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.