Tag Archives: Vineyard

Entertainment, Travel, Winery

Falconer Vineyard

Falconer Vineyard – 3572 Old Tyler Rd, Red Wing, MN 55066

The number one reason to visit Falconer Vineyard is to see what having a true passion for wine making tastes like.  John Falconer loves tinkering with the taste of wine.

Falconer Winery 3

It looks like they have expanded to serving pizza along with their wines since I was last at this vineyard.  John is innovative and knows how please his audience.  I can only guess that his passion for pizza is as great as that for his wines.

Check out the vines while you are there.  Did you know that they all have to be covered every winter?

Falconer Winery 2

Should you visit this vineyard?  Absolutely, I cannot wait to return myself.

Entertainment, Travel, Winery

Cannon River Winery

Cannon River Winery – 421 Mill Street West, Cannon Falls, MN 55009

“Wine is for drinking.”

Cannon River Winery went for drinkable wines in what they produce and enjoyable entertainment in their vineyard and winery.  The winery is in Cannon Falls while the vineyard is out of town.

You can help with the picking and watch as they bottle the wine depending on when you arrive.  They offer wine tastings in general and in a formal setting.

Cannon River Winery 10

They had a French wine maker come in to help them figure out how to do it right.  This made their wine better than most that I have tried in Minnesota.  They did not go for flashy, just a good drinkable wine.

Cannon River Winery French wine maker

I like this winery.  I have unfortunately had one bad experience with their wine and one bottle was their error.  The cork was damaged.  The rest could have been a storing issue on my part.

Should you check out this winery?  Yes, I would say it is worth a stop.  And when you finish at the winery pop across the street and grab lunch.

Travel, Winery

Alexis Bailly Vineyard

Alexis Bailly Vineyard – 18200 Kirby Ave So., Hastings, MN 55033

Alexis Bailly Vineyard, it was the best of atmospheres, it was the worst of wines.

grapevines outside of Alexis Bailly

The Alexis Bailly Vineyard will draw you in between the vines being right there, close enough to touch, to the tasting area, and the outdoor area where you can sit and drink.  I wanted to bring a basket of crackers and cheeses and make a picnic and enjoy wine at this vineyard.  Of all of the Minnesota vineyards this one feels like a real vineyard and winery.

wine equipment Alexis Bailly

Unfortunately I cannot say the same about the wine.  I will put in a disclaimer that the winery had just passed to the daughter and she did not seem to care about the wine as much as would be expected.  It is possible that she simply was a bit overwhelmed.  I did not taste a single wine during my visit that I wanted to drink more of or purchase.  That being said I am not sure if the wine has improved since then.  Sometimes people have a bad year and it takes time to figure out exactly what you are doing.

wine casks and portrait at Alexis Bailly

The wines feature a Frontenac grape which was developed by the U of M to withstand Minnesota winters.  Hardier does not always translate to a great tasting grape and part of my issue was probably this particular grape in their wine.

It looks like they may have won an award with one of their wines back in 2014 which had the Frontenac grape in it so somebody must like it.

rock chair at Alexis Bailly

If you want to enjoy a beautiful winery, see the grapes, sample some wines, and maybe sit back and take in the vineyard I would suggest going to this winery once.  Maybe the wine will not disappoint you.  It just was not for my pallet.