MN + Wineries don't usually = great wine, but . . .

So, after recovering from the traumatic Chippy Mauling and following it with a proper Chippie burial (proper burial = scoop up remains with pooper scooper + say a little prayer for chipmunk soul + deposit in trash can), I am finally back to our regularly scheduled blog entry. . .

As I was going to write about, before the Great Chippie Mauling, I went to southern MN last weekend, as I do maybe once a month or so. This time, the main reason for the trip was to attend a high school graduation celebration for the youngest daughter of one of Bob's oldest and dearest friends, Wally. I just have to give a shout out to him before I talk about the Great MN Wine Experience: Wally and Bob's friendship history goes way back to their grade school years, both were in each other's weddings, I'm pretty sure Bob was a godparent to one of Wally's kids, Wally was with Bob when we met at the Hickory Inn nearly 20 years ago. When Bob got sick, Wally made the two and a half hour drive from St. James to the cities to visit Bob whenever his schedule allowed, which ended up being countless times, and did so throughout Bob's ordeal. No matter what—shitty weather (which was pretty much the entire 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 winter seasons), when things were very, very bad bad for Bob (heart attacks, ICU stints, hospice), even at the end, when I told him, "Wally, it might be very difficult for you to see him like this, he likely won't even know you are here . . . " Wally still came, just to be at his friend's side. I know it meant the world to Bob, to see Wally, and I will be forever grateful for his loyal friendship to Bob. Long and short of it, Wally is the living, breathing personification of friend, the kind of friend from which we could all learn a few things . . . So, when he and his wife, Shari, invited me to their daughter's party, I was going to be there.

This is a Chinese Crested??!!

Okay, this is a Chinese Crested . . .

It was a lovely day for a graduation party, and a lovely graduation party, as well—mostly sunny skies and perfectly warm. Penny and Jim were also invited, so we went together (driving the whole five blocks to get there, because that's what you do in a small town, right—drive everywhere? We did the same thing in Mt. Lake . . .). I was blessed to see a few familiar St. James faces, and to get to hold the cutest little puppy, a Chinese Crested Puffball—no wait, maybe it was a Powder Puff? Cotton Ball? Golly, I don't remember now, but I do remember she was the cutest little thing ever, in the history of ever, and looked nothing like the homely parents from which she was born (dog pics courtesy of the world wide web, not the actual dog I met, nor of her one of her parents). I learned from Sheri, that the Chinese Crested can actually carry a gene for a furry version of themselves, but both parents have to be carriers, for the puffball edition to appear. Or something like that. Hope I'm not screwing up the story. . . I suppose I could Google that, but I'm kinda tired right now . . .

Being at the graduation brought back memories of my own high school graduation (can't believe it's been ten years already . . .), with the card tables showcasing poster board displays of their daughter through the years, all her many awards and letters earned for sports and other activities, and memorabilia. And of course great graduation grub, along with cake and punch—can't have a proper graduation celebration without 'em. I also got to see Wally's "man cave," where he hung the Jim Brandenberg "Brother Wolf" photograph of Bob's that I had given him after Bob died. It looked perfectly at home on deep red walls of Wally's hideout, and went so well with the nature theme that he has going—his mother-in-law had also made a gorgeous quilt with wolves as the main theme . . .

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So, I had learned of a new winery in the St. Peter/Mankato area that just opened this spring, and last weekend was to be the perfect time to check it out—great temps, sunny skies. I have to admit outright, I am not a big fan of MN wines—years of living with a wine expert has done that to me. I also must admit, I am truly am not a wine snob, but when one starts mixing raspberries and blueberries in wine, it is no longer wine, it's pancake syrup (and this is not just a MN winery phenomenon—I've experienced it in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts—areas where, for various reasons, it's just too difficult to grow many varieties of wine grapes. In fact, the Alexis Bailey Vineyard near Hastings has as its motto, "Where the grapes can suffer," because that's basically what grapes do in Minnesota—suffer, tremendously). But, I also have serious admiration and respect for anyone who attempts the endeavor, because in MN, wine making is truly a labor of intense creativity, love and passion . . . .

MN wineries are usually located on beautiful expanses of rolling hillsides, and often look similar to a picturesque Sonoma county setting, but because of the difficult climate, local wines often fortified with other fruit juices, resulting in an overly-sweet wine not so typical of a California winery. But, we were looking for something different to do, and it wasn't too far from my mom's home, so we invited Jim and Penny to join us for a jaunt to Chankaska Winery, in Kasota, after the graduation celebration, and I was absolutely blown away by the wines offered. If you live in the area and haven't yet visited, do so. Now. And if you don't live in the area, but find yourself in the area sometime this summer, carve out time in your schedule and take a side trip, and at the very least, do the tasting—seven bucks allows you to try five different wines made on site. Absolutely worth the time, as the setting is breathtaking, surrounded by rolling hills laced with rows of grape vines, a river rolls and frolics down through the hills and alongside the tasting room—heck, even their logo is cool (the ringed stain imprint of a wine glass base). The facility in which the wines are made and tasted is stunning, as well, with ample seating inside as well as on the spacious multi-level patio outside. There is a small selection of food—antipasto and several choices of woodfired pizzas (can't comment on those, as the place was insanely busy when we arrived, and by the time we figured out how everything worked, we were told it was at least an hour and a half wait for grub . . . next tie, for sure).

My recommendation is this: when you get to the winery, put your order in for a pizza right away, if you want to eat even before you start the tasting (especially if it's a busy weekend evening); they'll give you a little buzzer-thingy that lets you know when your pizza is ready. Then head to the tasting room and start tasting. You can do the tasting at your own pace, so if the 'za is ready before you've gotten through the five wine samples, grab a bottle of wine (or order a glass from the bar), head out to the patio, and enjoy every element of the winery—fabulous wine, food, scenery, people watching . . .

Most of the wines at Chankaska are a blend of MN grapes and grapes imported from the west coast, which, in my own li'l mind, is "kind of" cheating; still, it's clear the wine makers know what they're doing (and do it very well), and the big local name behind the winery itself (Schwickert construction family, of Mankato) has spared no expense in creating a stunning atmosphere in which to enjoy a hand-crafted pizza and locally crafted wine.

"YOU ROCK/Don't Stop Believing  =)

As always, such events are still entwined with bittersweet emotions that continually washed over me, both at the graduation and at the winery . . . the reason I even know what little I do know about wine is because of a most handsome man who no longer physically walks the earth with me. I wanted more than anything, to be able to turn to him, ask him more stories about his and Wally's younger days, or what he thought of the wines . . . but on a walk with Rocco one of the morning after the wine tasting, I was in St. Peter, I came across this message scrawled in chalk across a side street: "YOU ROCK/Don't Stop Believing =)" And I thought that was pretty cool . . . take what you can get, I guess. . .