| Sean & John
visited Alexis Bailly vineyard/winery in Hastings, MN (near John &
Claudette's home in Prescott, WI), 4-Sep-2004. |
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| We went
walking through the vineyard for a bit, before tasting some of the Alexis
Bailly wines |
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To my
untrained eye, the grapes looked quite healthy |
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| John in
the vineyard |
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The base
of one of the vines |
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| Cane poles
used as growing poles for new vines |
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New vine |
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| Detail of
staple for guy wire |
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Another
staple detail |
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| John (eyes
hidden for security reasons). |
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The pole
at the end of a row |
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| Part of an
underground sprinkler system |
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Grapes on
the vine |
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Photos of Jack in the nursery,
5-Sep-2004. |
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| Jack
watches quietly while Lucy gets a bath |
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A visit to the U of MN Horticultural
Research Center, 11-Sep-2004.
The Univ of MN has both Grape
Breeding and Enology Projects in Chanhassen, MN, where they work at
developing cold-hardy breeds of grapes, suitable for winemaking. I
visited during their yearly open house and got to tour the vineyards--quite
fascinating! |
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| These are
Cabernet grapes, which can be grown in Minnesota, but require burying every
year during the Winter. |
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Cabernet
again, with the "mini J" system of training vines, which allows them to be
buried at the end of the season. |
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| Netting to
prevent the birds from getting at the grapes. |
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A nice
view of the vineyard |
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| Trellis
tensioning system at the endposts. |
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More vines |
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| Some
younger vines |
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Some very
young vines being tested |
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Irrigation
system closeup |
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Kirby on the porch with wild grapevine, 12-Sep-2004.
Kirby sits on the porch, next to wild grapevine, to
help appreciate the size of the vine. This vine was growing at the
base of a clump of three trees that were about 80' tall and which the vine
had killed, over a number of years. The diameter of the main stalk is
4-5" across. |
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| Kirby
shows off a huge grapevine |
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It was a
monster.. |
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Morning view, 25-Sep-2004.
View from the porch. |
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| Great view
to enjoy from the porch |
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| Mist over
the swamp |
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Gutter project, 28-Sep-2004.
In preparation for the gutter
project for the back of the house, I bought all the gutter pieces. |
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| Gutters,
downspouts, and leaf guard |
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