MKIO in Clinton, Iowa
This is one of the bands we played with in Clinton, ia. fun times :)
Chambourcin Wine Grape Harvest - Rowe Ridge Vineyard & Winery - Wyandotte County, Kansas
Chambourcin Wine Grape Harvest - Rowe Ridge Vineyard & Winery - Wyandotte County, Kansas
Wine growing states like Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Arkansas experience much colder winter months than Pacific coastal states. As a result, varietals like Pinot Noir are nearly impossible to keep healthy without dying. Heartier grape vines like Norton and Chardonnel can live through the long weeks of the brutal winter cold; however, they invariably lack the gentle palate and delicate fruit qualities of more sought after premium wines.
Wine Tasting Chambourcin at Rowe Ridge Vineyard & Winery
Our personal Rowe Ridge journey began on another beautiful crisp autumn Saturday in Kansas City. Only a few sparse trees contained leaves turning brown. The sky was sunny and the temperature around seventy degrees as we excitedly opened the door to the Rowe Ridge wine tasting room. That's where we met Pam Rowe (co-owner and co-founder with her husband, Marc).
The Real Joy Of Wine Tasting Includes Great Conversations
We had just finished our first two tastings of Chardonel and Seyval Blanc. Both whites - both refreshing and smooth. But it was during our third wine when Kimberly said, I think that's one of the first Chambourcin's I've tasted that I actually liked! Her revelation cracked the place up. Like I said, Chambourcin can be extremely bitter - and very notably earthy. While I'm usually the outspoken one of the group, that's an example of how comfortable wine tasting at Rowe Ridge can be. In fact, over an hour had passed before we realized how much in-depth conversation and knowledge Pam had afforded us. (We talked at great length about winemaking, local varietals, local liquor laws and Kansas Winery Trails).
It was finally five o'clock and closing time when our exit rapidly approached. Today had been another truly exceptional wine tasting experience, so I expressed my interest to Pam about recording some video at her winery. Given our comfortable rapport, she was more than open to the idea and asked if we wanted to come back next weekend to join the Chambourcin wine harvest volunteer group. What an offer! We asked what time, she said around nine and we thanked her for the invite. We'll see you next weekend, we chimed as we smiled and left. Kimberly and I were thrilled; we wouldn't miss that for the world!
Chambourcin Wine Harvest at the Rowe Ridge Family Farm
Along with many others, we arrived just after 8:30 am on Saturday, September 16th. It was fun to watch the gathering group of volunteers and winery workers all here to pick the Chambourcin wine harvest. They suited up with work gloves, harvest tools, and yellow plastic containers - while I mounted my cell phone as a video camera onto the swivel head of my metal Bogen tripod.
As we entered the field of grape vines, Pam thanked us for coming to donate our time and enthusiasm. Then she described where to cut above the grape cluster at a visible curved elbow as she led the group to the rows of vines in the fields where she demonstrated how to place the clipped wine grape clusters in the yellow bins. These hold about 20 pounds of grapes, she explained. After the large blue bin was brought by the tractor, then it could be filled with the smaller yellow bins, and then the tractor would take that large bin back for temporary storage - before sorting.
We are harvesting Chambourcin, Pam me, so we depend on volunteers to come help us get our grape crop in. They're very instrumental in getting everything picked. They (the wine grapes) should be about perfect. I asked Pam ideally what mature grapes should look like and so she showed some to the camera. There's a nice cluster right here. See that? That's a good cluster. For the most part, it's a good size, all the grapes seem to have ripened about the same - we've got a little down here at the bottom that's not ripe - but for the most part, this is the size of cluster we would like to have. And, if you take one off and open it up you can see that pretty juice and the brown seeds and the soft skin. And it tastes good.
SOUND TRACK CREDITS:
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Downtown Clinton, Iowa
Clinton, Iowa
Popping Bottles To Promote IA Wine
CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (CBS 2/FOX 28)--A cold night sounds like a perfect night for some wine.
Believe it or not, some Corridor winemakers say the colder temperatures are helping our wine this year.
Iowa's sparkling wine is typically drier, although there still are some sweeter sparkling wines out there.
Four wineries got together for the first-ever Flight of the Corks, where winemakers got to see how far the cork flew in the air from some of their finest bubbly.
Iowa is a very, very competitive state, John Burns said, with Barrel Head Winery in Dubuque. It's about promoting more champagne in Iowa.
For John Burns, it's not just about his bubbly, but also making his wine popular around the world.
We have the conditions to make the right top quality bubbles, he said. That's what exactly what we want to do get us on the map.
Burns said to make Iowa wine, you need rich soil and lots of moisture, plus plenty of sunshine. It's a shorter growing season but it makes high acidity grapes.
We have really good conditions in Iowa to make really good champagne, he said.
Winemakers do have to be mindful that if you get really cold temps, like the ones we've been seeing, they can either help or harm the crop. It all depends on which kind of grape. For example, Burns lost about 50 percent of one of their champagne grapes last year. But, some winemakers say, this cold snap, this early, can make the grapes sweeter, once they're harvested.
Grapes like dry feet so you need the drainage but like any other plant they enjoy our good soils and if we have a good combination of sunlight and enough water we're gonna have a good crop, Steve Larson said. Larson is a member if the Iowa Wine Growers Association and winemaker at Train Wreck Winery in Algona.
Here in Iowa, there are more than 80 wineries or vineyards in our 99 counties.
Out of those 12-hundred and 50 acres, the state brings in about 420 million dollars from wine.
It's an industry that stretches from the Minnesota border to Missouri from the Mississippi to the Missouri River, Larson said. It's an industry that's really exploded.
And an industry that they hope will continue to grow.
There is no record but there will be tonight, Burns said.
