Vidal Blanc

Here is a picture of a bunch of Vidal bunches. =) It will be a couple weeks before we harvest these, but they do look scrumptious already.

Standing Guard

We are in the middle of harvest over here, and also in the middle of sweltering heat. We set two records in temperature this week, Tuesday at 104, and Wednesday at 105. Naturally those are the days we decide to pick grapes, namely the Vignoles. After all the frost this spring, and draught this summer, the fruit looks great, and the quantity is smaller than normal, but we'll take it! We also picked the Seyval blanc grapes today, so the tank room is full of fermenting white wines, yum!

This is another picture of another scarecrow. This one is minding the Vidal blanc grapes, who probably won't be ready for a couple weeks. As we pick more and more grapes, the wildlife seem to hone in on what's still out there to munch on. Hopefully this soldier is doing his part.

Jump, Jive and Wail.

Here is a picture of the blackberries we have fermenting right now. Not too many people had blackberries for sale this year. I think with the frost and now all this dry weather, this isn't too good of a growing year for most things in Missouri. These blackberries sure are beautiful though, and their perfume radiates the air around them. When you stir them, or punch them down, a pink foam forms and bubbles up and looks like sherbet.

Harvest is soon approaching. We are greasing the harvestor today and I am furiously taking berry samples, mainly the Vignoles right now. I think we will be harvesting early this year, with the small crop and draught. The wildlife are in full force, birds, turkies, squirrels (who knew squirrels ate grapes?) We have caught (and released far far away from us) 3 raccoons. Raccoons can eat a lot in one night. The scarecrows are in effect also, and they make me jump when I 4-wheel past them. Then again, I'm jumpy. The amount of crop that we have lost already in the Vignoles to wildlife makes me very sad. There needs to be a better solution. Maybe we need our border collies out there all night to howl at the moon and anything else that crosses their path.

Vignoles

Long rows of Vignoles

Norton

This is a picture of the Norton going through veraison, which is when the berries begin to soften, and the grapes start to turn purple. It will be a while before we harvest these grapes, but this year, we're just happy to have them.

My Dad is a Farmer At Heart

My Dad is about as old fashioned as they come. Last weekend we made ketchup in a copper kettle (as if that doesn't prove my point enough) we started talking about the recipe for the ketchup and he said, "OK, the first thing we should start with is a peck of tomatoes." I had to stop him right there, and give a little laugh. He would have been perfect growing up in the 1850s, with his German ancestors that made the trek from their homeland to Missouri.

I will have to say that this scarecrow is doing his job, though. I went out to get a berry sample of the Vignoles, and gave this guy another look.

Another fine example of not being organic but using what the good Lord and this farm supplies and try to grow excellent grapes all at the same time.

41st Annual

Jour de Fete

August 11 and 12th

Arts and Craft Show

Food, Drink, Entertainment and Great Things to Buy!

For Info Call: 1-800-373-7007

Come into the winery for some great wine and air conditioning!

Brilliant idea.

Why didn't I think of this? Think anyone would want to rent a row of Missouri Vignoles?

We borrowed a post hole digger that attaches to the tractor. My husband, John, is a band teacher, and during the summers he helps us here in the vineyard. He is so excited about this post hole digger, because now he doesn't have to dig holes in the ground by hand.

Although we aren't organically certified, we do what we can to help the enviroment and at the same time help our farm. These are the cedar posts we cut from our forests to use as end posts for the trellis.

The blackberries are not quite ready yet.

All This in One Spot?

Fête de Chaumette

Proudly presents their annual
A Celebration of Regional Wines, Cuisine & Goods

Saturday, July 14th 2007
11-8pm at Chaumette Vineyards & Winery

Proudly featuring & promoting Missouri Regional Products
Join us for the day to sample, shop and enjoy what our region has to offer!
Families welcome, kids activities will be held throughout the day, including
turtle racing, kite flying, bobbing for apples and boules!
Chaumette's Grapevine Grill will serve a full BBQ buffet all day,
featuring menu items that include ingredients sold at this event!
free admission; parking $20 per vehicle

Participating Wineries
Chaumette Vineyards & Winery
Charleville Vineyard & Winery
Claverach Vineyards
Durso Hills Vineyards & Winery
Meramec Vineyards
Peaceful Bend Vineyard
River Ridge Winery
Sainte Genevieve Winery
Shady Grove Vineyards
St. Francois Vineyards
Tower Rock Winery
Twin Oaks Vineyard
Vance Vineyard & Winery
Villa Antonio Winery
White Rose Winery

