Dearest ghouls, vampires, and zombie brides:

Halloween! What better time to talk about how to pair the candy you bought/stole from your kids/are currently eating at an adult Halloween party? Maybe you’re like me, and buy the candy “for your husband”. Or, maybe you are taking a few everyday from your kid’s buckets (I won’t tell). Wherever you find your Halloween candy fix, I imagine one thing goes through your mind as you’re tearing open that package of sweet goodness:

“I’m thirsty. Do I sacrifice the deliciousness of this darling clump of sugary gold for a sip of mom’s very special juice?”

Okay. Maybe not in those exact words. But, it’s a conundrum, you see! Do I have the candy bar, but sacrifice the first sip of what is a well-deserved glass (bottle?) of wine? Or do I forget about the candy bar (GASP!) and just go for the wine?

you don’t have to sacrifice anything

I’ve made a handy graphic for you to help you decide how to proceed with your wine-d down tonight.

so, let us rejoice dear monsters and frankensteins! We can have our cake (candy) and eat it (and drink the wine) too!

with midbest love,

Meg

many of you know our hours

The winery is only open during the weekend: Friday 4-8PM, Saturday 1-6PM, and Sunday 1-5PM.  So, of course, you know what we do then! BUT, what the heck are we doing Monday-Thursday?

we are wine making

I mean, the wine doesn’t make itself!

But really, the wine is a pretty full-time job in the fall. There’s the daily checking of the fermentation process, racking, fining, and more!

In the spring, we start bottling– and that is an all-hands-on-deck job that takes entire days in a row.

we are planning

Guys, we LOVE being your favorite choice for entertainment in Fort Dodge, but that takes a lot of planning!

We spend months planning big events like our Good ‘Vine’brations Harvest Festival and our Spring Craft Fair. We want to be prepared for everything and make sure the events are perfect for you all!

Amanda plans the music for Fridays (and Sundays during the summer) months in advance. A lot of musicians contact us, but we also find them. That’s no easy feat!

we are donating

Soldier Creek Winery receives a lot of requests to donate to different charities and fundraisers in and around Fort Dodge, and we sift through the requests to see what works for us and how we can help the city of Fort Dodge.

we are keeping you engaged

You want to know what we are up to daily, and we provide via our Facebook and Instagram accounts! We love to see your likes and comments on our accounts, but we really love when you tag us in your pictures from your time at Soldier Creek Winery! So keep on tagging.

we are hosting private events

Many private tours and events occur during the week and after hours– from bridal showers to corporate events to holiday parties, we keep the tasting bar busy! Book your event here.

we are working in the vineyard

During the Spring, Summer, and early Fall the vineyard work is in full swing. We are pruning, preening, and generally keeping the plants healthy and alive 3 of the 4 season through the year. With 10 acres of vineyard, this is no small task!

we are there for you

When you need us most. Last minute gift? Left something over the weekend and need it ASAP? Or you just need a bottle of wine? We are usually here, just contact us!

 

this is only a taste

But, needless to say, we keep busy 🙂

with midbest love,

Meg

let’s take a break and just talk about our hopes and dreams, shall we?

Hi all, Megan here. (As usual, right?) I hope you haven’t been thinking I’m neglecting you.

I’m not. I’m busy not neglecting my nursling/monster/mini-Rob!

But, I need you to know that I (we) 100% appreciate your support and continued following of our humble winery-blog.  So, for that, here’s an extra lovely blog for you to feast your eyes on! Something a little personal, a little less directly associated with Soldier Creek Winery.

I’m starting with my bucket list. I plan to move through the family, so you can get a glimpse of our hopes and dreams! So. With that, here’s a true and honest look at my heart’s desires!

