Hello, Friends and Family!
The Vineyard season for 2024 has been an adventurous one to say the least. So much that Mike wants to create a Vineyard Manager Creed t-shirt:
I survived the Early Frost
I survived the late frost
I survived the mildew from the excessive rain
I survived the Japanese Beatles
I survived the racoons and 4 legged creatures
I survived the birds
I survived all of this so you can enjoy the wine
Don’t be surprised if you don’t see a t-shirt of some sort in relation to this…. But seriously, it’s been a battle, especially when the day after you spray for Japanese beetles and you think you are good for at least a couple of weeks because the weather forecast showed no rain for at least 10 days and a monsoon shows up and washes all of the spray away.
Thank goodness we have contracted with the drone sprayer. He has been very helpful in getting all four vineyards that we assist with sprayed efficiently and effectively. However, it definitely makes us appreciate every grape that we bottle and every glass that we sip.
We know our hard work is paying off. We have produced some great wines our first year and love the feedback we are getting. We know everyone’s tastes are different and we are wanting to capture as many styles as we can. Next up for bottling is Sweet Hadley Jo—named after our granddaughter. We will be debuting it at the Wine Dinner at Willow Springs Mercantile on July 26th. The Reserved Chardonel is tasting mighty smooth as well and we’ll be bottling it soon. In time for our fall release in October for our Wine Club.
While we are pleased with our 3 awards we received from the Missouri Governor’s Cup competition, we know the best compliment or award for us is watching you enjoy the wine as you sit on our patio and take in the ambiance, bring your friends and family out with you to share the experience, or take a bottle home to enjoy later. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
As we are now into our 2nd year—we’d love to get feedback on what we can do to bring more people into the hidden gems of Excelsior Springs Wineries. We’d love to hear your thoughts!
Cheers!
Mike and Denise Riley