Champlain Valley - Grapemans' vineyard - Planting to small winery

[ibglowin]

Looking good Rich!

I think you need a wood stove in there for sure!

 

[Goodfella]

SWEEEET

 

[grapeman]

No comments about the 2 feet of snow on the roof? It was beautifully bright and sunny today- and about 25 degrees.

 

[Wade E]

I was going to say something about that Rich!!!! I have been shoveling my roof for the past 1 1/2 weeks now. I had more snow on my roof when I finally bought the roof rake and was amazed when i first dug in of how much was really up there and how much it really weighed up there. It gets way heavier then the snow on the ground thats for sure!!!! Your place is really really starting to look awesome in there Rich!! Its amazing what some money and a lot of ward work can do!!!

 

[grapeman]

The roofing is steel so when we get a couple warm days or a bit more sun, it forms a thin layer of water underneath and then slides off the roof. Even though it was only low to mid twenties today, the roof was dripping a bit from the sun.

 

[Randoneur]

All that snow remind me of year ago. Our family lived near Boyne City, Michigan and 3 feet of snow on the ground was very common. Great snow skiing though!!

 

[Bert]

Looking very nice Appleman....Things seem to be coming together....Would love to see it in person one day...

 

[grapeman]

The snowy season has arrived here in the Champlain Valley. We have gotten 36 inches of snow in the last week. We had been with very little snow cover all winter and now the snow is at the fruiting wire at between 38 and 40 inches. The snow last evening was as heavy as I have ever seen, furatively and literally. It snowed about 3-4 inches per hour and we had a heavy thunderstorm for about 20-30 minutes. Pretty freaky as the lightning lit the nighttime sky a bright white as it illuminated the snow.


On another note. I will post some more pictures soon of the tasting room. I made pretty good progress yesterday on installing the knotty pine. I think the bar area will look pretty sharp when all done. I am alternating the v-groove on 45 degree angles on the walls and either side of the door to the winery. It gives the impression of a big glass behind the bar and an upside down V over the door, leading the eye to it. Lots of work to do yet, but it is starting to look like a lot more than an empty room.

 

[Wade E]

You got snow this time and we got rain all day. I had to run around and dig holes in all the snow piles to let the water go somewhere! Cant wait to see those pics Rich and hope that snow will help protect those vines from any future cold snaps you might get.

 

[vcasey]

Just took the time to look through the latest pictures and the tasting room looks terrific and I really love the pine. All that white stuff sure looks different from the white stuff stuff I see at the beach.
Wade I just can't even imagine having to dig holes in the snow for the rain water to drain or for that matter racking the snow off the roof.

 

[AlFulchino]

your turn Rich...i keep waiting for one greenhouse to collapse from our snow( i pray it wont) the heater kicked out on me so i stuck 2x5's in their to keep it rigid....gonna go over in a few to see what the freezing rain did to it

time to get this next six weeks over so we can both start pruning

 

[grapeman]

Here are a couple pictures of some snow. The first is my old Ranger pickup truck (the mound). Then a picture of some vines wearing a winter coat.

And then some pictures of some of the knotty pine going up along with tools and my helper Keith running wire in the soffit for accent lighting.

 

[grapeman]

The knotty pine will go around the rest of the room and will have three coats of a glosspoly to give it a hard shell. You don't stain it and in a few years or less it will turn a nice golden color like the picture above of my office wall. I think this will knock the socks off visitors and if not, at least I like it!


More to come. The bar will begin the next couple days.

 

[rrawhide]

looking great Rich - I love knotty pine - - - -


just wondering though, why Keith is not in short sleeves - that's how they do it here!!!


rrawhide

 

[grapeman]

Keith got a little soft. They went to Florida for the last year and came home at Christmas time- and it turned cold........ LOL It is about 50 degrees in there while we are working. He really is being a great help to me to get things done. I love doing everything myself, but his help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Runningwolf]

Rich looks really good! Keep the pictures coming

 

[jnmar]

Great pictures Rich, I know you're proud of it and you rightfully should be. It's going to be beautiful. Nice work!

Hopefully, winter will begin going away soon. I can see it's been a tough one.

 

[BonnieJoy]

Wow, Rich, I've been following your progress, and I love your choice of materials. That's gonna be a real cozy tasting room. Have you considerd putting in a wood or coal stove for supplemental heat & ambiance? Keep posting pics - I love watching your wineries growth..

 

[AlFulchino]

i love the look Rich!

 

[Goodfella]

Very nice Buddy!!!