How to build trellis using homegrown cedar posts

I've talked here, here, and here about our love of cedar posts for our trellis. Here's a real tutorial. First you cut the cedar posts (see first link above) in the woods, sometimes split them if they are too wide, and then sharpen them. From there they get put on the wagon, usually a few at a time with the front end loader on the tractor.

wagon full of split cedar posts ready to go to the vineyard

Then Dad takes the post off the wagon, and carries it to it's spot in the row of grapes.

Then he holds the post, and lines it up straight with the vines, and other posts, and other rows while the tractor pushes it in the ground.


This is a picture of Dad motioning to push the cedar post into the ground.

This is the end result; rows and rows of new cedar posts out of our forest, ready to have wire attached and hold up vines.

Press

Click here for a great article on our Earth Day event last weekend in the online version of the Wall Street Journal. Check back here soon for information on our next Route du Vin Event, the Progressive Dinner, or go to our website, Route du Vin Wine Trail to purchase tickets online, or call 1-800-398-1298 to order your tickets over the phone.

Bud Break!

Riesling

Riesling

Vignoles

Here are pictures of our 2009 bud break. You can see the Riesling are a little further along than the Vignoles. We are having a late spring this year, it has been long and wet and cold. Click here to see the Seyval Blanc bud break on April 12, 2006, and click here to see pictures of the Seyval blanc at bud break on April 2, 2007.

Happy Earth Day Weekend!

I'll be busy today prepping 300 goat cheese stuffed mushrooms using this recipe from Martha Stewart. Hope you have your tickets for the Jour de la Terre!

I've Been Away

Almost all conferences and seminars and wine competitions happen in the early part of the year because that time is the slowest around a winery. Last week I traveled in an Mt. Pleasant Winery RV to Geneva on the Lake, OH for a wine marketing conference called License to Steal. The idea is that wineries get together and "steal" each others ideas, whether it pertains to tasting room etiquette, or events, or facebook. I learned a lot and plan to implement new and fresh ideas throughout the Sainte Genevieve Winery.

Puppies For Sale

If you thought I was kidding about selling eggs ( I wasn't by the way) you can be sure I'm not kidding about selling these puppies. This is only half of them. My Dad's registered Border Collie had 8 puppies around Valentine's Day and they are (hopefully) on their way to other people's homes- like yours possibly? They're cute as can be. I think they have sold two and are keeping one, so that leaves 5, count them, 5 more puppies to sell. You want one? They are excellent at keeping critters out of your vineyard. Their mom, Cassie, also chases shadows and water coming out of the hose and will give you a stick to throw for hours on end, Frisbees too.

Hand Pruning

After Dad trims the vines with the hedger, we then have to go back through the vineyard and tidy up. This is what we are doing today. We have to get rid of all the rachii, and dead wood because they can breed disease.

Display

Ste. Genevieve is revamping their Tourist Information Center. It will now be called the Welcome Center. Every month different merchants, wineries, and artists will be able to put up a display in one of their many display cases. This is our display; we have the month of April and since this is the first month they are doing it, we set up a little early. You can see in the front middle we are displaying the original artwork for the new Cherry and Blackberry labels, painted my local artist Chuck Drost. There are also coupons for each display case, so when you are in Ste. Genevieve, make sure you stop by the new Welcome Center, check out the new displays, and grab a coupon. Can't wait to see you!

You know you can't live on a farm without chickens. They're laying eggs like crazy- anybody need a dozen?

Get Your Motor Running

As promised we are mechanically pruning this year. These pictures are very similar to pictures taken this time last year. Dad is driving the tractor all around the vineyard, back and forth, reaching both sides of every row of grapes, pruning, pruning, pruning. It is a gorgeous day here. Spring is fast approaching and there is much to do. After he finishes pruning, there is compost to scatter, and dormant spray to apply.

Check back again soon for more spring time vineyard happenings.

Jour de la Terre

The Wineries of Ste. Genevieve
Present
“Jour de la Terre (Earth Day)” on Ste. Genevieve’s Route du Vin
April 18 & 19, 2009
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 6 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 6 wineries your name will be entered in a drawing for “Jour de la Terre” 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 6 unique wineries on the Route du Vin:

Sainte Genevieve Winery

Cave Winery

Chaumette Winery
Twin Oaks Winery

Charleville Winery

Sand Creek Winery

Cost: $20/person until April 10, 2009; $25/person after April 10
(includes complimentary wine glass, and 10% off wine purchases made that day)
Tickets may be purchased in advance by calling Sainte Genevieve Winery:
800-398-1298, through our website RDVWine Trail , or in the tasting room of participating wineries. Tickets are non refundable after April 10, 2009.