Well, Friday night was all about bragging rights but Andrew Morse with Barrel Head Winery set a Guinness World Record at 49 feet and 11 inches. So that means his bubbly had more pressure inside to fly the cork further in the air.
Winemakers hope to make The Flight for the Corks an annual event.
Grape News For Iowa Wineries
SWISHER, IA (CBS2/FOX28) - The worst wine shortage in 40 years is about to hit the states, but that could be a grape thing for Iowa wineries. The latest blast of cold air is a reminder of whats coming and its the time of year some people in the corridor like to curl up by the fire with a good glass of wine. But what if you cant find that vintage or at least not at a reasonable price. Horrible weather in Europe has some connoisseurs and growers predicting the most significant wine shortage in four decades. Amid the light covering of snow on ten acres of vineyards at Cedar Ridge Winery and Distillery in Swisher theyre hearing the news through the grapevine. G.M. Jamie Siefken says grapes need heat and sun and not much rain to make the best wine. Hes not toasting Europes bad luck, but as his crew bottles this years vintage of Marechal Foch its crossed his mind this could be just what Iowa wineries need. A shortage of international grapes should mean more sampling of Iowa wines. Its a great opportunity. The Iowa wine industry is a young wine industry and were growing every single year with the number of vineyards and wineries as well as the amount of gallons we produce. So yes its a great opportunity for us to make more wine and hopefully sell more wine in the state and wherever. In the back room of Cedar Ridge shelves are stacked high with big oak barrels t
River Ridge Brewing - Bellevue Iowa
Stopped by this awesome local brewery - - in Bellevue Iowa
(music - The Lumineers - Angela)
The Iowa Divide: Railroads of America 1
Don Wetmore takes us along on a day of rail fanning in Nebraska and Iowa. We start in Omaha, where we catch Amtrak's California Zephyr stopping at the old Burlington Station and several freight trains with the Burlington Northern and Union Pacific Railroads. We also watch KLine containers being unloaded from a doublestack train at the Union Pacific piggyback yard.
Then we head over to the Missouri Valley, Iowa, railroad yard. We make our way east along the Chicago and North Western tracks up the Boyer River Valley to the Iowa Divide, photographing numerous C&NW trains along the way. We also watch a maintenance crew on the nearby tracks for the Chicago Central and Pacific Railroad.
Filmed in April, 1993.
Produced by John Z Wetmore, producer of Perils For Pedestrians.
Designation Puts Iowa Wineries On The Map
Designation Puts Iowa Wineries On The Map
Olivia Dvorak - Stuck Like Glue
Olivia Dvorak covers Sugarland at Wide River Winery - Fall Fridays.
Indianola - A visit to Summerset and Two Saints Wineries.
ISUE talks with Iowa Wineries.
Penoach Winery and Vineyard
This video interviews Stan Olsen of Penoach Vineyard about his work with ISU Extension in starting and testing his wine. He comments that our services are second-to-none in the country.
Rose & John Guinan Santa Maria Vineyard & Winery Carroll, Iowa.mp4
The Guinan's receive a warm welcome to Carroll & Western Iowa
Iowa Wine and Whiskey
KGAN's Josh Scheinblum reports from Cedar Ridge Vineyard in Swisher, Iowa to tell us why the wine and whiskey industry is booming in the Hawkeye State.
Clayton Eagles Landing Winery Edit 720p
Wine Production in the Corridor
MARENGO, IA (CBS2/FOX28)-Iowa winemakers are not only seeing a rise in wine production. Wine lovers from all over the country are coming to our state to grab a glass of wine.
We see a lot more people coming from out of state, not just from locally and regionally, Fireside winemaker Zach Bott said.
He added that tourists are starting to explore the Midwest vineyards and not just travel to California to sip on wine.
Barbara Damm traveled from the Quad cities to grab a glass of wine with her daughter and niece.
We like to try new wineries, she said. Her daughter, Tarrie Mordhorst added, It's a family atmosphere.
This isn't the first time they have come to Fireside Winery. It's our favorite, Damm said.
Fireside is one of 70 vineyards in Iowa, but Bott said that number is growing.
He is excited to see the wine industry continue to grow.
We are seeing growth, we're seeing a lot of new wineries, he said.
The wine and grape industry is starting to see a constant increase as wine production numbers continue to rise.
According to a study by Frank, Rimerman
Premier Wines I A panoramic view of the Vineyards of Johnson Estate Winery
A view of the gorgious vineyards of one of NY's finest wineries, Johnson Estate.
Prairie Moon Winery
Talking with Matt Nissen of Prairie Moon Winery in Ames, IA.
Wine Diamonds: On the road at Eagles Landing
Wine Diamonds: Uncorking America’s Heartland™ is a feature-length documentary film about the challenges and opportunities of developing a new wine region, showcasing the economic and agricultural diversity brought about by the wine industry, and how families are returning to and reuniting to grow wine grapes and build a new wine region in the Midwest. In this Segment: We visit Eagles Landing Winery in Marquette, IA and taste Oktoberfest (a seasonal wine). Follow us: winediamondsfilm.com
Wine Diamonds: On the Road at Barrel Head
Wine Diamonds: Uncorking America's Heartland visited Barrel Head Winery (Dubuque, IA) to interview owner and winemaker John Burns. John makes some of the very best traditional method sparkling wine... period! For this On the Road segment we chat with John, taste his freshly bottled bubbly wine, and talk about how he makes sparkling wine in Iowa.
Cultivating an industry—from vine to wine
Michigan is becoming an internationally recognized wine-producing region with help from Michigan State University, which has played a pivotal role in all aspects of the industry's growth. Michigan wineries draw more than 800,000 visitors annually and pump $300 million into the state's economy.
Visit for a firsthand look at Spartan impact in locations from East Lansing to East Africa.