Megan’s top 10 on her bucket list:

1. travel, travel, travel

Okay, perhaps that’s a bit vague, but it’s the truest and highest thing on my list. If you want more specifics, I want to travel with my family. I want our daughter to have a huge view of the world. I want to continue to share beautiful, hilarious, striking memories. Memories filled with travel success and travel failures. Let’s stand in awe before the Taj Mahal. Let’s laugh when we can’t find a single open metro station to get to the Eiffel Tower (that actually happened). Could we just forget about real life for a month and travel around Europe? I mean, obviously, a lot of this travel should center around wine. I’m always looking for a reason to try a wine I’ve never tried before! #expandyourwinehorizons

2. see soldier creek winery become a real and true destination in iowa.

Sorry, but it’s true. It’s not a shameless plug, I really want to see this happen. We are starting small, but our customers know it: we have delicious wine, an inviting atmosphere, and friendly faces. I am so excited to see what the years bring. And, selfishly, I hope our little grape grows up to be a part of the Soldier Creek operation.

3. sky dive

I really do want to do this. Even though my fear of heights is sometimes crippling and ridiculous. Even though it’s a bit crazy.

To be honest, I’ll probably do this once I’m not playing a crucial role in a child’s life. Like, maybe when she’s grown and married or something. Before grandkids. This just got really specific.

4. re-start and run a csa long term

I tend to have my hands in a lot of places. I tend to be busy. I like it. A few years ago I started an experimental CSA, to bring Fort Dodge into the now. I really want this community to embrace CSA’s and community gardens! And my members really embraced their role in my CSA, they were so willing to try new things! I was very impressed.

So. Now. Goal: re-start and continue the CSA dream!

5. grow a field of lavender

This got on my (Rob and I’s) bucket list while we were visiting Paris in 2012. We were walking along through the Jardin des Tuileries, it was a very hot day, but we didn’t mind– we had just finished off a croque misure and a bottle of delicious Gamay.  We were taking everything in and deciding what we would do that day. As we are walking I’m getting faint whiffs of lavender, and I’m thinking “gosh, these French people smell really good!” but then I notice the dusty bushes we are walking by. These aren’t just any old bush, they’re freaking lavender bushes!!! Needless to say, I flipped out and demanded that we grow a field of lavender near our house.

I mean, can you just imagine walking through that field on any hot day in Iowa? That field would smell heavenly.

6. gather all the dogs

If it was up to me, we would probably have 4-6 dogs by now from anytime I’ve ever walked into a shelter. However, our tiny house keeps us from having that many dogs. And I think I’d probably need to do some real bribing with a certain husband to have that many. What can I say? I just want all the doggies to feel loved!

7. adopt a child

There are so so so many kids who need love and a permanent home. This is on Rob and I’s bucket list for sure. I’m not sure when or how, but someday we want to provide a home and forever love to another child.

8. help raise a strong, kind, independent woman

This is, obviously, a new addition. And it’s really #1 on my daily list. But, can we just add to the list: “vineyard or winery loving”? It’s hopeful, but maybe she’ll have that passion 🙂 Soldier Creek Winery will need some people to run it in the next generation!

9. meet president obama

Regardless of political views, this guy played a huge role in my life through my formative adult years. I admire his generosity and his humanist views of the world. Plus, who doesn’t want to hear that guy speak again? Again, regardless of political views, he was a great speaker (I know he didn’t write his speeches, but he sure did read them well!). I probably wouldn’t know what to say, but I know I could talk gardening with Michelle if all else failed!

10. make a difference in my community

Soldier Creek Winery has made a huge difference in the Fort Dodge community and surrounding area. Vineyards popped up! Iowa Wine connoisseurs came out of the woodwork! As a member of the community, I want to help make a difference, too. Perhaps through my passion for gardening, maybe I can knock two things off my list in one go? Who knows, but it’s there, on my list. And anyone who knows me, knows I like to cross things off my list.

 

well! there you have it!

Now you know a little bit more about one member of the Soldier Creek Winery family.

with midbest love,

Meg

good ‘vine’brations harvest festival 2017

This. This harvest festival was everything we wanted it to be, and more. You, our beautiful fan-base, our amazing customers… you made it great!

