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The next day Graham picks me up to take me to the winery my mom suggested. It’s the perfect place to celebrate my decision to stay in Balsam Ridge.
We enter the gates and drive along the gravel road between vines heavy with plump purple grapes.
A rustic building with a large deck is set in the middle of the vineyard. The deck is dotted with wine barrel tabletops and rich leather stools.
We pull into the parking area, filled with vehicles, to the left of the structure. Employees wearing Shining Rock Winery shirts are milling around on ATVs or sitting atop tractors mowing the grounds between the vines.
There is a small pond in the back of the winery with an old canoe resting on its bank. A couple of elderly gentlemen are sitting on a fallen log beside it with their fishing poles in hand.
“This place is gorgeous,” I say, as we exit the truck and walk to the building. The breeze carries a fruity aroma to my nose and I breathe deeply.
“Isn’t it?”
He leads me up the steps and to the double glass doors. He opens one side and I step into the large room.
There is a bar to the right with two young ladies attending to a group of women who are tasting the different varieties.
The space has a dozen oak tables with folding chairs. All with a bright floral centerpiece. A stone fireplace is against the back wall with doors on each side that lead to a sunroom that also has tables that line the windows.
A portly man with a round stomach and salt and pepper hair emerges from a side office and greets us.
“Hi, Graham. Who’s your friend?”
“Larry, this is Taeli, she’s Leona Tilson’s daughter.”
He grins and extends his hand.
“Well, look at you. I haven’t seen you since you were knee-high to a grasshopper.”
I place my hand in his and smile.
“You don’t remember me, do you?” he asks.
“I’m sorry. I don’t,” I admit.
“I used to own a cabinetry business in town. I installed the ones in your parent’s house when it was built. We also attend the same church,” he explains.
“Oh, yes, I remember you. Your wife plays the piano. She gave me lessons when I was little.”
“Yes, ma’am that’s us. I’m a little long in the tooth now, though. I’m really sorry about your dad. He was a good man and we miss him terribly,” he says.
“Thank you.”
He releases my hand and looks at Graham.
“Come on in. Have a look around. Once these ladies are finished, we’ll set you two up with a wine tasting. The cafe will be opening in about thirty minutes and you can enjoy lunch out on the deck,” he invites.
“I was hoping you or your Dad were available to give us a tour,” Graham interjects.
“Dad’s at home today. Mom had hip replacement surgery and he’s playing nursemaid, but I’ll be happy to. Just give me five,” Larry says, before disappearing back into the office.
When he returns, he takes us down a flight of stairs into the basement. There he shows us the darkroom where the grapes are sorted into white and red. He explains that white grapes are pressed and the juice is immediately sealed into large barrels, yeast is added and the fermentation process begins. However, red grapes are sorted and stored in cold soak tanks to extract the color and flavor from the skin of the fruit before they are pressed and fermented. It’s all fascinating. He explains how much sugar is added to qualify the wine as dry, semi-dry, semi-sweet, and sweet. All of their wines are aged in oak barrels to absorb the natural tannins of the wood and the grape to create a perfectly balanced wine, and after eighteen to twenty-four months of storage, they are bottled. We see a bottling demonstration before he leads us outside to the vines.
We walk the property as he gives us the rundown of the planting and harvesting procedures.
“How do you find the time to do this and cabinetry?” I ask, as I pluck a grape and pop it into my mouth. I moan as the sweet juice burst on my tongue.
“I retired from my other job a few years ago. My father suffered a heart attack, and as he was recovering I started researching ways to help him get stronger. Wine, especially the red varieties, is high in resveratrol. Which is a natural antioxidant and helps prevent and manage cardiovascular disease and protects blood vessels from damage. Dad started having three ounces every night while recovering from his by-pass surgery. He started walking and gets stronger every day and now the man can run circles around me. He swears it’s the results of the wine.”
“He thinks wine saved his life?” I ask.
“He thinks it helped him recover and I believe it did too. Along with many other things. So, I decided it was time to throw caution to the wind and invest in the winemaking business. It was small at first, but we have been adding on every year. First, it was the tasting room, then the deck and now we are a full-time event venue as well. We host everything from festivals, to holiday parties, to several weddings a year out here.”
“Wow. Congratulations.”
“Thank you. We are certainly blessed.”