Wine & Food Pairing Menu:
Sainte Genevieve Winery:
Goat Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms with Parsley Paired with Ste. Gemme
Charleville Winery:
Italian Pasta Salad with Oregano Dressing Paired with Chambourcin
Chaumette Winery:
Basil Pesto Marinated Chicken Skewers with Spring Carrot Salad Paired with 2007 Estate Chardonel
Twin Oaks Winery:
Homemade Salsa with Fresh Veggies & Cilantro Paired with Traminette
Cave Winery:
Grandma Strussione's Anise Biscotti & Pizzelles paired with Chardonel Off Dry
Sand Creek Winery:
Smoked Salmon Tar Tare' Dill Spread on Bagel Crisps Paired with Sweet Chardonel

Join us on the Route du Vin year round for these seasonal events!
3rd Weekend in April 2009: Jour de la Terre (Earth Day)
3rd Weekend in May 2009: Progressive Dinner
3rd Weekend in November 2009: Wine Diva Weekend
2nd Weekend in February 2010: Romancing the Grape
For additional info, hours, and directions visit: RDV Wine Trail

Come Visit Me! I'll pour you some wine!

I will be at the Schnucks grocery store in Cottleville this Saturday, February 28th from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. pouring our Blackberry, Concord and Apple. Come by and say hello, and taste some wine, and maybe, possibly even buy a bottle. It's really a win-win situation- I get to meet you and you get wine. =) How bad can that be?

See you there!?!

Rolling Hills of Missouri

Here's a picture of our long rows of "new" Concord. The "old" Concord was planted sometime in the early 1980's, and this "new" Concord was planted sometime in the early 1990's. So, they really aren't "new" hence the quotations. Today Dad is taking our tractor to a neighboring winery so they can fit it with one of their mechanical pruners, and all these vines will get a hair cut real soon. It seems odd that so much of the vineyard is unpruned right now, being that we are heading into late February, but one swipe with the "new" trimmer and we will be good to go. Pictures of that coming soon.

Winter Work

In the winter we cut down and sharpen cedar posts for the vineyard from our woods. Then, in the spring we use them in the vineyard for trellis. It's all part of our sustainable farming motto here.

winter sunrise

I'm Really Getting Into Winter

Katie and Clyde own Peaceful Bend Winery in Steelville, Missouri. If you haven't been there yet, you are really missing out. Their winery is back in the woods, but not hard to find. It is beautiful there, and the wine is outstanding. Katie and I are friends in real life, but we are also blog friends. She has two blogs, just like me, a personal one and a winery one. Last week they did some sledding, and it looks like so much fun, and makes me laugh. If these videos don't make you like winter, or even the idea of winter, then your heart might just be an icicle. The video I like the best is on Katie's personal blog PeacefulkT's Pursuits, but there are lots of great video on the Peaceful Bend blog too.

Need Some Winter Encouragement?

"There's a point where you can give up on winter--when temptation can enter your soul, prying its way in like cold air through the cracks in your cabin--around January sixteenth or so, and this can make you realize that February's coming, and beyond February, March.

See, I don't yet realize that March will be the hardest month. Early February's the coldest, and often the snowiest, but March, strange, silent March, will be the hardest.

The danger in yielding to thoughts of spring--green grass, hikes, bare feet, lakes, fly-fishing, rivers, and sun, hot sun--is that once these thoughts enter your mind, you cant get them out.

Love the winter. Don't betray it. Be loyal.

When the spring gets here, love it too--and then the summer.

But be loyal to the winter, all the way through--all the way, and with sincerity--or you'll find yourself high and dry, longing for a spring that's a long way off, and winter will have abandoned you, and in her place you'll have cabin fever, the worst.

The colder it gets, the more you've got to love it."

~Rick Bass fr. Winter -Notes from Montana

Snow, finally

I'm one of those few people who actually like winter. I like the calm. I love the winter sunrises and sunsets on my way to and from work. I love snow- love how it puts a sheen and glimmer over everything. I hate when people complain about winter, I hate complainers in general. I try to change things I don't like, not dwell on the fact that poor little me is unhappy. I'm actually also in love with Maine; have my pink house all picked out near the ocean in York. One day, one winter I'm going to spend it in Maine, all holed up, all comfy with my flannel pajamas, slippers, wood fire, bread baking, and a gazillion books, and movies.

