Oh What a Year...

Late December, two thousand fifteen...
What a very special year for me.
As I remember, what a year.

Yes, I hope you were all singing these lines to the song "Oh What a Night"...because I was.

Sing along...

For me, 2015 was literally one of those years that I looked forward to for decades.  As my son's, and youngest child's, graduation year, it was a number that I cheered and chanted on occasion after occasion.  As this graduation class's sponsor, I wrote "Class of 2015" on numerous requests, invitations, and decorations.  I helped the Class of 2015 fund raise, plan, and build a prom.  I made my husband drive the Class of 2015's homecoming parade float four years in a row. 

2015. 2015. 2015.

Really, this year was a huge part of my life.  More so than almost any other--except 2010...the year my daughter graduated--and I was privileged enough to get to do these same exact things for the Class of 2010.

But now, it's nearly over.  The year 2015 is almost gone.

I've become the adult who continually wonders how time flies.

Yet as I look back on 2015 and see what a fabulous year it was, I want to share some of my favorite wine moments, the writings of which I am especially proud.

I was able to meet, interview, and visit some amazing people this year.  Please enjoy my 2015...what a very special year for me.

"In the Family Way"--Prairie Berry Winery's Anna Pesa Wines

"The Cheese Stands Alone"--Monte McIntrye, Veteran Cheese Maker

"Leading the Way"--Backwards Distilling Casper, Wyoming

"It Takes One to Make One"--Michelle Cleveland of Creekside Cellars

"The Wheels in the Sky"--Tom Altemus, Red Cap Vineyards

"Jerry Lohr Brings South Dakota Values to California Wine Making"

"Yak is the New Black"--Yak Ridge in Rapid City

"Size Matters: Big Adventures in Wine Country"--Sheldon Wines

Oh what a year!

May your 2016 be as wonderful.  Cheers.

In the Family Way--Prairie Berry Winery's Anna Pesa Wines

Walt Disney once said, “A man should never neglect his family for business.”  However, what if a woman spent her entire career attempting to honor her family?  That is exactly what Sandi Vojta of Prairie Berry Winery in Hill City, South Dakota has done.  She was the fifth generation wine maker when she joined her father Ralph in the commercial endeavor of making wine in the Midwest.  She started by primarily making fruit wines from the “berries of the prairie” like her ancestors.  Over the past ten years, Sandi has expanded not only her wine production but also the ways she honors her family in every aspect of her profession. 

Though Sandi has been using different Vitis Vinifera (traditional winemaking grapes) for several years in addition to the hybrid grape and fruit-based wines for which Prairie Berry is so well known, in 2012 she began production of the new line of Anna Pesa wines—a unique brand with a specific taste profile in mind, a taste that would honor Sandi’s goals and her family’s traditions. 

Anna Pesa was Sandi’s great-great-grandmother who immigrated to the Dakota Territory in 1876.  Before coming to the United States, Anna lived in Moravia, Czechoslovakia, where she made wines using traditional grape varieties found in that country.  Over one hundred years later, Sandi is using Riesling, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, and Cabernet to make a style of wine much like her Grandmother Anna would have. 

Because of South Dakota’s harsh winters and shorter growing seasons, most Vinifera grapes that Sandi’s grandmother would have had the ability to access don’t grow well here; hybrid grape species that didn’t even exist in the late 1800s weather the Midwest conditions best, so Sandi had to leave the state of South Dakota to source the grape varieties similar to what Anna might have fermented.  Much like Anna did, Sandi sought the best fruit possible to create the style of wine the Prairie Berry winemaker envisioned.  Sourced along the West Coast, Sandi has long-term contracts with many growers that she has worked with for several harvests already.  Because she is a South Dakota wine maker, her concern in choosing fruit is not about expressing the terroir of where the fruit was originally grown; instead she wants to express a specific style of wine after production—a style she believes her grandmother would have appreciated.

