Windswept Blog

Pruning is done!

2008-05-12T09:25:00.001-07:00

The careful reader has missed the vineyard's second-favorite post of the year....that would be the one when we proudly, and tiredly exclaim that the pruning is DONE. (Our favorite post will be when the grapes are all harvested and safely in the tanks.)
Well, we fell behind this year...wind damage cleanup, etc etc. BUT WE ARE DONE NOW!!!!
We finished up May 10, the day before Mother's day...this was our latest end-of pruning date by probably 6-8 weeks. Fortunately, the vines are very late in budding this year, and the vines we did not have pruned are always the last to bud, so Praise the Lord, we are done now!
My mother-in-law, Betty, has her clematis in exquisite form, they are blooming away, and are so beautiful. I will see if I can get a picture of them posted.
Last week somehow, a pair of wrens found their way into the winery building, and we have been gently 'encouraging' them to roost elsewhere. They are adorable, but outside (!) is the place for wrens.
The vines are looking good in most cases and after the years of cold and late freezes we are blessed to have what we have.

This morning, my dear sweet crazy husband was mentioning planning to put in more acres of vines.... more on that to come as the planning kicks off.

May be Fun!

2008-05-08T16:42:00.000-07:00

We are planning a fun time at Windswept Winery, and I can't wait!
Our first Wine and Bovine night. KC Strip Steak cooked any way you want it..... Salad bar, baked potato bar, and dessert bar.
We have promised to do this for two years, and here you go. Wine and Bovine!

We are hoping the weather behaves itself, and we can enjoy the beautiful patio. The clemantis are springing out of the ground, the bluebirds are flitting around, and there have been hummingbirds spotted at the flowers feeding.

Wow, come and enjoy our patio, sample the wines, then grab yourself a bottle to share or glass of wine, dive into a nice juicy steak and all the trimmings, and enjoy a night in the vines. Bring a camera, and some friends... (If you make reservations, we might even sit a table up out in the vines for you....how cool is that?)

2008-04-27T15:17:00.000-07:00

April was a crazy month.
Windswept Winery had some wind damage, so that took time to repair, but it is more beautiful and better than ever!

A Parkinson's Research Wine Tasting featuring Windswept Winery wines in Wichita was a thrill for us to be associated with and one of the highlights of the month. A toast to finding the cure!Thanks to Dorothy Roush for getting us involved.

Windswept Winery re-landscaped the patio area, and a great big THANKS! to the Queen-mother of the Winery, Betty Storey, for the designing and a lot of hard work!

Tyson and Kendra's Most Excellent Wedding occured on April 26th.
What a special couple setting out on their journey together! We had a wonderful time hosting their patio wedding and Panache room reception. Mother nature cooperated with the event; and it was beautiful. Our congratulations to the happy couple!

Womens Shows

2008-03-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

Cowley County is having a pair of Women's Shows during March. How much fun does that sound to be? They are scheduled from 5:30 to 8 pm on March 11 and 25th in Winfield and Arkansas City. We will be there and I am thinking our giveaway may be a Private Winetasting with the winemaker! How much fun is that?

Pictures of previous booths......

So drop by and see me, I am looking forward to chatting with some of Cowley county's nicest ladies.

Pictures of Valentines

2008-03-06T05:18:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Deb, we can show you a Valentine's Feast Picture or two now....hope you enjoy!

We had a grand time, and are planning another soiree in April....Windswept Winery's Tax Relief Party Saturday, April 19. Check the website for the "Toast your Return", or "Wine about your Tax Bill" Party.

Wine-ing

2008-02-21T13:29:00.000-08:00

So what's a vinedresser to do? More sleet and ice hit the vineyards this morning. It is chilly out there, so there will be no pruning yet. Oh, well, I will try to get a picture of the c-c-cold vineyards posted for you soon.
We have a new camera that I am just itching to use....stay tuned.
Maybe I can get a shot of the vineyard cats? We have two resident greeters...Grables, and Scruffy. Hm, maybe a picture of them would be fun! Grables has been with us for years, and Scruffy just adopted the winery during pruning-time last year, when probably a better moniker would have been, "Half-dead". She was a complete bag-of-bones and could not even walk to the house by herself, so I am guessing she would not have made it another week. Lucky for us all, a little coaxing and hand feeding, and she is now quite well-fed; maybe we should have called her "fluffy"?
Menawhile, tonight or tomorrow we will be working on a new wine...
Cheers!

Website Woes

2008-02-18T05:17:00.000-08:00

While updating the website yesterday, I managed to "upset the apple cart", so to speak. Some of the pages are not displaying properly. I am working diligently on getting it in good working order. It looks like I have a lot of new pictures that are boggin it down a little. I deleted most of them, and some will have broken links until this is resolved, sorry for the inconvenience.
Thank you for your patience.

Valentines 5 Course Feast At Windswept Winery

2008-02-17T11:42:00.000-08:00

Wow, what a wonderful night of food and wine and Windswept Winery on Valentines Day.

I walked into the Conference Room and Betty (my precious mother-in-law) had transformed the conference room, the Panache Room, into a Valentines Day delight. The room was decked with Valentines, and all the (many many) glasses were set at the ready on the elegant tables....

This was Windswept Winery's inaugural Valentines Feast. We presented an exquisite meal, paired with our Estate grown and vinted wines, to the most fabulous people. Special Thanks to the Wackers..and a pic from their Blog...

The laughter, the tinkle of wine glasses, the stories, the quiet elegance of a fabulous event in our family winery. We were elated and thrilled at the responses! Thank you to all who attended.

(You missed it? NO fears....we have a Winemakers' Dinner event planned on Saturday, April 19...you may "Toast" your Tax return, or "Wine" about your Tax bill. Guest Chef Jared is busily working on the Menu, and my mouth is watering, aleady. More information will be posted soon!)

U-tube Wine Tasting and Winery tour

2008-01-17T16:08:00.000-08:00

Brrr. It is cold outside. I updated the Website and it needed it! One of the things I added was the U-tube and this blog link. Special thanks to Clyde and Katie Gill from Peaceful Bend Winery in Steeleville, Missouri for dragging us into the 21st century.
Here's the U-tube location.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYB63wKZFxw
It includes How to Taste Wine, and a little tour of the Winery. Enjoy.
Rebecca

2008 The Windswept Blog begins

2008-01-16T09:58:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Windswept Winery's Blog

I am Windswept Rebecca and I'll be updating you about the Winery Happenings.

Remember that January is a time for catch-up in Wineries...we are doing our paperwork, thinking about pruning, doing more paperwork, and planning, plus a little paperwork, perhaps?

;-)

We are planning to be bottling more wine soon... the Blushing Beauty, which is a very popular sweet blush, is a bit low...

It is raining with the threat of ice and snow tonight; makes you want to just curl up with a warm mug of spiced wine and throw another log on the fire.