Isn't winter beautiful? If you're looking for a romantic vineyard- this is it. It isn't in the fall when we harvest- there's too many bees, and so much work. It's here, in these pictures, in the snow. The vines patiently wait to be pruned, resting their poor little tendrils and shoulders, slump over and put their weight on the wire for a month or two before we ask them to bear fruit again. They deserve this break.

I'm pretty sure this is our Norton bunch.
tendril
old Concord vines

Tour of Missouri Comes to Ste. Genevieve!

Tour of Missouri Announces 2009 Host Cities
Third Annual Elite Pro Cycling Race, Sept. 7-13

JEFFERSON CITY, MO (January 27, 2009)Event organizers and Missouri Lt. Governor Peter Kinder today announced the start and finish host cities and the overall course for the third Tour of Missouri professional cycling race, scheduled for September 7-13, 2009.

The following cities will play host to a leg of the Tour: St. Louis, Ste. Genevieve, Cape Girardeau, Farmington, Rolla, St. James, Jefferson City, Sedalia, Chillicothe, St. Joseph, and Kansas City.

"We had a record amount of cities inquire about the Tour of Missouri," said Lt. Governor Kinder. "It is a testament to the success of the race. We faced a very difficult process of eliminating some great cities. Our commitment, however, is to continue to route the course to all areas of the state. This year, for the first time, we will visit the southeast part of Missouri while spending a longer time north of Interstate 70. In addition, we will be able to highlight some of the agricultural regions."

The overall course will take on a very different slant in 2009. For the first time, the race will route east to west, starting in St. Louis and finishing in Kansas City. The past two years, the race routed west to east starting in Kansas City to finish in St. Louis. Stage by stage courses will be announced at a later date.

"In keeping with tradition, we will change the course from year to year to keep it fresh," said Chris Aronhalt, the managing partner of event organizers Medalist Sports of the Atlanta area. "There will be new drama on the race route and we expect a few more hills. Overall, we have some great and very excited host cities."

The race will be contested over seven days and seven stages. There will be two circuit races (St. Louis, Kansas City), one individual time trial (Sedalia), and four point to point road races (Ste. Genevieve to Cape Girardeau; Farmington to Rolla; St. James to Jefferson City; Chillicothe to St. Joseph).

STE GENEVIEVE'S FOURTH FRIDAY ART WALK SKATES ON THROUGH THE WINTER MONTHS

Ste Genevieve's Art Community Presents the Monthly Fourth Friday Art Walk on the Evening of January 23.

The artists and their supporters will put on their coats and hats and go out in chilly weather, once again, to enjoy the Fourth Friday Art Walk in Ste Genevieve, Missouri. This is the seventh month in a row that this event is being held.

Long known for it's historical buildings, and the artist colony which populated it in the 1930's, Ste Genevieve and it's art community is witnessing a resurgence lately. In 2008, four spaces were opened in the historic downtown district by artists to display art. In 2009, there are plans for four more to open. These eight new spaces are joining four others which have kept art visible in Ste Genevieve for years.

In addition, it has been announced that young people's art will be on display for the Fourth Friday event in a display called "Art at Sara's Antiques" from 6-9 pm. Iris Vincent, an art teacher and one of the organizers of the children and youth art exhibit, says that this display is planned for Fourth Fridays only, at this time. The other studios and galleries are looking forward to this new exhibit being a part of the Fourth Friday Art Walk.

The venues reporting to be open this Fourth Friday are Studio 221, The Center for the Arts, Galleria Ste Genevieve, Studio de Michel, Mo'sArt Studio, Art at Sara's Antiques and Only Child Originals. Other businesses, such as Ivy & Twigs and Miss Patty's Place, have been open to art walkers' delight on Fourth Fridays. "The Ste Genevieve community and local businesses have been very generous and supportive of the artists on Fourth Fridays," says one organizer of the event.

The studios and galleries try to have new work on display, featured and regular artists to visit with, and refreshments for visitors to enjoy. There is no charge for this event and it is open to the public. Maps for the Art Walk may be picked up at any art studio or gallery open during the Fourth Friday Art Walk.

For more information on the art studios and galleries in Ste Genevieve, on the web, visit http://stegenartwalk.blogspot.com



For more information or an interview, contact:
Mike Devaney
573-883-3783 or 573-915-1470

Clip Clop

Here's another picture of Shadow, my horse. Click here or here for previous pictures of my "stud."

Our Biggest Tank

This 4,000 gallon tank has only ever held Concord or Christmas Plum. Today we racked the Concord 2008 that was inside. We are still trying to figure out how to get the lees out, since there is only a small drain at the bottom. It used to be a milk truck, so I guess they didn't have "lees" in the milk. Thank God.