Cultivating relationships with the growers is the first step in the process of making these wines for which Sandi proudly exclaims Prairie Berry has “pulled out all of the stops” to produce.  Getting the fruit is definitely a long-term, committed relationship, as it takes a year for growers to nurture the grapes to harvest before Sandi and crew then spend up to two years turning the fruit into wines that they hope leave a lasting impression on consumers.  Having multiple sources of fruit is actually a benefit Sandi has that many winemakers don’t.  She is not “putting her eggs in one basket” if one growing area has a vintage that doesn’t meet Sandi’s standards.  Though these grapes grow thousands of miles away, Sandi works with farmers at every step of the way.  She has input into choosing the yield (amount of grapes) per vine, pruning of the vines, thinning of the shoots, and even managing the canopy of leaves (covering the fruit).  These specific growing techniques lead to grapes with the particular sugar and acid content that Sandi wants for the style of drink honoring her grandmother’s wines from the old country.  Modern technology and shipping systems have also made cross-county grape growing easier for the South Dakota businesswoman, as juice samples can be sent to her at any time. 

After the fruit arrives at the winery outside of Hill City, Sandi begins the painstaking work of creating these labor-intensive wines.  The recent production expansion at Prairie Berry was finished specifically for Anna Pesa wines.  They are handled and fermented in smaller lots; then these two, three, or four smaller batches are blended to achieve the style and complexity of Sandi’s vision.  The wines receive old-fashioned production treatments from beginning to end:  battonage, stirring the lees (dead yeast cells) into the wine; delestage, racking the wine from one vessel to another; and punching down, stirring the cap of seeds, stems, and skins back into the wine.  Though these practices are very hands-on and time consuming, they enhance the structure, mouthfeel, complexity, aroma, and flavor of wines.  The additional production space has also allowed room to age these wines with barrels from different cooperages (barrel makers); the differences in oak also adds to the complexity of the final blended wine.  Sandi’s work with and passion about wine has definitely paid off in the end product that meet her stylistic goals, her family commitment, and her grandmother’s memory. 

Anna Pesa 2013 Riesling:  Listed as a semi-dry Riesling, this is a Riesling for those who believe Riesling is just a juice for novice drinkers of sweet wines.  This serious Riesling will renew faith in the grape.  On the nose, it smells of the traditional slight petrol, stone, and apple aromas.  On the palate the green apple and acid with minimal sweetness make it reminiscent of dry styles from Germany or New York State—some of my favorites!  So unique yet so Riesling, it would be a wonderful food-pairing wine.  This is a wine worth buying on multiple occasions.

Anna Pesa Riesling--a serious, dry Riesling. 

 Anna Pesa 2013 Chardonnay:  I enlisted my Chardonnay-loving friend to give me a more objective stance since Chard is not necessarily my favorite grape.  However, this is also an old-world style wine.  Buttery herbs are on the nose, yet the palate is very surprising with zippy acid and golden-delicious apple flavors.  Not an over-oaked California type and so much more complex all the way to the finish.  A Chardonnay that I didn’t need any help assessing—and my Chardonnay-loving friend gave rave reviews too! 

Anna Pesa Chardonnay--a Chard for those looking to escape the butter bomb style.

Anna Pesa 2012 Zinfandel:  Aged a year longer than the Anna Pesa whites, the Zinfandel was very spicy on the nose, with black pepper, dried herb, mushroom, and earth coming through.  A beautiful, deep garnet color, the spice carried through on the palate with great tannins.  No big, over-ripe Zin sweetness comes through, so if a big California wine is the expectation, that is not what will be experienced with this wine.  This has a light berry essence that is more pronounced on the finish.  Good balance between the tannin, acid, and fruit.

Anna Pesa Zinfandel--a more restrained, spicy Zin.

Anna Pesa 2012 Cabernet:  Ruby red, chokecherry in color, this wine is a more robust wine than the Zin but definitely more restrained than a bold California Cab.  Dried sage and boysenberry on the nose, its fruit is the first taste on the palate.  Then the strawberry and blueberry mellow out through even tannins to a slight white pepper on the finish.  It would be one of the easiest Cabernet Sauvignons to pair food with because of the balance between tannin and fruit.  When I first tried this line of wines, I liked the more reserved Zin better than the Cab.  This time, on the second tasting, I liked the more fruit-forward Cab.  This shows my appreciation of both wines. 

