I was reading the latest edition of Notes from the North, the newsletter of the Minnesota Grape Growers Association, and learned that Edelweiss is the most widely planted "wine" grape in both Nebraska and Iowa. Edelweiss, originally released as a table grape, makes for a crisp, grapey, fruity flowery wine; not necessarily the style of wine I'd choose to go with lunch.
This was the point of the article, however. As growers, we need to set our personal tastes aside and grow grapes for a developing industry. According to the article, 95 percent of the people who walk into a Midwestern tasting room like grapey, crisp, fruity flowery wine.
Edelweiss has become the No. 1 wine in Nebraska. Not the No. 1 Nebraska wine, but the No. 1 wine asked for in Nebraska, topping wines from California, France, Australia, and others. This is important news for growers who, like me, have rows and rows of Edelweiss in the ground. How far is it to Nebraska, anyway?
09 July 2008
03 July 2008
Somewhere along row eight...
For all those gracious friends who've asked about the grapes...I offer this representative sample.
Note the absence of weeds in the background. That is NOT a representative sampling of our rows.
Note the absence of weeds in the background. That is NOT a representative sampling of our rows.02 July 2008
Catching what's left of the light...
It's about now when I realize that all the trappings of modern life are simply leading us astray.
01 July 2008
Connections to sainthood...
My cousin just informed me that today is the feast of St Junipero Serra, a Franciscan priest who started the first vineyards in California. I was intrigued to learn more.
It seems Fr. Serra was a successful priest in Spain when he left to do missionary work in Mexico. He entered Mexico at the port of Vera Cruz, the same port that welcomed my great-grandmother and grandmother to the west. Serra went on to help colonize and build missions in California -- including the mission of San Juan Capistrano, the beloved mission of my grandmother and the place where her funeral mass was held.
The chapel at Mission San Juan Capistrano, built in 1782, is believed to be the oldest standing building in California. It is known as "Father Serra's Church," it has the distinction of being the only remaining church in which Father Serra is known to have celebrated the rites of the Catholic Church.
Fr. Serra also is credited for bringing agriculture to California -- including grapes, figs, olives, oranges, cattle, goats, and yes, sheep.
It seems Fr. Serra was a successful priest in Spain when he left to do missionary work in Mexico. He entered Mexico at the port of Vera Cruz, the same port that welcomed my great-grandmother and grandmother to the west. Serra went on to help colonize and build missions in California -- including the mission of San Juan Capistrano, the beloved mission of my grandmother and the place where her funeral mass was held.
The chapel at Mission San Juan Capistrano, built in 1782, is believed to be the oldest standing building in California. It is known as "Father Serra's Church," it has the distinction of being the only remaining church in which Father Serra is known to have celebrated the rites of the Catholic Church.
Fr. Serra also is credited for bringing agriculture to California -- including grapes, figs, olives, oranges, cattle, goats, and yes, sheep.
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