The story of Hartlage Wine is one of those happy accidents that garden breeding occasionally produces. Richard Hartlage, then an undergraduate at NC State, crossed the Chinese sweetshrub with Carolina allspice and created a hybrid whose flowers are larger, showier, and more deeply colored than either parent, a rich, deep maroon that reads as burgundy in certain light. The cultivar was named in honor of J.C. Raulston, the director of what is now the JC Raulston Arboretum, whose influence on American garden plant introduction was profound. The hybrid name raulstonii follows the same tribute.

In the garden, Hartlage Wine is a big plant, typically reaching 8 feet tall and wide and capable of pushing to 15 feet in favorable conditions, with a suckering habit that will spread the colony outward over time if not managed. Its flowers are sterile, producing no viable seed, which concentrates the plant's energy into an extended bloom season that begins in spring and carries well into summer, an unusually long display for any shrub in this family. Leathery green foliage turns yellow in autumn, offering a final seasonal note before the plant goes dormant. It performs best in part shade with consistently moist, well-drained soil but tolerates full sun with adequate water. Hardy from zones 5 to 9, it is deer-resistant and requires essentially no maintenance beyond occasional removal of unwanted root suckers.