Participating Food Producers
Alpine Dairy Goat Farm, Webster Groves
Claverach Farm, Eureka
Family Friendly Farm, Cape Girardeau
Missouri Grass Fed Beef, Jackson
Goat's Beard Farm, Harrisburg
Hinkebein Hills Farms, Cape Girardeau
Living Springs Ranch, Belleview
Missouri Elk Farmers Association
Monroe Farm, Berryman
Pioneer Apple Orchards & Market, Jackson
Prairie Grass Farms, New Florence
Sayersbrook Bison, Potosi
Sunflower Savannah, Beaufort
Windrush Farm, Farmington

Participating Local Retailers:
The Show Me Shop
First Settlement Country Store
Ivy & Twig
Joyce & Choyce's Antiques & Collectibles
Odile's Linen & Lace
The Stained Glass Shop
Sweet Things
Candle Corner
Zielinski's
Deb Says Sew
The Racing Edge
Nancy Dee's Antiques & Collectibles
Lulu's Antiques
Only Child Originals
Ste. Genevieve Tourist & Info Center
Stonie's Sausage Shop, Perryville
The Tiger Sanctuary, Bloomsdale
J. Brick Pottery, Jackson MO

Live Entertainment:
11-2pm: Elsie Parker (French classics & originals)
2-5pm: House of Bishops (Blues, R&B, & Oldies)
5-8pm: Dennis Stroughmatt & L'Espril Creole(Louisiana Creole Zydeco, Cajun & Blues)
For directions and more information visit Chaumette

Progressive Dinner

The Wineries of Ste. Genevieve
Present
“Progressive Dinner” Weekend on Ste. Genevieve’s Route du Vin
June 2nd & 3rd, 2007
11am - 5pm
Journey down Ste. Genevieve’s wine trail, the Route du Vin for a unique Progressive Dinner!
Along the way, you’ll be treated to fine wine perfectly paired with a delicious
“Progressive Dinner” course at each of our distinctive wineries within our scenic region.
If your ticket is stamped at all 5 wineries, your name will be entered for special Route du Vin giveaways!
A little more than an hour’s drive from St. Louis and Cape Girardeau, journey through the rolling hills,
big skies and beautiful views of the 5 unique wineries on the Route du Vin:
Sainte Genevieve Winery Cave Winery Chaumette Winery
Crown Valley Winery Charleville Winery
Cost: $15/person until May 25th; $20/person after May 25th
(includes complimentary wine glass, and 10% off wine purchased that day)
Please call for advance reservations: Sainte Genevieve Winery (800) 398-1298

Wine & Food Pairing Menu:
Sainte Genevieve Winery
Appetizer Course: serving Mini Quiches paired with their Estate Seyval Blanc

Cave Winery
Salad Course: serving Poppyseed Salad: Spring Greens, Strawberries, Walnuts & Feta, paired with their Chardonel Off-Dry

Crown Valley Winery
Entree Course: serving Norton Braised Crown Farm’s Bison Shoulder with Seasonal Vegetables, paired with their Norton
Proprietor’s Select

Chaumette Winery
Cheese Course: serving Assorted Imported & Local Cheeses, Berries & Homemade Breads, paired with their Estate Chardonel

Charleville Winery
Dessert Course: serving Fruit Dip & Pastries paired with their Genevieve Rivard, Sweet Chardonel

Giveaways:
Sainte Genevieve Winery: $50 Gift Certificate Cave Winery: Wine Tasting & Food Pairing for 10
Charleville Winery: $20 Gift Certificate Crown Valley Winery: Crown Country Gift Basket
Chaumette Winery: Signature Chocolates Gift Basket

Join us on the Route du Vin year round for these seasonal events!
November 17th & 18th, 2007: Wine Diva Weekend
February 9th & 10th, 2008: Aphrodisiac Weekend
April 19th & 20th, 2008: “Jour de la Terre” Weekend

For more info, hours and directions, visit:
www.cavevineyard.com, www.chaumette.com,
www.crownvalleywinery.com, www.saintegenevievewinery.com
www.charlevillevineyard.com

This is a picture of my friend, Julie, passing out the chives on the front porch at the last Route du Vin Passport Weekend, the Jour de la Terre. Stay tuned for our next Passport Weekend Event coming up very soon!