Anna Pesa Cabernet Sauvignon--the most robust of the Anna Pesa line, yet still old world style restraint.

Though the first vintage has only been released a few weeks, future vintages are already in the works, including these same four varietals in addition to a 2014 Anna Pesa Chenin Blanc currently fermenting.  In further attempts to emulate Grandmother Anna, Sandi would love to source a traditional Moravian grape like Blaufrankish to make a wine.  However, these varieties are very obscure and hard to find in this country since few Americans have heard of or tried this grape as a single varietal.  Even if she could find Blaufrankish grapes, Sandi would have to get special TTB approval to bottle it as a Blaufrankish (as it would have been called in Moravia) and not a Lemburger.  Then she would need to convert Merlot drinkers to Blaufrankish wine!

            Sandi has paid tribute to her family with every step over the past two years as she has loved these wines into the bottle.  Sip after sip, the old-world influence of these wines came through.  When drinking the end product, it is evident that European wine making was the inspiration, even if the grapes came from the U.S. West Coast.  Sandi Vojta has spent over a decade doing a great job of mixing family and business.  As the fifth generation to make wine, she has worked to honor her ancestry while meeting her own stylistic goals.  Her newest wines not only pay tribute to her great-great grandmother, they are reminiscent of an old-world style that make her Czechoslovakian roots very proud.  Anna Pesa and her other descendants are smiling down on Sandi…probably with a glass of Moravian wine in hand. 

I am Thankful For…Local Wines

Thanksgiving is a meal filled with foods that have very diverse flavor profiles.  From the salty of ham to the savory of stuffing to the sweet of sweet potato casserole, this large meal can often be difficult to find the exact right wine for serving.  However, never fear!  There are many wines that pair well with all these flavors.  And since I am more of a Small Business Saturday than a Black Friday type of shopper, I have created a list of wines from our local winemakers to serve with all these foods!  Enjoy this wonderful holiday and promote local wines all at the same time!

Naked Winery tasting rooms—Custer and Hill City, SD

Naked’s Riesling and Gewürztraminer are aromatic, off-dry white wines that will pair well with both the turkey and the ham on the Thanksgiving table.  The savory stuffing and flavored mashed potatoes would also present a nice contrast pairing with these white wines.  Though white wines tend to be more prominent during this feast, it is always nice to have a red wine option for red wine lovers, so Naked Pinot Noir or Dominatrix Pinot Noir would be an option.  The lighter-bodied red wines would go with the turkey, stuffing, and green bean casserole due to the more robust flavors of these types of foods.

Naked wines are beautiful in the bottle and the glass.



Stone Faces Winery—Hill City, SD

Pasque, made from Frontenac and Niagara grapes, is a semi-sweet wine with a pink color that will look beautiful on a table filled with abundant fall colors.  Beyond a color match, the slight sweetness will be a nice contrast pairing with the ham, stuffing, potatoes, and gravy. Red wine lovers have an option from Stone Faces as well, the 2013 Sturgis Merlot.  This is a lighter-bodied Merlot, produced more in the style of Pinot Noir.  Because of the lighter style, it would match with the flavorful dishes served. 

Though the bottle is the 2011, the glass on the right is the 2013 Merlot, a lighter-bodied red for Thanksgiving.

Prairie Berry Winery—Hill City, SD

Prairie Berry fruit wines are great options for Thanksgiving dinner.  The Pumpkin Bog is a match made in heaven for the fall festival of food.  Slightly sweet, this wine goes with the salty ham, savory dressing, and creamy potatoes with gravy.  Cranberry and Lawrence Elk (black currant) wines will pair well with this meal for the same reasons. Also of note is the ability to mull wines to enjoy during the Thanksgiving holiday.  All three of the above mentioned wines are great mulled with cinnamon, all spice, and orange slices. 



Cranberry, perfect color and flavor for Thanksgiving food. 

