Champlain Valley - Grapemans' vineyard - Planting to small winery

[Randoneur]

That is great!! Congratulations to you!!

 

[Wade E]

Awesome Rich, I have a local winery not to far from me which is one of my favorites as is my wifes as they also sell local farm cheese along with their wines and that is just great. Wouldnt be a bad idea for you. They have a few seats around the inside and many picnic tables outside where you can sit and eat cheese and drink some of the wine. Another thing they sell is tthese crackers which are just awesome.
http://www.americanvintage.com/

 

[Runningwolf]

Way to go Rich! Great news.

 

[BonnieJoy]

So, Rich, show us the news labels, pretty please.

 

[grapeman]

It has been a while since I posted. Here is a quick shot for Bonnie. Sorry no closeups. This was at our Thursday Farmer's Market - in a local recreation center for winter.

Here are a few shots of the vineyard in the snow.

 

[Runningwolf]

Looking good there Rich. Nice that you have another outlet for selling your wines and getting you name out there.

 

[ibglowin]

Nothing prettier than a vineyard in snow at Christmas.

Wine looks pretty darn good as well!

 

[grapeman]

One thing that is interesting about the market is that there is online pre-ordering for all our items. People can browse online, make a purchase and pick up that week. This week one person bought a case of mixed wine for a party. That will be a nice way to spread the word of the wine.

 

[BonnieJoy]

Beautiful, just a beautiful site - all those bottles lined up for consumers todrool over. Rich, your snow covered vineyard is absolutely picturesque. I can visualize one of those pics on a dessert wine label.

 

[AlFulchino]

might fine Rich..i see you are proudly showing those awards

snow....man you got some..i still dont have any but they say sun/mon we may so i fired up the furnaces in the greenhouses to make sure we are ready...GodSpeed on the wine my friend

 

[Scott]

Very nice layout, someday maybe get out that way and sample! Or..... when you do a country wide tour?? Yea that's the ticket

 

[grapeman]

As said in the New Year's posts, I am adding siding to the winery previously known as the old barn. I am going green here and recycling old materials. This wood sells for a premium price of around $5 per square foot. It comes with an authentic patina to the wood with plenty of pre-stressing and authentic worm holes. The boards range from brownish to gray and even some with a bit of green tinting to them. It maintains the authentic rural rustic charm of the building and rich people pay through the nose for the look.

(Just don't tell anyone that we tore all the siding boards off the old collapsed barn in many of my pictures here on the forum. The nails were pulled and we are siding the winery with them. I think it looks great!)

You guys want pictures so I will post some as the siding gets done (it may take a while, I am not as quick as I used to be).

Once the siding is on, I will be adding fascia boards and soffit from barn board also.

 

[AlFulchino]

its gonna be welcoming and warm Rich...do you have any idea for a property or building sign/logo that you might be installing?

 

[ibglowin]

Looks good Rich!

Is the inside finished at all?

No snow!

 

[fivebk]

Looks GREAT !!!!!!!

BOB

 

[grapeman]

Al the door you see will be a side door mainly for my use and the occasional handicapped person. The main door will be on the front and will be led up to with a pergola with vines growing up either side and possibly a bench underneath and paved in stone to the door. That will be installed in the spring as the ground thaws and time permits.


Yes I have ideas for signage

But you will all need to wait for any pictures until they are done and installed. Hint - I have lots of bare exterior wall space........


The reason I hadn't posted pictures yet was because it is a work in progress. I have no budget to speak of so it is done as time and money allows. Mike the inside is useable but no, not finished.


No snow now- it melted over the last few days as it approached 50 degrees. Back to reality today with highs in the 20's this week, but lows close to that also.

 

[Runningwolf]

Rich, I love the look! Can't wait to see more work in progress pictures!

 

[AlFulchino]

Rich, just one thought to share...i had also thought about using some vines for ambiance close to the winery...but i did not do it because you have to spray them to make things look tip top because THAT is where EVERYONE is going to see things up close.....if you have to spray it means two POSSIBLE things...one is you will have to deal w the REI......the second issue is drift not only onto you patio area but into the winery itself

 

[grapeman]

Yep, I had thought of that Al. I have three possibilities
1) Don't do it
2) Let the riparia vines grow up over the trellis . They have grown there for years now and the trunk is 4 inches thick- no spray ever!
3)Grow the NY 95.301.01 vines since they will be protected by the winery building and should do fine. They are a no spray variety developed by Bruce Reisch of Cornell. They are a great looking vine and grape and a promising red variety.


I am certainly going to put in a 16x20 foot patio in that location and I thought a pergola type arbor would give some shade and draw attention to the entrance.

 

[Wade E]

Looking good my friend. Ive worked with that kind of wood many times with stairs and cabinets. That wood looks pretty sturdy still. Ive had to build stairs a few times with wood like that way way gone and had to hold it all together with the West System Glue and even plywood underneath the treads a few times!!! Cant wait to see it all done. Ill have to make 2 trips next year, once to yours and once to Als as I never made it there last year.