I am happy to announce that we have won more medals. At the National Women's Wine Competition our Cranberry and Red Raspberry won a bronze, the Cherry won a silver, and the Cherry also won a bronze in the Special Womens Winemaker Challenge. Hurray!

I know I asked for rain, but I'm not sure I asked for three days of rain. Can you see the ground hog in the picture? Even he's trying to get out of the rain and into the barn.

This is one of the better looking Seyval Blanc grapes. You can see a fair amount of new green growth all through the arm. The clouds indicate a storm, and we could use the rain. The weather here is so crazy. I guess every spring is crazy. Yesterday we hit record high temps in the 90's. Today it's 80 something and the humidity is about the same. I'm sitting in front of the computer sweating. Here's hoping the cool front and rain gets here sooner rather than later.

We have very sporatic growth right now in the vineyard. This is one of the worst looking Seyval Blanc grapes. You can see only one bud on the whole arm. Most of the Concord look like this, and we are not expecting too much if any crop on the Concord.

Grape Eating Baboons

and you thought growing grapes in Missouri seemed out of the ordinary

Last field trip for my class; we headed to the Crown Valley Champagne House in Farmington, Missouri. This is a picture of Bryan Siddle showing us the equipment they plan to use when they make their methode champenoise style of sparkling wine. Right now they use the charmat process. The Crown Valley Champagne House just opened last month, and there are some excellent pictures of the opening day event on the Missouri Wine Country website. Thank you, Bryan, and winemaker, Daniel, for an excellent tour.

Red Raspberry is a winner!

More good news streaming in from the Wine Competition world; our Red Raspberry won another Gold medal at the Finger Lakes International Wine Competition. The results are here. The Cranberry also won a bronze.

In my humble opinion, I find that wine competition results are much more accurate than the number system that one editor from one magazine puts on a wine. I could be biased because I am a wine judge, but when you have 2126 wines entered, and being drank and tasted by top wine professionals, sommeliers, winemakers, etc, that is much more reliable and note worthy than any other sort of wine rating system around. So, if you are truely interested in drinking excellent wines, look for the wine competition results- those are the ones that count.

Damage Control?

On Friday, Keith Striegler, director of The Institute for Continental Climate Viticulture and Enology came out to survey the frost damage to the vines. Keith was one of my teachers and mentors from Fresno, and now he works for us here in Missouri. He cut into some buds with a razor blade to see if they were green in the middle, to see how much bud damage we had. If a vine looked really bad, he shaved a small piece of the bark to see green to tell if the vine was even still alive. The Concord and Vignoles are not good at being fruitful on secondary or tertiary buds, so if we get any crop on them it will be a miracle. The Norton and Vidal look about the same, with about 60% damage, and the Seyval is supposed to be one of the most fruitful on secondary and tertiary buds, so he thought we would get a full crop from those vines. He said a frost of this much devastation, from Oklahoma to North Carolina, has not been documented in 118 years.

The next 6 weeks are the most critical, to see what if anything comes back and buds and sets fruit. Our hearts are heavy, our babies are sick, and we will have to be patient for their recovery. As Keith says, "this is a learning experience."

Accolades

I am very pleased to tell you that our Red Raspberry wine won both the Gold and Best of Class medals at the New World International Wine Competition. What this means is that not only did it win a Gold (an award I have only won one other time) The Best of Class part means that it was the best berry wine in the competition. Yay. Go us!

Remember those healthy looking new Concord shoots I showed you last week? The story is not the same this week. Mother Nature can be cruel. As soon as you feel like you've got the whole growing grapes things figured out, you've mastered your spray schedule, you've pruned to perfection, you've picked a perfect trellis system, something comes along the next year and throws a wrench into your wheel. Is that how the saying goes? The good thing for us, one of the many reasons we grow French hybrids here in Missouri, is that fact that secondary buds are fruitful. How fruitful is the question at large. I'll keep you updated on this dramatic turn of events.

Sad, frost damaged grapevines

Baby chives waiting for a new home; maybe yours?

Concord grapevines this morning. I was so surprised to see the amount of growth. They are much earlier than last year. I was posting a picture of a grapevine with much less growth last year on April 12th. They are calling for a frost maybe Wednesday night. Here's hoping the weatherman is wrong.

Seyval blanc grapes at bud break. Actually I consider this a little past bud break.

This is a Vidal blanc grapevine at bud break.

Spring is planting time and this spring is no exception. This is our vineyard crew planting cuttings made from existing vines in our nursery rows.