 



Belle Joli Winery—Belle Fourche and Deadwood, SD

Belle Joli’s LaLure wine (La Crescent blend) is a wonderful off-dry wine that would contrast pair with the salty and savory choices of ham, turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and green bean casserole.  It would also go well with the cranberry sauces and chutneys served.  With all of this talk of the main meal, dessert wines to pair with Thanksgiving sweets are also very important.  Belle Joli’s Pear and Peach dessert wines are made to have the same sugar content of traditional ice wines; they will pair well with pumpkin, apple, and berry pies.  A wonderful treat before the tryptophan induced nap.



La Lure, a great pairing for many foods!

 



I must not forget my Wyoming wine friends!

Table Mountain Vineyards—Huntley, WY

Table Mountain’s Cowgirl Blush, with its super cute cowgirl label, would accompany the traditional savory flavors and smells of Thanksgiving.  Its slightly pink color will also look wonderful in a pretty glass as part of the formal table setting.  If looking for a unique twist to the serving of traditional wine, Table Mountain has its Wyoming Nectar, mead (honey wine) spiced with cinnamon.  What a great option for the traditional meal.



Table Mountain Vineyard's Wyoming wines.

 

Buffalo Jump Winery—Cody, WY

Buffalo Jump’s slightly crisp Chardonnay would be a wonderful pairing for all the creaminess of the Thanksgiving meal found in the butters and gravies scattered around the table.  Buffalo Jump also has a new Riesling that would pair well.  Rieslings follow the contrast pairing and are a traditional standby for Thanksgiving dinners. I wish I could get my hands on a bottle of Buffalo Jump Riesling to pair with my meal; however, I have to wait yet one more week to try it!



Chardonnay as part of a great line of Buffalo Jump wines.

 



Though pairing wines with the traditional Thanksgiving fare can be slightly tricky, one doesn’t have to look any further than the local wineries of the Black Hills and Wyoming to find great options for the meal.  Whether you enjoy Black Friday or not, do a little early Small Business Saturday shopping at one of these great wineries.  All have wonderful options for every aspect of the bountiful feast you will be serving or attending on Thursday.  Cheers to a wonderful holiday with family and friends. And please be thankful for local wines!

Wine Drinkers are Made, Not Born--Black Hills Wineries

Okay, I am not sure if this is scientifically true, but I know this is anecdotically (may have just made my own word) true.  What I mean is I have seen numerous people become drinkers of better wine just from drinking more wine.  My favorite story is of my sister-in-law who when she started drinking, drank only the sweetest wines she could get her hands on, like Moscato.  Within one year of drinking wine regularly, she was a California Cabernet drinker!  Now that is a palate that developed quickly!  At the end of June, my daughter turned 21, so I saw the fabulous opportunity to build the palate of her and her newly-21-year-old friends!  They weren’t born with Riedel in their hands, but they are now on the path to learning how to drink wine, that’s for sure!

            Finally legal, the last of her friends to be so, Ashlyn came home for the long Fourth of July weekend.  Before coming I asked if she might want to stop at a winery (or two), and she was very excited.  So of course, I took that inch she gave me and went a mile, deciding to visit three of my favorite wineries in the Black Hills over two days.  Each winery has different qualities that make it special and different qualities for wine newbies to enjoy.  (I have written about each of these wineries at some point before, but they are worth a recap today.)  Of course, Ashlyn, Caitlin, and (later) Dorothy were trying the sweeter wines at each stop.  However, please don’t cringe at this.  I have always considered sweet wines “gateway wines” that will eventually open the door for other wines.  Again, making a wine drinker does not necessarily happen over night!

Winery One:  Naked Tasting Room, Hill City

            Naked Winery is a tasting room for Naked Wines produced in Hood River, Oregon.  There are two tasting rooms in the Black Hills, the Hill City location, where we stopped, and the Custer location.  Hill City is unique in that it is now producing its own beers under the Sick and Twisted label and has started to blend its own wines that were first produced in Oregon and then shipped to South Dakota for blending, bottling, and labeling.  My only rule here was I wanted the girls to try the traditional vitis vinifera grape wines, not the super-sweet other fruit wines.  The novice wine drinkers balked at first…that is until they took their first sip!  They started with an off-dry pink wine—Booty Call Blush—and their love for wine began.  They tried several whites, from Score Sweet White to Tease Riesling to Sundressed Outdoor Vino.  The girls enjoyed them all, but their favorite was Cougar, a semi-sparkling white from Oregon grapes.  They did try one peach-Moscato blend, and I was very pleased when that was almost too sweet for their blooming pallets…all good news for a sommelier mom!

