putting the Christmas tree up

So much has been happening in the past month, I'm so happy... but broke as always.

First off, Jason and I hit up the amish country wineries. We started out at Breitenbach, which if you see it from the highway, it's this giant gorgeous purple castle thing that just begs for you to stop.
We ordered an oven fired pizza and wandered around their massive gift shop. I snuck out back and pointed out every piece of machinery and rapid fire explained what each does and what I did in North Carolina and everything I learned. Their tours of the production room were $3 and we were waiting for our pizza so I didn't mind not seeing the inside. Their giant stainless steel tanks were outside, which is odd to me because it's so cold, but I think their production is higher than their space.

We taste tested their wines, a lot of whites and sweets and every fruit wine you can think of, including cranberry. Their merlot was good, their cabernet sauvingnon was accurate, but I liked the festival blend the best. They had a tiny new vineyard probably in its second year off to one side, with rolling hills and pastures out front.
It was ok, if not completely geared towards traveling tourists. The pizza was a bit disappointing and we had order envy from the fresh, hot paninis and big salads coming out all around us. $5 a glass got us small, not engraved glasses filled with wine which we sipped while in a rather full small indoor dining area with huge windows.

We left pretty happy and pleased with our Sunday afternoon, but walking around we saw a little cheese house up the street which we decided to check out.


It was Swiss Heritage Winery and Broad Run Cheese House, a quaint little building packed full of lace, old hollywood memorobilia, and cheese serving ladies wearing traditional dresses.

Their cheese was divine, with samples all over of their different chutneys and sauces and I loved that you could look behind the counter through a windowed door and see their production room with giant stainless steel vats with big stirring spoons on conveyor belts.

Oh, and their wine was amazing! All sourced from the Ohio grapes and fruits, they all had amazing character and flavors that were rich and complex. I couldn't tell if the guy pouring was also the winemaker, but he seemed to really like what he was doing.

We came home with a blend called Back to the 40s and many promises to go back when time and money allow.

Anyway, I am still processing what I learned from racking and bottling the last time I was in North Carolina and I'm really excited to start making wine. Maybe it's just the dormancy of everything that makes me think -what's the next step- but I am worried that my little 13 acres of soon to be highly productive vines will have no where to go to mature into beautiful wines. I am not very excited to go out into the fields and spend a ton of time and energy if I don't know where the grapes will be pressed.
I think I have been staring too much at the facebook of Gervasi Vineyards opening just up the street, where some rich dude wanted to make a winery and hell, he's doing it! His building jumped up with contractors and decorators and helpers all at his bidding. He has a wine logo and bottle designs and a beautiful crush pad and production house. And I am envious. I wish we had plans or a foundation or something I could put my hand on and say, yes this is happening. It just seems so far off right now.

Anyway, my cider is ready to be bottled now, which should be what we are doing tonight. I'm not going to clarify it. I am pretty behind with my holiday brew, but I should start tonight and maybe it will be ready in time for Christmas.
It's terribly cold here and getting colder. I smell of roadkill from petting a dog before my nose caught up with the aweful scent. Guess it's time for a shower.