Chives

I have been thinking about chives a lot lately, since we have that Route du Vin Jour de la Terre event coming up and we are featuring chives. I will post a picture of the cute little seedlings soon. You don't want to miss your chance to go home with one of these! One of my favorite blogs is Farmgirl Fare. If you click on the link you can read a beautiful commentary on chives. I have always liked chives, even grown a few in my kitchen herb garden, but after reading her post, I am more excited, and fascinated than ever. My favorite quote is, "once you discover the hundreds of uses for chives, you will wonder how you ever survived without them. Their mild onion flavor perks up everything from chicken salad to quesadillas. They even make food look better, too. Like a beautiful strand of pearls, a sprinkle of freshly-snipped chives will add instant sophistication to almost anything: a serving of mashed potatoes, a platter of stir-fried vegetables, even plain old scrambled eggs. Your meals will begin to look as if they came out of a fashionably chic cafe. For a truly elegant touch, toss some of the edible, peppery blossoms into your salad, or float a few atop bowls of spinach soup." Farmgirl is very eloquent, and has such passion for gardening and the ways of the rural life. Well said.

Hope to see you on April 21 and 22 where we can talk about chives all the live long day.

Jour de la Terre

The Wineries of Ste. Genevieve

Present

“Jour de la Terre” Weekend on Ste. Genevieve’s Route du Vin
April 21st & 22nd, 2007
11am - 5pm
Celebrate Earth Day this Spring on Ste. Genevieve’s wine trail!
Each winery offers seasonal cuisine prepared with fresh Spring herbs paired with their wines.
Take home a complimentary herb seedling from each winery to start your own herb garden!
Visit all 5 wineries on Ste. Genevieve’s Route du Vin, as each winery will offer complimentary wine samples
and special food pairings made with Spring herbs for each ticket holder. If your passport is stamped
at all 5 wineries your name will be entered in a drawing for a “Jour de la Terre” gift basket!
A little more than an hour’s drive from St. Louis and Cape Girardeau, journey through the rolling hills,
big skies and beautiful views of the 5 unique wineries on the Route du Vin:

Sainte Genevieve Winery Cave Winery Chaumette Winery
Crown Valley Winery Charleville Winery

Cost: $15/person until April 13th; $20/person after April 13th
(includes complimentary wine glass, and 10% off wine purchases made that day)
Please call for advance reservations Sainte Genevieve winery (800) 398-1298

Wine & Food Pairing Menu:

Sainte Genevieve Winery (Chives)
Serving Spring Green Salad with Fresh Chives, paired with their Vignoles

Charleville Winery (Cilantro)
Serving Fresh Cilantro Salsa with an Assortment of Chips, paired with their Genevieve Rivard

Chaumette Winery (Dill)
Serving Dill Havarti Cheese on Lavash with Tomato Dill Chutney, paired with their Estate Chardonel

Crown Valley Winery (Parsley)
Serving Black Pepper Seared Beef Loin on Toast with Parsley Gremolata, paired with their Zinfandel

Cave Winery (Basil)
Caprese Salad Skewers with Sweet Italian Basil & Fresh Mozzarella, paired with their Chardonel Off-Dry

Join us on the Route du Vin year round for these seasonal events!
June 2nd & 3rd, 2007: Progressive Wine Dinner
November 17th & 18th, 2007: Wine Diva Weekend
February 9th & 10th 2008: Aphrodisiac Weekend

This is our new toy. It is a seeder, so it throws seeds onto the ground for corn, or soybeans, I guess. We are using it to spread fertilizer. The fertilizer goes in the basket; the yellow part, and the tractor spins a disk, and fertilizer comes out both sides at the bottom, where the two red shoots are. Very exciting.

This is a picture of my students (plus John) in the port cellars at Mt. Pleasant Winery. Their winemaker, Mark Baehman, is on the left, giving us a very passionate tour. I love that guy!

As I mentioned, I'm teaching a Fundamentals of Enology class at the local junior college. Saturday we took a class trip to two wineries; Mt. Pleasant and Sugar Creek wineries, both in the Augusta area. At Mt. Pleasant, I set up a tour with Mark Baehman, the winemaker, and Pat Cummings, the director of sales. The tour and tastings were brilliant, and we had a wonderful guided tour through the tanks and barrels and underground caves. Then we headed to Sugar Creek winery, were we came unannounced, but luckily, Becky Miller, one of the owners, was there and gave us a tour of their winemaking facility. The last stop on the trip was to Lukas Liquor, which is a huge liquor store in West County. This was the students idea, since there really aren't that many great places to purchase wine in our area. Even I came away with a couple great bottles of wine.

