Halloween Party

The bonfire-to-be

I think we're ready- Garland built a beautiful bonfire pit and made lots of marshmallow roasting sticks, and Claudia got all the craft tables set up. We'll do the pumpkin carving outside in our picnic area- don't forget to bring a pumpkin! We've got the tools for you and we'll have a few spares in case you forget yours. Also remember to dress up in your best costume because we're giving away prizes for the Most Original, Scariest, and Cutest costumes. Bring your guitar or your favorite scary story to share around the bonfire. And try some of our spiced wine!

Happy wine tasters at the 2010 Autumn Wine Festival

Quick wine update- Richard and Taylor filtered the Joe's Cool Red yesterday, all day, and it's getting close to being ready to bottle. It was in cold stabilization the past few weeks but that ended this week with a crash when all the ice fell off the side of the tank (we were expecting it). Our bottling date for that is November 19, so anyone who is interested is welcome to come check out the process.

A beautiful evening with DEA

Our event room is getting booked up with holiday parties for December. Instead of the usual price for daytime events we're offering free room rental, and for evening events there is a 25% discount. A unique place to host your company Christmas party so give us a call or email to reserve a date!



We'll host a fundraiser this Sunday for Dorchester Citizens for Planned Growth and next Sunday for the Vienna Heritage Foundation. Consider coming and supporting these very worthwhile causes. More information is on our website at laytonschance.com.

Autumn Wine Festival

 Another big weekend of wine tasting! We have an awesome group of volunteers ready for the weekend and I hope everyone reading this comes by our tent to say hello. Look for the big Joe's Cool Red banner! It's a great chance to tell folks on the shore what the Laytons have been working on for the past few years. Get more information about the Autumn Wine Festival here.

A nice turnout for Business After Hours,
and great food from Jimmie & Sook's

Everyone has been in the field this week (until Thursday morning's rain started coming down). William was picking soybeans til he couldn't see anymore, and Joe has started planting wheat. Hopefully the winds this weekend will help dry things out so that they can get back to the fields next week.

We have some new equipment in the winery. Since our 2000 gallon tank is full of Traminette (for our Lazy Day White) we had to order another giant tank to use when we're racking wine. The spidery steel base was a hit with the kids when it first arrived.


My favorite feature of the production area these days is the Chambourcin, which has been fermenting for a while and gives off a nice odor of alcohol and yeast. It tastes wonderful though, heavier than last year's Chambourcin with a nice full body. William makes sure that it gets stirred regularly to keep even fermentation. Really, it's tougher than it looks!

Happy Hour with JohnE Wa2C going on as I write. Come out and join us as we wind down from the week.