Winery number one--Naked Winery tasting room in Hill City.

Fun and funny merchandise at Naked.

Winery Two:  Prairie Berry, Hill City

            My daughter has been to Prairie Berry on several occasions before; it is one of my favorite places for lunch, and I have requested Mother’s Day brunch here with the family on more than one occasion.  However, she was excited to be able to enjoy some wine with her food for a change!  We ordered food before tasting, and Ashlyn tried a wine cocktail, the Blue Suede Shoes blueberry wine with lemonade.  (I have had this before and knew it was a yummy summer drink!)  After the fabulous food, we started sipping some of PBW’s sweeter wines.  Of course, the first one to try had to be the flagship wine that put Prairie Berry on the map, Red Ass Rhubarb.  This and Lawrence Elk were standouts in the wine lineup.  The girls did try one of the sweetest wines on the menu, Calamity Jane, reminiscent of Concord grape juice.  Again, I love Calamity as a gateway wine that gets people hooked on wine, but to my pleasure, it was also too sweet for my wine drinkers in-the-making.  Stop two and once more, sommelier mom is happy with the palate progress. 

One Prairie Berry's outdoor stairway.

Winery Three:  Belle Joli, Deadwood

            I love Belle Joli’s story.  Winemaker Matt went to enology school in California, then came back to South Dakota to grow the majority of the fruit for the wines he and his wife Choi make.  Belle Joli is very much a family affair, with Matt’s parents also acting as brawn (and maybe some brain) for the operation, which is still small but has plans for expansion with new vines and a new facility near Sturgis.  My group of wine novices had grown to three by this point, and the young ladies were very pleased with all of the Belle Joli wines they tasted.  La’ Lure (an award winning wine) started off the tasting with a splash, and the positive progress continued through the Edelweiss, Mon Cherry, pear dessert wine, and peach dessert wine (both mimicking the sugar content of ice wines).  The favorite was a tie between La’ Lure (a blend of Edelweiss and Riesling) and Edelweiss, showing that the beginners have already moved on to German-style wines, a wine win as far as sommelier Kara is concerned!

Tasting at the outdoor tables at Belle Joli in Deadwood.



            So yes, building a wine palate that can impress others often takes years; however, learning to appreciate wines is the first step to loving more complicated and serious wines.  I often think of where I would be now if I had started appreciating wine at age 21.  Over twenty years of wine experience instead of ten and who knows what I might know now…I guess we’ll see in ten years, won’t we (wink).  I do know that I loved sharing one of my loves (wine) with one of my loves (my only daughter).  I also tried to use it as a tool to teach these college students about responsible drinking for enjoyment, of which I have always said wine is the epitome.  Wine is meant to be sipped and enjoyed, slowly with food, as an experience often shared with others.  This experience is now passed on to three more (hopefully) wine lovers.  And to all of you:  keep building that wine palate!  Cheers!

What the Heck is a Brinery? Black Hills Beer and Wine

And in addition to brinery, what the heck is a portmanteau?  Are these two of those complicated wine terms the average person has no clue about and no use for?  What do these words mean?!? 

Actually, a portmanteau is a word created by combining two words together into one—ginormous, Spanglish, Brangelina.  Lately, our culture is filled with them.  So I decided to create my own:  brinery!  A brinery is a mix of brewery and winery together, and this past Saturday I led a wonderful group on a Black Hills Brinery Tour, getting the best wines, beers, and scenery the Black Hills has to offer. 

Brinery Tour group outside of Crow Peak Brewing.

