Two Wine Chics on a Quest

The Next Woman Winemaker in Missouri??

 

Shyanne, future enologist

I am truly excited and proud to let the Wine Chic world know that we seem to have a new woman winemaker in the works. Shyanne Thompson, a young woman who has worked for us for years now, starting as a food server in our Summer Kitchen Cafe', has decided to start taking VESTA courses in enology! I guess our winemaker Tom has been a good influence on her - hard as that may be to believe by people who know Tom (except, of course, for those of us who know him well.)

 

If you aren't aware, VESTA is the Viticulture and Enology Science and Technology Alliance, which provides "wine and grape education for the 21st century" online. On an interesting note, my fellow Wine Chic, Katie, is on the faculty of VESTA, teaching viticulture in association with Missouri State University in West Plains, Missouri. VESTA partners with a many fine colleges and universities across the country, several right here in the Midwest, to offer a practical education in winemaking and grape growing. Shyanne already has some course credits from Missouri State, so she is on her way to an Associate Degree in Applied Science/Enology. VESTA also offers certification in Enology and Associate Degree in Applied Science or certification in Viticulture. The wine industry is growing like crazy in Missouri, and the Midwest as a whole, so if you are interested in studying the art and science of winemaking, be sure to check out VESTA.

Look out wine world, Shyanne is getting ready to take you by storm. Best of luck to her!

Happy Trills,

Laura

In the 'hood: Murphy's Place

My neighbors run a set of vacation cabins called Murphy's Place - just across the street from our place.  This weekend they really helped me out by housing the musicians that were playing at the winery.  I said I would clean up the cabin afterwards so that it would hopefully be a little less of a hassle.

So I took my camera, because I'm sure you'd like a little peek at the Sassafras Cabin, right?!?

First up, here's the gorgeous view as you drive back the gravel road mile to get to the cabin:

And here is Sassafras:

Oh yes, that is a hot tub beside the porch.  I had to take advantage of it while I waited for sheets and towels to dry.  Just doing a little quality control for the upcoming guests!

Here's the view off of the porch:

It's a lot easier to see the Meramec River before the leaves grow back, but you can always see at least some of the river from this porch throughout the year.  Plus, did I mention that there is a covered hot tub?

From the porch, you walk into the kitchen/living area:

That fireplace keeps the cabin nice and toasty in the winter season, and the TV is hooked up to satellite, so you can catch all your favorite shows.

To the right of the kitchen is a short hallway to the bathroom, with, wait for it.....

....another hot tub! Plus a stand-up shower, sink and toilet.  There is a small laundry closet available back out in the hallway, plus two bedrooms on either side of the bathroom:

Sorry, I didn't get the beds made before I took the camera out.  I wanted to leave something as a surprise for you.  See those bedposts?  My nieghbor hand-crafted these beds using posts from our old vineyard here at the winery.  Pretty cool!

I hope I've enticed you to take a quest to Murphy's Place.  They have Meramec River access with a beautiful pavillion that I wrote about here last summer.  They can also arrange a float trip for you or take you and your group on winery tours.  Ready for a get-away?

Happy Trills,

Katie

Katie's Yoga Instructor

Laura has really made me want to visit Eureka Springs one of these days!  After her post about her health yesterday, I thought I'd chime in with another local who is doing great things.

I have taken a yoga class from Nobby Ota for the last 6 or 7 or possibly 8 years.  He lives in Owensville, but teaches classes in different locations throughout the region.  And after all these years of teaching, he now has a brand spankin' new website - Nobby's Yoga.

Nobby is a practitioner of Kripalu yoga, which is a very gentle form of the exercise. One of the main reasons I love his class is that he is always keeping the poses fresh, while honoring each individual's abilities.  There is never a worry that I'll hurt myself because Nobby does not adhere to a stringent routine.  Each person can do their own form at their own pace.  We all learn from each other and Nobby himself learns from each of us.  I love his insights that he shares and his easy-going nature.