I think we got an excellent view of both small and large wineries in Missouri. Large wineries, where they make sparkling wines and port and have dinner parties and small wineries where the owner is there on a Saturday and personally shows you around.

This is a picture of my students at the tasting bar at Mt. Pleasant. Think they are enjoying the class?

Regional Cuisines

There are 6 counties including and surrounding Ste. Genevieve County in Missouri that are part of a pilot project started by Beth Barham, a professor at the University of Missouri. The project is called the Regional Cuisines project, and the idea is that rural parts of America can be tourist destinations if they were marketed as such, similar to Europe. If you visit France or Germany or Italy, you visit cities, but you also visit the countryside, and drink local wines and eat local cheeses. America has yet to adopt this idea, but Beth is hoping to change that, with our help. We are just in the beginning stages, but the possibilities are endless. Check out these websites for more information on the project and our 6 county area now deemed the "Mississippi River Hills."

In the News!

Here is a link to a nice article in the Wines and Vines magazine about Ste. Genevieve being the new wine region in Missouri.

My favorite quote from the article states, "The biggest draw is Ste. Genevieve, a town founded by French settlers in 1699. The historic town contains homes and other buildings dating to the French colonial period as well as Spanish and early American times after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. With numerous inns, restaurants, historical sites and the inevitable antique stores, Ste. Genevieve is a popular weekend getaway, and its wineries take advantage of that mood." Ste. Genevieve is (in my humble opinion) one of the cutest towns around, and it's nice to hear someone else recognize that too. A have a feeling a few people visit the wineries in the countryside and miss the beautiful, historic, one of a kind town, and I think that is a shame.

I have heard my "mug" accompanies the article in the magazine, but since I only have this link, I haven't seen the picture.

This is a picture taken by the guys at Missouri Wine Country of my dad pouring wine at the Westport wine tasting held two weekends ago. If you live in the Springfield, MO area, you can taste our wines, and meet dad at the Best of 417 wine tasting this Sunday.

Hazy Shade of Winter

This is our old Concord plot, covered in ice and snow.

Brrr!

Another ice and snow storm hit our area yesterday. I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it.

Baby It's Cold Outside!

The Wineries of Ste. Genevieve Present
“Baby, It’s Cold Outside” Weekend on Ste Genevieve’s Route du Vin
February 10th & 11th, 2007
11am - 5pm

Spend a chilly Valentine's weekend keeping warm with the one you love on the Route du Vin!
Visit all 5 wineries on Ste. Genevieve’s Route du Vin, as each winery will offer complimentary wine samples and special “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” treats for each ticket holder. If your passport is stamped at all 5 wineries your name will be entered in a drawing for a “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” giveaway! A little more than an hour’s drive from St. Louis and Cape Girardeau, journey through the rolling hills, big skies and beautiful views of the 5 unique wineries on the Route du Vin:

Sainte Genevieve Winery Cave Winery Chaumette Winery
Crown Valley Winery Charleville Winery
Cost: $15/person until February 3rd ; $20/person after February 3rd
(includes complimentary wine glass, and 10% off wine purchases made that day)
Please call for advance reservations Sainte Genevieve winery (800) 398-1298

Wine & Food Pairing Menu:

Sainte Genevieve Winery
Serving Beef & Barley Soup with fresh baked bread, paired with their Genevieve Red

Cave Winery
Serving wine brownies with a warm chocolate wine sauce, paired with their Chambourcin

Chaumette Winery
Serving Norton Wine & Cheddar Gratin with Artisan Breads, paired with their Assemblage

Crown Valley Winery
Bittersweet Chocolate Pot de Crème Tartlets w/ Port Soaked Cherries, paired with their Port

Charleville Winery
Serving Hot Chili paired with the Genevieve Rivard--Sweet Chardonel

Giveaways
Sainte Genevieve Winery - $50 gift certificate,
Cave Winery - private group tasting for 10 to include select food& wine pairings,
Crown Winery - tour and tasting for four at Crown’s Champagne House opening February 18th, 2007
Chaumette Winery - mixed case of white wine, Charleville Winery - a snack basket with cheeses and sausage

For more info, hours and directions, visit:
www.cavevineyard.com, www.chaumette.com,
www.crownvalleywinery.com, www.saintegenevievewinery.com
www.charlevillevineyard.com

As you can see, they are beautiful.

