Greetings and Happy Holidays! Here you’ll find our favorite local vendors to shop for the holidays and for any time!

2020 has been a wild year and golly gosh darn do we miss seeing all of our customers face to face. But, we want you healthy so we can all party hard when a global pandemic is a thing of the past.

Until we can get together– get a bottle of wine shipped or delivered, sit back, and sip & shop you’re heart out. Simply click the name of the vendor to start shopping!

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You didn’t think we’d let you go without…

The Wine Cocktail Recipes

Virtual Winding Vine Market

A note from the Winding Vine Market family:

The Spring Winding Vine Market has always been a great way to kick off the Spring season. It’s been such a special way for our community to celebrate local vendors, curators, creators, and musicians. We know how much time and energy our vendors put into their businesses and that’s what makes the Winding Vine Market such a great event! We are so so sad that this Spring’s event won’t go on as we’d hoped and we are really sorry that this decision had to be made. That’s why we thought we’d still give you, our beautiful community, a way to support these amazing vendors– through a virtual market! Have a look through the vendor list and consider supporting them in any way you can.

with virtual hugs and lots of love: Megan, Amanda, Anne, & everyone at Winding Vine Market/Soldier Creek Winery

What’s in a name?

Some of you may recall this quote from our early wine labels:

“After an unfortunate hog barn fire in 2002, the Secor family reflected on the business and decided to diversify by planting cold-hardy grapevines.”

-the back of early Soldier Creek wine labels

Well. We diversified again approximately 1 year ago by expanding what we offered at the winery– we made a hard cider (made with cider from Community Orchards), boosted with wine. NOM!

Over this year we have had interest increase a lot for what felt like a fun, side-venture! The interest has increased so much that we had to finally settle on our name and hire (in-house! Thanks Mary!) someone to make us a logo.

You can find Ghost Pig at the winery, River Hops Brewing, and Sneakers Eatery & Pub. Want to see it at your local bar? Ask for it and give them our name! It’s up to the business owner to carry our cider (and wine), so the more they hear from YOU, the better!

The name

Oh! The name! Right! Let’s get back to that. Back to the quote:

“After an unfortunate hog barn fire in 2002, the Secor family reflected on the business and decided to diversify by planting cold-hardy grapevines.”

-the back of early Soldier Creek wine labels

So. As you can see, our original “Senior Vineyard” (to the North, if you’ve visited) was planted atop the site of a hog barn fire. As you can imagine, we lost some pigs in that fire.

If you believe in that sort of thing– we have some really delicious grapes planted among the spirits of past pigs.

Hence, Ghost Pig.

We wanted the cider to have a different vibe than our wines– we needed it to feel a bit punk and hipster. So, we dug deep and found a name that really speaks to the history of the vineyard and checks all the boxes. Ghost Pig.

Mary (Alves) works part time at the wine bar and was able to design our new logo– to help put the thought into a visual. And, there you have it!

It’s a short story, but it’s important. So, there you have it! Try the cider named after the pigs of Secor Farm’s past 🙂

With MIDBEST love,

Meg

Spring is on it’s way!

And we intend to fully embrace Spring with a great, big “WELCOME BACK YOU!” hug! I mean, can you even wait? No. Us either. Bring on the mud. Bring on the dirty winery floors. Bring. It.

Mud means all of this white stuff (that was cute one time, but now it’s looking a bit haggard TBH) is finally packing up and moving out. A flooded basement means warmer days, blooming bulbs, and birdies are on there way. I choose to look at the positive side 😉

Maybe I sound a bit crazy

But, hey, that Polar Vortex was not messing around. Can you blame me? It’s time for moms, dads, kids, hell… everyone… to celebrate! We can finally be outside again! Hey it’s 32F and I’m wearing a t-shirt with no jacket, but I’m telling you 32F is a lot nicer than -40F. Okurrrrr?

Okay, meg, take it down a notch

So, what I’m saying is: we are celebrating!

When: Saturday, March 30th from 11AM-6PM

Where: the winery. duh. (Just in case you blacked out and aren’t sure how your scrolling got you here: Soldier Creek Winery)

What: Winding Vine Market S P R I N G T I M E

yes, you heard me right! we are ushering in spring by hosting winding vine market again!

And, Winding Vine Market is bringing some pretty great vendors. Check them out:

Thomas kae
The Upcycle Market
J & J Candles Manson, IA
Addison James Boutique
SueZee Soaps Etc.
Stripling Apiaries
Stamping Heart Helper – Jahanna Ansorge
Holly’s Dollies
Purple Pincushion
Pallet Junkie
Rufflesncurlz Wreaths
HempWorx CBD Oil – Iowa
KayKay Adventures
Knotted Bug

As always, you can check out Winding Vine Market’s Facebook page to see updates on the market and features of the vendors.

 

That’s all the updating I have for now, ye hardy Iowans!

with midbest love,

Meg

it’s cold. there’s snow on the ground. so we got real cozy.

I’m talking about: twinkly lights, fuzzy chair covers, holiday decor, & mulled wine.

We go all out for the holidays and winter season. Why? Because we believe it’s important to embrace this snowy, icy season (because it’s not going anywhere). So, grab a warm mug of mulled wine and cozy up at Soldier Creek to keep the winter blues at bay!

as you can see, there is much hygge (cozy) happening!

But, what the devil is mulled wine?! Mulled wine, or Glühwein to the Germans, is a seasonal drink. Simply, it’s {red} wine that has been warmed up and spiced. The usual spices are: cloves, cinnamon, anise, & orange. The result: warm coziness in your mouth! We are serving it up in festive mugs for the entire winter season, to keep you warm and happy– so don’t hesitate to try some! I promise, no regrets. I mean, if an entire nation can consume it for the full month of December, it must be delicious right?! (I’m looking at you, Germans!)

How about a brief history of the drink?

Since we (at SCW) base our mulled wine recipe off of the recipes for Glühwein, let’s look at the history of this drink in Germany. The name, Glühwein, literally translates to “glow wine”…and no, Patrice, it’s not because the drink makes you glow! *eye roll* It’s derived from how they used to warm it– by using red hot irons!

The original recipe of the drink hasn’t changed much from its origination– wine, citrus, cinnamon, star anise, cloves, vanilla, and some sugar. In Germany, they also offer this drink with a shot of rum or amaretto… we will not be doing this at the winery, but feel free to do so at home!

One thing that’s constant through the years– you know it’s the holiday season when you have a mug of Glühwein in your hands! Embrace the cold, get cozy, get a mug of mulled wine at Soldier Creek and enjoy the winter season.

as always, with midbest love,

Meg