Crush Time

The Syrah and Merlot are crushed and fermenting!  It has been a great year for the grapes.  Stop by and sample some of the ripe wine grapes while you sample the finished wine.

Spring is Coming!

We are starting to see wildflowers blooming!

It's been cold!

 

 We have had some cold foggy weather, with the upside being some really beautiful hoar frost covering everything.

World's Best Mac & Cheese for Thanksgiving

 Beecher's Mac & Cheese for Thanksgiving Weekend!  It is pretty darn good!!!
Stop by the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving to sample some and some Steppe Cellars wine too.
We will have the grapevines ready to go for grapevine wreath making.

Grapevine Wreaths

I am working on getting some grapevine wreaths made up as samples for Thanksgiving weekend.  Got a little inspired with some I saw and thought it would be fun to have a few ready to go.  Check out our pinterest page for what I'm shooting for - know they won't look quite like that --but will give a few of them a go!
http://pinterest.com/steppecellars/

Mushroom Hunting

We took advantage of things slowing down a little and went out mushroom hunting with some friends.  Found some chanterelle mushrooms and had them in a wonderful soup  -(with a little wine!).  The forest was gorgeous - after a little rain and sun shining through in shafts of light.  Love this fall weather!

Crush

 These pictures are from earlier this month - when we were pressing the Riesling grapes. 
The first picture is of the juice from the grapes being pressed out into the collecting tray of the press.  We apply gentle air pressure to a rubber bladder - or mat - that squeezes the juice out of the grapes. 
Next we have a hose connected to the press, which takes the juice to the tank.
In the tank there are cold bands that allow us to slow down the yeast for a nice long fermentation.