Stop one:  Naked Winery/Sick and Twisted Brewery Hill City

            Naked Winery is an interesting Black Hills story.  The wines are actually produced in Oregon, primarily from Washington and Oregon grapes.  South Dakota has two Naked Winery tasting rooms; the original in Custer, South Dakota just celebrated its second anniversary in March.  I have been privileged to witness the evolution of these tasting rooms from the very beginning, and what a fast evolution it has been!  The Hill City tasting room has expanded the number of wines it sells, doubled the size of its tasting room, and started brewing its own beer under the Sick and Twisted name.  There are six Sick and Twisted beers, all with some pretty risqué names, adding to the whole naughty, naughty theme of the Naked wines.  Though I regularly admit I am not a beer connoisseur, several in our group who are avid beer drinkers gave the Sick and Twisted beers thumbs up.  (I even remembered to bring the hubby’s growlers from home and filled a growler with the Panty Dropper Porter…I told you, naughty, naughty!)   The wines, as always, were a special treat!  In the past I have I enjoyed the flagship wine of Naked, the Merlot, and the 2009 vintage was no exception.  I also have a special affinity for Oregon Pinot Noirs, and Naked has two that are very nice!  Yes, Naked Winery/Sick and Twisted Brewery is a perfect example of my new word brinery!

Tasting at Naked Winery/Sick and Twisted Brewing, Hill City.

 Stop two:  Prairie Berry Winery

            I have also written about Prairie Berry Winery before, as it was the winery that broke ground for the other tasting rooms and wineries that now call the Black Hills home.  Prairie Berry has also evolved into a premier winery, whether in the Black Hills or elsewhere.  Originally, Prairie Berry produced more (and became famous for) fruit wines from rhubarb, pumpkin, and buffalo berries.  However, as this establishment has attracted more palettes, it has also evolved.  It now produces more dry reds and some very quality dry reds at that!  I happen to enjoy Phatt Hogg Red (a blend in the Pinot Noir class), Rimrock (a Zinfandel), and Sand Creek (a Cabernet Sauvignon blend).  The fruit wines are still incredibly fun and popular, and in honor of the Cinco de Mayo weekend, one could order a Red Ass-arita, a margarita made from Red Ass Rhubarb wine.  We also ate our lunch at this stop.  Though I can rave about how far PBW has come with its wine production, I don’t have the words to talk about the food that can be experienced here!  We had gourmet Paninis and pizzas since we were just breezing through, but the lunches and special dinners here are absolutely amazing!  I am hungry just thinking about the mouth-watering treats served from the kitchen created by specialty chefs Maija and Heidi.

Tastes and lunch at Prairie Berry Winery.



Stop three:  Belle Joli

            Though the Black Hills still has a very small number of wineries and tasting rooms, I love that each one is so unique when compared to the last.  Belle Joli is different still from the last two stops.  Enologist and vintner Matthew Jackson went to CSU Fresno, and then came back to Belle Fourche, South Dakota to grow grapes.  There is the facility and vines in Belle Fourche, but now there is also a small tasting room in Deadwood, South Dakota and more vines between Belle Fourche and Sturgis, SD.  Also, expansion plans include a larger tasting facility outside of Sturgis, hopefully breaking ground this summer.  Jackson grows the majority of his grapes and outsources for some of the fruit used in his dessert wines—cherry, peach, and pear.  The new peach and pear dessert wines I tried this weekend have similar residual sugars to ice wine, and the wonderful smooth flavor showed this.  Belle Joli is still a true family affair, with Matthew’s wife, Choi, and parents taking active roles in the wine production.  I look forward to seeing the continued progress of Belle Joli and its truly South Dakota product.

Purchasing at Belle Joli in Deadwood.

Stop four:  Crow Peak Brewing

            The final stop on our Brinery Tour took us to yet another unique aspect of the growing wine and beer industry:  Crow Peak Brewing in Spearfish, South Dakota.  The brewery started on a small scale in 2007, and then moved to a gorgeous, wood-sided facility in 2009.  (The mantel made of rocks that is in the shape of a beer jug is my favorite part of the décor.)  Many seasonal beers are brewed here, but some of the selections are canned throughout the year for distribution around the multi-state area:  Pile O’ Dirt Porter and 11^th Hour IPA.  Again, I’m not a beer drinker (wine only, thank you!), but I love the ambiance, culture, and environment of microbreweries.  They are just fun places to be!  Crow Peak was no exception.  Our large group split into smaller groups and received tours of the beer production areas from Josh, one of the owners.  We also sipped on many different types of beer, from a lighter cream ale to a hoppy, hoppy IPA.  I was again prepared with the growler that I filled with the hoppiest of the beers for my hubby, since those are his favorites. 

