Watermelon Wine on Shelf!

It's been a busy week both inside and out of the winery. The week started out busy with 2000 gallons of concord fermenting for our next and largest batch yet of Joe's Cool Red due out in May of 2011. Richard racked the Niagara that finished fermentation which we will use in blending this spring.

The vineyard saw lots of pruning this week thanks to Nellie, Janet, Chuck and Garland. Were still not even halfway done with pruning for the spring but we are making good progress. We are a lot farther ahead this year then in years past. We also got a new vineyard shed which will make Joe happy because he now gets his farm building back free of all the vineyard supplies.

Now for the important update most have been waiting for "Alison's Wonderful Watermelon Wine" is now bottled and on our shelves for sale to our customers. Our bottler arrived bright and early and after some minor repairs and some ingenuity we were ready to begin bottling. It took a little over three hours to bottle 2342 bottles. The watermelon wine will only be available for sale through our tasting room due to limited supplies.

2011 Events

Ok, we're getting closer to having Alison's Wonderful Watermelon Wine on the shelf! It's been a lot of fun- picking out the bottle and capsules (Pink!), designing the label, making and tasting the wine! At the end of this month we'll be able to put it all together.

We're starting to book up our event room for the year. This past weekend we saw plenty of familiar faces here for a baby shower, and on Monday we hosted an all day business retreat for a local insurance group. From high school reunions and birthday parties to bridal showers and wedding receptions, the winery is an excellent place to celebrate an intimate occasion. As the host of the baby shower said at the end of the party "I love having events here- it's beautiful, everyone has fun, and now I can go home!"

As far as public events, we'll continue to have happy hour every 1st & 3rd Friday through May, and starting with the anniversary of our grand opening there will be live music outside every other Saturday night. Jen confirmed yesterday that Randy Lee Ashcraft will play to celebrate our One Year Anniversary on May 28th! Sundaes at Sunset will continue as well, and we'll have lots to look forward to in the fall, starting with the Harvest Festival on Sept. 24! You can see the calendar on our website, or sign up for our newsletter to get an update about upcoming events.

Don't forget- happy hour this Friday with blues guitarist Chris English! And so you don't have to rush off to dinner we'll have a small happy hour menu available with chili, veggies, hot wings and our usual cheese plates. Have a bottle and a bite and relax into the weekend!

WW Label, Happy Hour & Sweetheart's Dinner

We're off to a good start for the new year, with our Watermelon Wine labels finally receiving approval from the TTB yesterday. It's not too complicated to submit the application and make corrections, but sometimes the process gets drawn out (especially over the Christmas holiday season!) Regardless, it's been approved, and we have beautiful artwork created by Brad Hudson to grace the front of Alison's Wonderful Watermelon Wine. Everyone at the winery is excited (Richard says it's his favorite wine) and I know the Layton's Chance community has been patiently anticipating it's release. Just a few more weeks to get the labels printed and to bottle everything and we'll be ready to go!

Happy hour is back after a December hiatus! Last Friday JohnE Wa2C drew a fun crowd, including a special visit from a former tasting room employee Alison Moore. You might have met her at our grand opening or over the summer, and since September she's been in Niagara Falls (Canada) studying wine-making.

Chris English of Cambridge played
blues guitar at a November happy hour

On January 21st we'll have Chris English at the winery playing blues guitar. We'll offer a special happy hour menu (all food under $10) for the evening- Chili, Hot wings, Veggies & Dip, and Cheese Plates of course!

Also coming up (and it's never too early to plan for this!) is Valentine's Day! We're hosting a Sweetheart's Dinner at the winery in the event room, catered by Amanda Bramble of Jimmie & Sook's. Come with just your sweetheart or bring another couple to share the special evening. Reservations must be made by Feb. 7th, for 2, 4 or 6 people.