Sleepy Vineyard Days
While it’s quiet in the vineyard this time of year, we are abuzz inside the winery! In the cellar we are cold stabilizing wines to get ready for bottling (more on this process in a bit …), our Wedding team has been busy planning our 2020 weddings and showing newly engaged couples around for 2021 dates and on the Farm we’re planning for a bountiful 2020!
Winemaker Steven doesn’t really get a break. We recently took advantage of the colder days and moved some tanks outside to help assist with the cold stabilization process. Some of our tanks have a cooling jacket that brings the temperature of the wine down to just above its freezing point (about 25 degrees). This process allows crystals to form (tartaric acid) that then fall to the bottom of the tank. These crystals are harmless but this process ensures your wine stays pretty and clear when you chill it to serve at home. By moving the tanks outside, we let nature get the cooling process started for us! We’ll move them back in to finish out the stabilizing process by plugging in the jackets to “freeze” the wine.
Upstairs, the Wedding team is busy meeting new brides and planning our 2020 weddings! We LOVE working with these couples and helping their ideas come to life! Our weekends are full with bride tours and our weekdays busy coordinating with vendors. Some 2020 trends we’ve noticed: blush pink and dusty blue continue to be the most popular spring colors and wisteria (dusty purple) is dreamy for fall. We are seeing lots of pops of green too with eucalyptus in bouquets and floral arrangements. The elegantly rustic theme is still popular which is perfect for our setting! And let me give a shout out to the Grooms - good job boys! It’s not just the Brides doing all the planning anymore - you guys have stepped up your game!
At the Farm we’ve got seeds ordered and preparing for our spring harvest! We’re inside Wise Man Brewing right now with our Winter Cobblestone Farmers Market where we bring wine (of course), root veggies and lettuces. NEW this spring we’ll give strawberries a try! We always have of tons requests for local organic strawberries which are VERY difficult to grow but we’re going to give it a shot! We’ll be starting to take applications for our CSA (community supported agriculture) soon. The CSA helps us purchase seeds for the upcoming growing season and you essentially become a “member” of our farm. Each week you’ll receive a box of freshly picked, local, organically grown veggies. It doesn’t get better than that! Stay tuned for this opportunity - a limited number of memberships are available.
We’re excited for all 2020 holds for Sanders Ridge and so thankful to all of you who come for tastings, a stay in the cabin and to spend a day in NC Wine Country! Cheers to 2020!