Picking Time!

Oh my favorite time of year...picking the grapes.

It is always a wonderful feeling to get the grapes harvested, crushed and in the tank! All the year's hard work, sitting in picking lugs ready to crush and make wine.
I will try, try, try to get pictures, seems like I am so busy I just forget every year!
We have two varieties picked; the Vignoles and the Cynthiana. A big thanks to: Annette and Bryan and our cast of pickers: Cassandra (the most pounds), Melissa (greatest hatred of nature), Grandma, Caye, David, Robert (greatest distance ever from Wichita), Brian, Misael, Rita, and Mark! Thank you all!

Outlet Work - Ready for the Winfield Walnut Valley Festival

Randy and I spent long hard days this weekend working on the Outlet building, and his masterpiece tasting bar. It is beautiful, darling, what wonderful work!
We still have lots to go, planning for an opening at the Winfield Music Crawl, September 9.
Why oh why did I take no pictures during the rehabilitation? Oh well, pictures of the renewal will be here soon.
Maybe I can grab a picture of the first customer through the door? Maybe it will be you?
We will be open every day from Sept 11-Sept 21 for the Bluegrass party, Walnut Valley Festival!

Out with the old....

And here is the picture of our soon-to-be Outlet building on Main Street in Winfield, Kansas. This picture was taken before we bought it, (it is the red building on the right side after a major storm Spring 2008).

It is nearly 100 years old, and has quite the 'history', but more on that later.
Looks pretty sad, eh?

;-(((

But don't fret: Just wait for the new picture! It already looks completely better. The outlet is starting to feel the love.
Hm, maybe I can get a picture of the 'middle' of the progress?

Grapes and Building Renovations

Our grapes are ripening away, and it appears that we will be harvesting some this weekend.
Woo HOO! After all year of watching them grow they are on soon to be on their way to tasting yummy!

After a lot of worrying and sweating the front of the Outlet building has been partially restored to it's original brick, YEAH! The brick will need some serious work to become as pretty as it can be, but getting the awful exterior off was a big job. A special thanks to the Winfield Main street association for the hard work and equipment.

The Secret is out

The bad news is: we are really bad at keeping secrets!
The good news is that the new Windswept Winery, LLC Outlet at 711 North Main in Winfield is nearly open. It is amazing what a little paint and elbow grease will do for a 100 year old building. Even a building "with a history", as the euphemism goes. (Come in, we will explain about the history.)
We are planning to open the doors Sept. 6, with a "Grand Opening" in October. New gift lines, a new wine release, and the same friendly faces!

Pruning is done!

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!

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?)