Find us in St. Louis

If you are looking for a great way to enjoy this spectacular fall weather and taste some excellent food and wine at the same time, I encourage you to come to Forest Park for the St. Louis Wine Festival. This is the third year for the event, and the first year we will be there, pouring and selling wine. We would love to see you there!

Pressing Norton

We pressed the Norton today. It was a small crop, but the color and taste were superb. Don't you love that garnet color?

Pony Girl

My horse, Shadow, on occassion roams the barnyard and nibbles on grass wherever he pleases. With the lack of rain over the summer, he pretty much goes where he wants in order to find some grass, and if we keep him nearby we can make sure he has enough water. A few times we left the gate open and he wandered to the neighbors, but usually it doesn't take much to get him back, just a scoop or two of grain. My niece, Hannah, has recently become very interested in horses, so he has been rode more times this summer than the past 4 years put together. He is a gentle soul, though, and I like that he is so good with her, considering he seriously hardly ever gets rode, and he is about 23 years old.

This is a picture of him doing what he does best, eat grass. In the background are our "old Concord" grapes.

Big Sky Country

This picture didn't turn out exactly how I wanted, or how I saw it in real life. I was trying to show the huge blue sky covered in clouds looking up the hill at the rows of green Vignoles below. Now the Vignoles look too dark. I guess if I knew something about photoshop or some other program I could alter this picture, but I don't so here it is in it's raw farm.

Butterfly on Thistle

I will have to admit that I really like this picture I took yesterday while testing the sugar of the Norton grapes. I like the blue on the tips of the wings, and a tiny bit of orange and yellow, and the black contrasted with the purple of the thistle flower. If I look at the green grass below, I get dizzy.

Missouri Farmer Today

Here is a link to a nice article written by Mindy Ward at the Missouri Farmer Today magazine. It is in reference to the Regional Cuisines Project I am a board member of and have talked about here before. I really like this article, and I like the picture on the front. =)

And A Partridge In A Pear Tree

We have two doves on the property, they have been here at least a month if not most of the summer. They are light grey, with dark grey or black on the tips of their wings and a ring around their neck. I have never seen this type of dove before, and I have no idea why they chose to come here, but they are peaceful, and beautiful, and are always seen together. Some people believe that when you have a rare animal cross your path, that symbolizes something in your life. Wonder what these doves are trying to tell me, if anything? If anyone has any knowledge about what type of doves these are, and/or if they are native to Missouri, I would love you to leave a comment.

“The wildlife thinks we’re their grocery store,”

Click here to read an article written in the Columbia Missourian in which I was quoted about the grape crop loss this year. Many other wineries are cited in this article, and I will have to say I think this article was well researched and put together. The part where it says, "Damages from the freeze and birds could total up to $3 million across the state," is definitely disheartening.