The sommelier had a beer...at Crow Peak Brewing in Spearfish.

            After four stops enjoying Black Hills brinery experiences, the bus ride home was not boring.  (What happens between Sundance and Upton, stays between Sundance and Upton.  Hahaha!)  I truly enjoyed both the wine and beer of the brineries in the Black Hills.  Just like portmanteaus evolve with our culture and society (who would have imagined a word like “sexting” even ten years ago), the wineries and breweries of the Black Hills are evolving into world-class establishments.  My hope is that as these industries boom in all regions of the country, our little corner of the Midwest will also continue to see the expansion of these industries.  Next year’s Brinery Tour can’t get here soon enough!

Back to the Beginning--Prairie Berry Winery

This past Saturday, I attended the Saint Patrick’s Day wine dinner at Prairie Berry Winery, and during that event, hosted by the youngest of five generations of wine makers, I was thinking about my own wine history. 

I started drinking wine a little over ten years ago.  Like many, I started drinking sweeter wines and then branched out from there.  I would go to the liquor store and buy a select bottle or two, but always the same few bottles of wines that I knew I liked.  Then, I stopped at Prairie Berry Winery, just after its new location in Hill City, SD opened.  I initially stopped because I had heard of Pumpkin Bog wine…and I was intrigued.  Wine from pumpkins?!  Yes, I needed to try that.  I not only enjoyed Pumpkin Bog, but the honey wines Prairie Berry produced were great.  I also developed a fondness for Calamity Jane and Red Ass Rhubarb.  Other favorites stood out for me as my wine palette developed and PBW helped me branch out to try different wines, but my true passion for wine was still on the horizon. 

During Prairie Berry’s first summer in Hill City, the staff hosted its first summer bistro wine dinner.  I found two girlfriends—Sonja and Sally—to go with me because I thought this sounded like so much fun and knew I had to take part in this event!  I was right not missing the occasion.  This was the time and place I can pinpoint my wine passion blossoming and turning into (dare I say) an obsession.  This first PBW dinner was by no means the same as today’s culinary delights; they served us wine in regular wine glasses and food on Styrofoam plates with plastic utensils…so far from today’s up-scale, modern dinnerware and beautiful, varietal-specific Riedel crystal stemware.  However, the pairings of the food with the wine were wonderful, and these pairings were what totally fascinated me about wine.  I realized the difference that wine made with food and food made with wine.  It was a total “aha” moment, as Oprah would call it, and though I liked wine before, I was completely hooked!  My quest to try more wines and foods was in full gear, and my drive to learn about wine was kick started. 

From that summer evening on, I have rarely (I’d say never, but I think there have been a sprinkling of events I have had to miss) missed any of the PB events in the past eight years—wow, it’s been eight years, I think—and I only miss if I absolutely must because of schedule constraints!  I have watched Prairie Berry develop into a leading “foodie” in the Hills with marvelous chefs serving amazing fare for special occasions and every day!  It is my favorite treat to be able to stop in for lunch on an average day for a mouth-watering sandwich, delectable cup of soup, and a glass of wine.  I also love the perks of being a wine club member there:  VIP tickets to the Fezziwig Christmas Festival, wine club pick-up parties, and gifts at the wine dinners (now in the fall and spring, as well as summer).  Like the winery, my palette has evolved into something much more sophisticated, but like a fine wine, everything gets better with age.  Also like a wine, Prairie Berry still has new surprises in store for us as it develops, like this year’s Mother’s Day brunch…which I WILL be attending with my family!  Prairie Berry not only kicked off the wine boom in my life, but this business was at the heart of the wine boom that is spreading across the Black Hills with other wineries and wine bars opening their doors to wine fans; these businesses are possible, in part, due to Prairie Berry. 

So, thank you, Prairie Berry and staff, for taking the risk on the establishment that would make so many changes in the Black Hills.  You are definitely like an award-winning vintage wine, and I know you will only continue to better with age!