A frequently heard Nobby-ism is "keep the visit short," a reminder to not stay in a position so long that you become fatigued or hurt yourself.  One of my favorite quotes of Nobby's is "what can be lighter, softer, freer?"  It always lets me take a step back from struggling in a pose and just enjoy an easier stage of the pose.  Eventually I find that the more advanced stages of a pose will come if I can just enjoy the beginning phases for as long as my body needs them without judgement.

I encourage anyone to join a yoga class, but most especially to experience Nobby's class at least once (or for many years in a row like me!).

Happy Trills,

Katie

The Ahhhh in Reflexology

I just have to give another shout out for my friends out at Bem General. I've now had a couple of therapeutic message sessions with Amy Adkison, who is truly gifted, and I've been having ongoing weekly reflexology with April Adkison, and I have to say - wow.

I was fully skeptical of this process when I started, but after the first session I knew that April was something special. She has the same gift as her sister Amy, with a truly intuitive touch. Remember those stairs I posted a photo of in my last post?

Eureka Springs, Arkansas

This photo of my foot on those stairs is my WOO-HOO moment.

I promise you, six months ago I would have avoided those stairs like the plague due to my bad knees. I've had achy knees since I can remember, and age hasn't helped at all. Now, I walked up and down those stairs several times on our visit to Eureka Springs. I even have renewed hopes of one day making a quest like this:
Wish me luck! With April and Amy's help, anything seems possible.

To read more about Bem General, check out April's blog. Lot's of good info on healthy living and the good life.

Happy Trills,

Laura

Arts, Dining and Wine - in Arkansas?

After being out of the loop for a while, I'm back in the questing world with a surprising and wonderful quest to share.

Apparently both Tom and I were in need of some time away. Luckily, we found a way to combine a trip with work. We've wanted to have some non-alcoholic grape juice to sell at our winery; in case you don't know, making shelf-stable juice for sale to the public is a completely different process than making wine, and smaller wineries often don't have the equipment to process their own, so we get it from the bigger guys. We like to get ours from Post Familie Vineyards in Arkansas; their 100% Muscadine grape juice is just yummy.

This time, however, we realized that Arkansas is a pretty reasonable drive, and since we'd never been to the Post Familie Vineyards we decided to take the money we would have spent on shipping to go get the juice ourselves. A quick check of the internet showed that a tourist town called Eureka Springs was right on the way, making a convenient place to stop for a little R&R. Frankly, I didn't expect much - it was, after all, just Arkansas, and I bought in to some of the negative stereotypes, maybe, just a bit. And I have been completely converted - I LOVE Arkansas!

Who would have suspected that Eureka Springs would turn out to be a remarkably eclectic locale, maintaining an outstanding artist community, a biker (as in Harley-Davidson) paradise, a Christian destination, an LGBT hospitable population that celebrates diversity, and a nature-lover's happy place, all while boasting first class restaurants, luxurious spas, and upscale lodging. Not to mention being in a beautiful, mountainous location rich in history.

Tom and I had a great time dining at an Italian restaurant with an outstanding wine list, lunching at a charming tea room, enjoying a burger on the second floor balcony bar/restaurant of our historic hotel. We shopped art galleries with local and national artworks. We enjoyed some amazing scenery. I can't wait to go back! So we made reservations for the Food & Wine Festival in early November, one of the myriad, delightfully diverse events in Eureka Springs.

Not to mention, this was the friendliest place I have ever been.

Enjoy a few more photos:

The mountains on the way to Post Familie Vineyards

The road to Post Familie Vineyards

Spring in Eureka Springs

uptown

downtown

art

dining - DeVito's

lunching - Simply Scrumptious Tea Room

charm

Happy Trills,

Laura

Happy Easter to All Our Fellow Wine Chicks!

Happy Easter, and for those of you that are winding down with Passover - a shout out to you as well!

I've had fun checking out all the funny pictures being posted using Peeps - you know, those marshmellow bunnies coated in colored sugar that you only get at this time of year.  Did you know they make peeps in the shape of chicks now too?

Um, yes, I avoid the candy aisle at easter.

Anyways, here are three favorites for your spring smiles:

Hoppy Trills,

Katie