 

 

the grape stomp was messy, loud, and energetic! thank you to participants and spectators, you made this event wonderful!

the open air market was well attended, and our vendors are already asking to come back next year! thank you for shopping local!

so. thank you to all of our customers, vendors, musicians, helpers, staff members, stompers, & sponsors. without you, this would have never been possible.

with midbest love,

Meg

 

harvest season, it’s a busy busy time of year.

It’s all-hands-on-deck around this time of year, and every single member of our daily crew (and the farm crew) is pitching in to help with the harvest and processing. Everyone has a job, but it’s changing constantly– we go with the flow and roll with the punches.

But, today, I’m focusing on one person. Our winemaker, Anne. What the heck does she do during the harvest? Well, hold your horses, I’m here to tell you!

Welcome to:

a day in the life of a winemaker: harvest edition

lists

This gal, she makes a daily list. How else could she keep track of all the things that need to be done in one day? Surely she couldn’t make that list in her head, because I know for a fact that she has a bunch of numbers and other to-dos running around in there taking up space.

It’s not just lists on this whiteboard, guys. It’s events on our iCloud Calendar, the list above leads to events on the calendar so we know when we are removing bird netting, harvesting, processing. This winemaker keeps us organized. If we look at our calendars 🙂

test the grapes. test the wine.

During the harvest season, Anne (or Amanda) test the progress of the ripening grapes in the vineyard pretty much daily. It’s important to pick the grapes as quickly as possible when the parameters are exactly what Anne needs to make delicious wine– the grapes can change pretty quickly depending on the weather! What is Anne testing for? Well, I’ll tell you:

• pH
• TA (Titratable Acidity: measuring the acidity of the grapes more accurately)
• °Brix (the level of sugar in the grapes)

once the grapes have been processed and are fermenting

Anne tests the fermenting wine daily to monitor the progress. As the yeast eat the sugar and produce alcohol, the wine takes on new aromas and flavors– it’s important to monitor them daily so she can catch anything that is off. When she is checking the fermenting wines, she is taking notes on three factors:

• Temperature (while yeast is fermenting, it causes a temperature increase)
• Aroma
• Flavor

So, yeah, this involves some tasting on Anne’s part…and sometimes we get to help! #perks

racking, tamping, and punching

The first rule of #wineryfightclub is you don’t talk about #wineryfightclub.

 

 

 

Just kidding, guys! These are terms that are used in the winemaking process!

• Racking: Removing the fermenting  wine from one tank to another, clean, tank– leaving behind the lees and what not that have settled to the bottom of the first tank.
• Tamping: Mixing in yeast or wine-fining agents into the wine. Can also be the process of mixing in the skins of the red grapes.
• Punching: Pushing the cap red grape skins into the wine.

During the early times of fermentation, these things happen often, nearly daily. The reds and whites are usually treated differently and this brings in a few other things that Anne could do in a given day during the harvest season:

• Cold-settling: This is the process of putting the white grape juice (not in the fermentation process) into a cooler to allow the lees and particulate to settle to the bottom. This makes the racking process possible.
• Inoculating: For red grape juice, this happens pretty much immediately for most red wines. This is when the specific yeast chosen for that wine is put into the red grape juice.

and then, of course, there’s the manual labor

We are all a part of this process, but the winemaker takes an active role here as well!

• The picking crew must be organized and notified of picking times.
• Our staff must go through and remove the bird netting from the grapes.

Once the grapes are picked, we start the processing of the grapes, this entails:

• Weighing the tonnage of the grapes brought in.
• Scooping the grapes into the hopper of the de-stemmer/crusher machine.
• Pumping the grapes to the press (whites and rosés) or their fermentation vessels (reds)
• Pressing the grapes (whites and rosés)
• Pumping the juice from the press to the fermenting vessels
• Inoculating the juice or putting the tanks into the cooler for cold-settling.
• Cleaning everything and putting it all away until the next harvest and processing day!

and there you have it.

Just one day. This can all happen in one day. But the results, guys. The results are so so worth it. (I mean, have you tasted this stuff?! It’s amazing!)

Until next time! with midbest love,

Meg