Occassionally there are good deals to be had when it comes to fresh produce, and Dad happened upon one yesterday. Blueberries on sale. Rare but true. We haven't made blueberry wine for a couple years because the price of blueberries has skyrocketed lately.

This is a picture of Glenn pouring the blueberries into the crusher.

"Whiskey For My Men,

Wine For My Horses." Is that how that song goes? ;) This is my horse, Shadow. I got him for my 15th birthday. He's a Quarter Horse. During the winter he goes in the barn, but on some nice winter days he roams the barnyard, as shown here. Do you have a horse nibbling grass outside your office window?

Lovely B&B guests from Illinois

On the Front Steps of the Tasting Room

Sunshine Almost Always Makes Me Smile.

Education Available

At the beginning of February there is the Midwest Grape and Wine Conference at Tantara Lodge in the Lake of the Ozarks. If you are interested in growing grapes or making wine in Missouri or any part of the Midwest, this is the conference to attend. There are many great speakers lined up, plus a great tradeshow too. It's a great place to learn, mingle, drink wine, and really understand the wine industry in this part of the world. Click on the link for more information and registration.

At the end of January I will be teaching a Fundamentals of Enology class at Mineral Area Junior College in Park Hills, Missouri. I will be honest and tell you that I have never taught such an in depth class before, but I am looking forward to it. It is 15 weeks long, on Monday evenings and starts on January 22nd. It's not too late to sign up! We'll cover everything to the history of winemaking, how to make red, white, sparkling wine, along with lab analysis. We will also be tasting some wines, and visiting Missouri wineries. Now who doesn't want to take a class like that?

La Guignolee

Pronounced "la-ghee-o-lay"

Ste. Genevieve is a French town, founded by the French in 1735. The French were attracted to Ste. Genevieve by good soil, lead deposits, salt springs, the Catholic religion and the French language. Ste. Genevieve has the largest concentration of French Colonial architecture in the world. One of the French traditions that is still upheld today is the La Guignolee. This is a troupe of traveling singers, that go from door to door, ringing in the new year. The practice was primarily a chance to visit with relatives and friends, and it was more less, a traveling feast.

This year is no different. This 200 year old tradition will once again happen upon our little town. The singers, and musicians, dressed in colonial garb, will start at the American Legion Hall at 6 p.m., and make their way to all the restaurants, bars, nursing homes, high school gyms, and end at midnight at the Knights of Columbus Hall.

If you are looking for something unusual, festive, and traditional all at the same time, come to Ste. Genevieve for New Year's Eve. The Winery will be open until 5 p.m., so grab some wine and follow the band!

Translation of the words sung by the La Guignolee:
"Good evening master and mistress,
And all who live with you.
For the first day of the year, you owe us La Guignolee.
If you have nothing to give, a chine of meat or so will do.
A chine of meat is not a big thing, only ninety feet long.
Again, we don't ask for very much,
Only the oldest daughter of the house.
We will give her lots of good cheer,
And we will surely warm her feet.
Now, we greet you, and beg you to forgive us please.
If we have acted a little crazy, we meant it in good fun.
Another time we'll surely be careful
To know when we must come back here again.
Let us dance La Guenille, La Guenille, La Guenille!"

Congratulations!

to Jodi Brown, of Ste. Genevieve, for winning our Wine Diva Survival Pack. Jodi attended our Wine Diva Passport Weekend and went to all 5 wineries, and got entered into our drawing. Each of the 5 wineries chose a different winner for their prize. Jodi won from us a bottle of Christmas Plum wine, a gift certificate to our local spa, a rhinestone Wine Diva t-shirt, and a two bottle wine carrier. It's a perfect little indulgence right before the Holidays.

Crazy thing is that I know Jodi. No, the drawing was not rigged, but I did go to gradeschool and high school with Jodi, and her older sister, Niki, was one of my best friends throughout my adolescence. You'd think that by growing up in a small town like Ste. Genevieve, I'd realize by now just how small and coincidental this world really is, but sometimes I am still amazed. Anyway, congratulations Jodi.

This is a picture of one of the rooms we rent out in the B&B. This is the Fleur de Lis room.

My Dad and I in the tank room

Expansion Pack

An ice storm hit our area on November 30. Many trees broke in half, and school was closed. Even I was off work that Friday, we had no power, and there were too many trees over the roads. The vineyard sure did look nice, though.

When the sun hit the ice, there were a million little crystals...

Ice covered vineyard