So, I climbed inside to try to coerce the lees out of the drain. I won't linger too long on the fact that I fell down and landed on my behind into the lees. It wasn't pretty, but it was cold. My little wet butt was cold all the way up to the farmhouse to take a shower. Did I mention it is 40 degrees today? Still didn't get the lees out; they'll wait for Plan B (whatever that is.)

The first picture is showing the tartrate crystals caked on the side. This is good because now they aren't in my wine anymore. This is also kind of bad, because since we emptied the tank today, they are still kind of wet, so they are easy (easier) to get off the side of the tank, but since the lees will be in there at least all of today, the tartrates will dry, therefore solidifying them forever more (sometimes it seems like) onto the inside of the tank.


In the second picture you can see #1 Just how big this tank is; #2 the lees that are the consistancy of applesauce on the bottom of the tank; and #3 the tartrates clinging to the side of the tank.

The last picture is the hole I climb in and out of the tank. Did I mention that I am 6 months pregnant? Good times. If I was any further along my belly nor my bottom would fit through this hole (at least that's what I plan to tell my assisstant tomorrow.)

Another New Website, and Ideas for Valentine's Day

We now have a Route du Vin website up and running. It has a list of all our events, a place to buy tickets to an event online, and a place to sign up for our newsletter. Exciting! Now if I could just get my regular website back... one of many work related New Year's resolutions. And if you are wondering about our next Route du Vin Event, here's some info.

The Wineries of Ste. Genevieve
Present
“Romancing the Grape” on Ste. Genevieve’s Route du Vin
February 14 & 15, 2009
11am-5pm

Roses are red, violets are blue, the Route Du Vin has something special for you! This Valentine’s Weekend, romance the one you love on the Route du Vin! An afternoon, or an entire weekend, in Ste. Genevieve enjoying fine wines and decadent foods is sure to help you find your Valentine passion.
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
Twin Oaks Winery
Charleville Winery

Cost: $20/person until January 30, 2009; $25/person after January 30th
(includes complimentary wine glass, and 10% off wine purchases made that day)
Tickets may be purchased in advance by calling Sainte Genevieve Winery:
800-398-1298, through our website www.RDVWineTrail.com , or in the tasting room of participating wineries. Tickets are non refundable after January 30, 2009.

Wine & Food Pairing Menu:
Sainte Genevieve Winery:
Elegant Fig Appetizers with Goat Cheese and Almonds Served with our Seyval Blanc.

Charleville Winery:
Olive Spread on Italian Toasts with Smoked Oysters paired with
Sparkling Chardonel with a Strawberry.

Chaumette Winery:
Butternut Squash Ravioli with Butter-Poached Grapes paired with
2007 Estate Chardonel

Twin Oaks Winery:
Delicious Profiterole Pastry Served Cold with a Sweet Cream Filling and Topped with a Light Dusting of Powdered Sugar. Paired with Our Crisp, Light and Fruity Traminette.

Cave Winery:
Through the ages, almonds have been thought to induce passion. We invite you to indulge in an assortment of Almond Biscotti dipped in Dark Chocolate, Macaroons, and Marzipan Cookies Paired Perfectly with our Crisp Chardonel Off Dry.

Sand Creek Winery:
Buttery Phyllo Cups Filled with Gourmet Almond, Cranberry Chicken Salad and Smooth Velvety Chocolate Truffles Paired with our Plank Road Red.

Join us on the Route du Vin year round for these seasonal events!
3rd Weekend in April 2009: Jour de la Terre (Earth Day)
3rd Weekend in May 2009: Progressive Dinner
3rd Weekend in November 2009: Wine Diva Weekend

Also, if you are looking for something to do in St. Louis for Valentine's Weekend, you can always find us at Westport for the Missouri Winefest.

Just a couple things to tell you about to keep you in the know...

There's a new Mississippi River Hills blog. Check it out!

Want to taste some wine? I will be at Lukas Liquor tomorrow from 2-6 p.m. and I will be at The Missouri Mercantile store in the Mills Mall on Sunday from 1-4 p.m.

See you there!

Cecilia came with us on Saturday to help pass out cupcakes. She found these plastic grapes and thought they might taste good.

Chocolate Cranberry Wine Cupcakes

Last weekend was our Wine Diva weekend with the other wineries in the area and we served these cupcakes along with our Cranberry Wine. What a treat for a diva!

3 Things That Should Be On Everyone's Christmas List

Autumn

I know it was less than two weeks ago that I was complaining about hot weather. Well, today the high is 48, and there is a wind chill. Guess I need to bring a heavier coat to work.

