla DiVine

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 small onion, minced (about 1/4 cup)

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed

1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved

Table salt

1/3 cup DiVine vodka

1 pound penne pasta

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

* Heat olive oil until shimmering. Add onion and tomato paste. Stir until onions are light golden (about 3 minutes). Add garlic and red pepper flakes and stir 30 seconds Stir in tomatoes and salt.

* Remove from heat and add vodka. Meanwhile, drop pasta into salted, boiling water, cooking just shy of al dente. Return tomato-vodka mixture to medium-high heat and simmer briskly until alcohol flavor is cooked off (8 to 10 minutes). Stir frequently and lower heat to medium if simmering becomes too vigorous.

* Stir in cream and cook until hot (about one minute). Drain pasta, reserving 1/4 cup cooking water.

* Transfer pasta back to pan and add sauce to pasta. Toss over medium heat until pasta absorbs some sauce (1 to 2 minutes). Add reserved cooking water if sauce is too thick.

* Stir in two tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil leaves and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

SOURCE: Adapted by Chris Moersch, Round Barn Winery, Baroda, Mich., from Cook's Illustrated magazine, Nov./Dec. 2006. See also www.divinevodka.com/recipes.php.

DiVine Vineyard

3/4 ounce DiVine vodka

3/4 ounce Chardonnay

Splash peach schnapps

* Shake ingredients and top with lemon-lime soda.

Makes 1 drink.

SOURCE: Chris Moersch, Round Barn Winery, Baroda, Mich., www.divinevodka.com/recipes.php

A Perfectly DiVine Cosmo

1 ounce DiVine Vodka

1/2 ounce Grand Marnier

1 ounce cranberry juice

1/2 ounce fresh lime juice

* Shake ingredients with crushed ice. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Makes 1 drink.

SOURCE: Chris Moersch, Round Barn Winery, Baroda, Mich., www.divinevodka.com/recipes.php

DiVine Cooler

1-1/2 ounces frozen DiVine vodka

Lemon twist

* Shake vodka over ice. Strain and serve in a rocks glass and garnish with lemon twist.

makes 1 drink.

SOURCE: Chris Moersch, Round Barn Winery, Baroda, Mich., www.divinevodka.com/recipes.php