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So it's picking season. Here's a synopsis of a recent family adventure.
Sept 2024
Seems like grape picking is a simple thing, with little explanation needed to past pickers.
We went with family on Sept 21st. The atumnal equinox, with nice warm September weather.
If you've picked Berries and apples you kind of get the drift. Dirt, sunshine, a couple bugs, birds flitting about, and you getting to know a plant. From there you collect edible fruit passing from plant to mouth, as needed, along the way.
One of the newbie pickers in our group was curious why they took our names and time of arrival. Do we pay now - but 'I'm not seeing a transaction?'... internal questions blossomed.
No time to reflect, next we walk to the field and look to see what row we pick from.
This fresh family picker was surprised at their personal enormous yellow picking container. More thoughts - 'I'd never buy this amount.'
Next is learning. Figuring how the vine presents the grapes to you. How do you pick these? Ok they say "Not the green, not the shriveled", how about if it is mixed? Do I pick the bad ones out? Now we are sliding into a fun comradery & picking frenzy. Vine after vine, thinking 'I want to keep up'. Meanwhile, fun conversation & song is filtering thru rows of vines. 'Wow' a successful Saturday. A great piece of entertainment.
A dewy sweat builds and the newbies thinks, 'What in the hell will we do with all of these grapes? Make em into smoothies or what?'
Then you see everyone dumping their baskets into a big gaylord at the end of the row.
The newbies thinks-
What? ... am I part of a cultish nonsensical tribe?
So ... we are doing this? for the winery? ?
Well, ... at least I don't have to pretend to eat or cook this many grapes, and I don't have to buy them!
Free lunch and music followed. A red hot, bag of chips, and a glass of wine or soda.
Big Plus at the end, was the group discussion of grape vs fruit picking.
'Ahhh so that's what...
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This is a whimsical moment with delightful scenery and a welcoming atmosphere! We stopped at Cold Country Vines & Wines on a whim!! and what a sight to see!!! We were greeted by the beauty of fallen grape leaves from Vitaceae, a long driveway, with acres of land surrounded by a sense of peace and serenity.
Once we arrived at the upper tasting parking lot, we were welcomed by their family dogs and a friendly smile inside.
The vineyard lies along the Niagara Escarpment glaciers, where grapes are known to flourish with beauty and a bountiful taste. As a first timer, I decided upon tasting a variety of their Estate Grown, even though they all taste great. I would recommend White Out for the crisp blend of white Blanc sweetened with notes of apricot, tangerine, and melon, Red Sunset with a semi sweet smoky note of black cherry and vanilla, or if you desire a port wine, take a moment to sip on Marquette Indulgence.
The Marquette Indulgence is filled with the pleasant satin taste of berry, plum, and cinnamon apple. This luscious port is perfect for pairing with your favorite dessert or sipping while reading a good story.
As a first-time experiencing Cold Country Vines & Wines is a delightful experience. I hope our leap of faith to stop on a whim is as delightful as it was for us. It will be for you, too!
One more suggestion, take a moment in the gift shop, there is something to sure strike your...
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You drive through vineyards to get to the building. You get out of your car and you will meet the greeters. The two dogs are a bit standoffish until you let them know you are nice people. The place itself is clean and well lit. We were met by Kay at the wine bar. You are given a list and you can choose as many as you want. The tastes are a dollar apiece. We retired to a nice sofa in the "dining" room. In a few minutes Kay brought us our choices. The samples come in small plastic cups which you pour into your wine glass. One thing that would be nice is something to cleanse the palate. My only gripe. Between the two of us, we sampled 8 kinds of wine. I suspected the "ice wine" would be sweet and a bit thick. I was right. I don't usually like sweet wines; but this stuff was delicious. There is a store with wine related merchandise. Most of it funny. Some borderline risqué. Yes, we took home a bottle. It went well with a pasta dinner. If you are in the country west of Kewaunee and looking for something to do. Taste some wine, take a tour. This is a nice stop, don't miss it. They have oyster crackers. A little bowl of them, with the wine, would be nice. If you don't know, you...
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