These pictures were taken today. I know the first two look similar, but I couldn't decide which one I liked better. You are looking over the Norton, and onto the lower Concord.

The last picture is what we think is a random Pinot Noir vine.

Last Day of Harvest

Today is the last day of harvest. We are picking Vidal today. We usually pick the Norton last, but the Vidal was taking it's own sweet time getting ripe this year. We also have a few Rougeon and Chambourcin hanging out there that will get picked today also.



This is a picture of the back of the harvestor. It goes over the row of grapes and shakes them with finger looking beaters, then conveyor belts move the grapes up and over; out the side arm and into the bins.

This is Rose standing on the wagon making sure the grapes go into the bin. It's not as easy as it looks, the harvestor and wagon go at different speeds, and the terrain is not totally level so the arm moves up and down as well as side to side.
This last picture is the Vidal blanc juice coming out of the press. It's a little green, but will clear up when we rack it tomorrow morning. All white grapes are green when pressed. It foams a little too.

Remember those Norton grapes we have been looking at all spring and summer? Well, we picked them on Monday. The fruit is beautiful, the chemistry superb, and the fermentation is progressing right on schedule.

As we've seen here before, I have a sweet spot for the farm cats.

Sepia toned hay bales

Baby!

I propped her up one day over the summer when she could sit up but not very well in between these boxes of unlabelled Valle Rhine and Vignoles.

first taste of a local blackberry

Yesterday, 9.12.08

just waiting for the sugar to rise and the acid to drop now

Today!

Welcome

If you found us through the St. Louis Magazine welcome! Our big, normal website is temporarily down and out, so here is my little blog. I originally started this blog because our tasting room in downtown Ste. Genevieve sometimes seems like a storefront, and I know it's so much more than that. There are quite a few wineries in Missouri who do not grow their own grapes or make their own wine (shocking, I know) and so since our vineyard is not open to the public, I wanted to make it available through this wonderful thing called the whole wide web.

If you are wondering about the pictures of the cluster of grapes, way back when early this growing season I started taking a picture a week of a cluster of Norton grapes, so you can scroll down and see the backward progression.

If you have any questions whatsoever about our winery, just email me at stgenwinery@hotmail.com

Picture Taken 8.28.08

Picture Taken 8.22.08

Absent

Since my office is way out in the boonies I have satellite internet. It's supposed to be faster than dial up, and it is, but not by much. 19 days ago some part of the thing that helps me use the internet (can you tell I'm technically challenged) got struck by lightening and my internet service provider has yet to come out to the boonies and fix it. I say 19 days because that is what I told them the 5 times that I called them today, and once yesterday and the day before, and the repair man on Tuesday. Good times. Anyway (Artie Lange would say "wahhh!") here is my picture of the week, 3 weeks late, and two weeks skipped. All apologies.

The grapes are getting ripe, you can see, but we are a little late this year. Looks like Concord is a least a week away, and Vignoles more like two weeks away.

I'll keep you posted, and if you have any pull with the powers that be, ask them to kindly repair my internet.

Small Winery Lab Workshop

A couple weeks ago I went to Mizzou and attended a small winery lab workshop. I went for two reasons. The first reason was that I teach a Fundamentals of Enology class at the local junior college and I wanted to hear Rebecca's take on teaching the lab work, and I also wanted to test my own pH meter to the university's to make sure mine was working well before harvest. You can read all about the workshop here and see a picture of me on the top picture with the two men to my left.

July 26, 2008

As you can see, the grape cluster is not getting much bigger. Instead all the growth is now happening inside the grapes themselves. Sugar is rising and acid is decreasing, although you wouldn't know it if you ate one today. It would be way too sour. Some of the early ripening grapes are going through verasion now, though, so harvest is in sight. Time to ready the crush pad, order yeast, and clean some tanks.

Week Eight

Way Late

I'm a couple days late. I got messed up with that holiday. What was I thinking taking a day off like that? Now I'm all behind.

Anyway, here she is, the little beauty is growing up right before our very eyes.

Art in Ste. Genevieve

There is a thriving artist community in Ste. Genevieve. In the 1930s there was an artist colony here. I have this beautiful book about the colony. Now we have a very busy Artist Guild. I have already mentioned Chuck Drost who is painting and designing our new labels one by one. Click on some other links; Studio de Michel, Ali Cavanaugh who is new to Ste. Genevieve, Mike Devaney, and his grandmother's typewriter art Winifred T. Caldwell.

Very interesting indeed.