Open for business!

On May 9, at 10:30, we put the "Open" flag out by the road and voilà, we were in business. There was a constant stream of customers all day long. What an exhilarating experience. Pauline and I enjoyed showing the winery to people. Luckily, our dear friend Susan was there to help us keep our sanity as things got quite hectic at times, particularly during the thunderstorm. We did not even notice the power failure as our solar system continued to provide electricity to the winery. So, when you come to visit, if we are not at the winery, we are working in the vineyard. Honk your horn and we will join you right away.

Spring 2009

Well, Spring is here, finally. On Feb. 21, Mags, Terry and Brad helped us bottle the 2007 Pinot Noir. They survived this first experience very well and seemed to enjoy themselves. Once we put the labels and capsules on the bottles, the wine will be ready for the opening of the winery on May 9, 2009.

The winery

The construction of the winery is almost complete and we should be able to move in very soon. The building is the only "off-grid" winery in Canada. Electricity is provided by solar power so the environmental footprint is as small as possible.

Redtail Vineyard winery

On September 20, 2008, construction started on our winery. Also, after submitting copious amounts of paper, we received municipal, provincial and federal authorization to make and sell our wines. The retail store will be open on weekends or by appointment during the coming winter. Come and visit.

When SiMi passed away, we knew of a young female Akita which had been rescued and was in a foster home, waiting for adoption. So, Pauline and I didn't wait any longer, drove to Belleville and came back home with a new addition to the family. We named her "Kinu" which means "silk" in Japanese, because her coat is smooth and soft like silk. Here is a picture of her.

Sad Halloween

On Halloween night, we lost our veteran vineyard security dog, SiMi. She was adopted from the Akita Rescue network and thought to be around 11 years old. She loved to run around the vineyard and make sure no raccoon came in. She will be missed.

At the winery, we had stuck fermentation everywhere. The fermentation of all four Pinot Noir fermenters and the Pinot Gris tank had stopped just short of the expected end. So, we had to innoculate and get the fermentation going again. So far, so good.

The "vignerons"

Here is a picture from the 2006 harvest when Pauline and I picked the very first cluster. Our total crop, then, was 30 kilograms of Pinot Gris and 100 kilograms of Pinot Noir. Well, the 2007 harvest is finally over. From Thanksgiving Day, October 8 to the 10th, our friends helped us pick 969 kilograms of Pinot Gris. Thank you to the ladies: Alison, Catherine, Jane, Karen, Mags and Rolande, and to the gentlemen: Bruno, Christian, Dave, Derek and Derek, Deryck, Doug, Jens, Mike and Terry. The cost of your work: bottles of our wines. Your friendship: "priceless". The following week we picked the Pinot Noir from 4 separate blocks. Working with professional pickers from other vineyards and a handful of friends, we, quickly, picked just over 3,000 kilograms/3 tonnes. For a first experience with a large crop, it was very intense. But at the end of the day, very worthwhile. Again, Pauline and I are very grateful to all the pickers.