Winery Grand Opening

Longtime coming but it's is time!  The tanks are full.  The crush pad has served it's purpose this fall and we are now ready to welcome friends and family to have a peek at the new (slightly expanded) indoor space and extended patio.  It is that time of the year when harvests are in, the days are getting shorter, the leaves are turning and it is time to gather with friends and family to spend some quality time together!  Hello fall!

Fall at the vineyards

This is such a busy time at the vineyard and yet, it is also the best time at the vineyard.  The vines are at their best - full canopy, ripe fruit on the vines or in some cases, we have just harvested.  The weeds are under control so if you want to take a walk in the vines, you actually can!!  If you walk into the tasting room, you may catch the distinct smell fermenting wine.  Oh yeah - the downside - fruit flies!  But, all in all - a year of hard work is every where to be seen, smelled and experienced!  The days are still nice so folks come out for a picnic or a stroll in the vineyards.  The evenings are cool so we sit by the fire and enjoy a glass of wine with our friends.  We all know what a busy time this is with kids back in school, football, all the various barbeques and fall fests but it is still great to stop, take in the fall colors and enjoy the season! 

Outside on the outside!

Well, the building is closed in (not completed but the outside stays on the outside now)!  :)  We now have our tanks, filter, press, crusher, hoses, fittings, etc. and everything is in a space that is completed from the inside and closed in.  We hope to harvest and crush in the next week or so.

We are also opening up on Friday evenings starting the friday after labor day so a lot of excitement at the vineyard!  Looking back, this has been quite a journey and not one that we could have managed without our great customers and friends.  Later in the fall, we plan to have a special celebration to thank all the people that have helped, encouraged, put up with, guided, and been responsible for our progress!  Stay tuned - it includes you!

Harvest and Fall

As you have noticed from all the winery newsletters you get from all the wineries, it is harvest time!!  This year, that includes us!  In preparation, we have been working on the extension of our winery building.  The crush pad was completed a few weeks ago, the new structure is now all closed in and we are working on the insides getting ready for delivery of our tanks.  The filter and press have already been delivered.  Just a few short weeks and we will have it all enclosed and functional.

So, with the summer as hot and humid as it was, we have decided we will make the best of fall!  What does that mean?  That means we will open up on Friday evenings for the fall - Fall Fridays!  That means cool fall evenings enjoying the vineyards and hopefully some great stories and bonding by the firepit.  We will kick this off with our 'Songwriters Unplugged' evening on Friday, September 17th!!  We will likely go through October and into the early part of November!  Fence Stile Fall Fridays!

Where does the time go?

It has been a very busy month - just looked back and noticed there hadn't been a post for 6 weeks!  Any of you that have been out to the vineyard have noticed a number of changes I'll bet.  The biggest one being - the cistern work is underway!  We're adding a 2nd cistern to hold 16,000 gallons of water.  The view to the whites is impacted a little bit by the work underway but the work should be complete in a few weeks.  We've also relesed a new wine - remmuS and updated a couple of our labels for this year's bottling (Loft Red and Becca Blend).  This year's Reserve Vidal Blanc is back as well so lots of great options for some summer sipping.

If you've looked at the website, you'll also notice that we have music now almost every Saturday - Laura introduced us to some very talented artists and we've had a blast listening to them every weekend.  It is wonderful because they all play original music or public domain music (not covers) so you get a chance to hear something unusual and original!  In fact, we are working on a couple of special and unique events for September - stay tuned for details.

So what's next?  Well, in addition to the September music event, we are gearing up for crush and then perhaps another Fence Stile Vineyards & Winery cook-off (still in the planning stages).  Of course the rain and humidity are now a constant but, thankfully, there is a breeze across the vines most days so, life is good!

Progress (slow but steady)

The crush pad is now poured and the roof is partially on.  The winery building is starting to have shape.  We detoured a little bit when the sprayer broke and had to be rebuilt, twice!  The days are nice and long too so we are able to get into the vineyards in the evenings and work on the vines (although it still feels like there aren't enough days in a week to get things done)!

The weekends are great - lots of people coming out for celebrations, book clubs, group get togethers, etc.  It is wonderful to see all the things people celebrate and be a small part of it.

It's summer!

It's summer - we have gone from cool rainy days to warm days in a heart beat!  So, in the vineyard, that means lots of growth and weeds!  For weeks it was hard to get the tractor out in the rows and now, there is so much green (some wanted - some, not so much)!  So, it's time for the weeding parties (next one June 5th) and for spending time in the vines before the tasting room opens and at the end of the evening -- look for a day when it has rained and get in the next day to pull with ease.  :)

We have also released remmuS and have our Reserve Vidal Blanc back!  Now that is summer!  We also have the music lined up for the next few months, our annual BBQ booked and several other events.  The tent structure is reconstructed and we have plenty of firewood for the cool evenings.

On the construction front, the winery building is framed and we are now working on getting the roof on and then we will focus on the inside framing.  The crushpad wall has been poured and the rest will be poured as weather permits!  Next - order the equipment!  Gulp!  The plus side?  The tasting room will be even bigger and a private patio for use by special guests, friends and family!  All in all, it's a good life!