Cuthills Vineyards

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T11:41:00.000-08:00

Even though Ed and I were apart for Christmas, we spent a nice and quite New Year's Eve together. I went to MO to visit two of my sisters and their families and my Mom and Ted came up from TX also. I turned the big 50 on Christmas Eve and my family went all out. Starting with a champagne brunch, then Mom and Ted took all of us out to dinner before Christmas Eve service.

Mom and Ted followed me back to Nebraska and they stayed with another one of my sisters and her family in Norfolk for several days before heading back to TX.

On a sad note, one of our cats, Mahatma, passed away on New Year's Eve. She was nearly 18 years old and had a good life. She's in heaven now with her sisters Lefty and Miss Right.

Cuthills Vineyards is closed through February 3rd, however if you would like to pick up some wine, please give us a call at 402-329-6774 to set up an appointment.

Have a safe and healthy New Year!

Welcome Autumn!

2010-11-07T10:45:00.000-08:00

Loving this fall weather! The leaves have finally fallen off the grapevines, but we are having some beautiful days....can't believe it's November and we're having this kind of weather.

Ed is busy making wine from the 2010 harvest. With the poor weather this year....heavy snow, too much rain, hail...we didn't have as good of crop as we usually do. We won't be able to make a Prairie Red and we'll no longer make the Harvest White. We're trying to cut down on the number of wines we make especially since we have so many semi-sweet wines.

Ed is working very hard on his hybrid grapes and hopes to release a commercial wine from one or two of them in the next couple of years.

So far the Lot #1 Field Blend looks really good for 2010....very fruity and smooth.

The 2009 Temparia is almost sold out and the 2009 Lot #1 Field Blend is also getting low, these are some of your favorites, you may want to purchase them now before they are gone.

Furry friends come in all sizes.

Enjoying Fall Weather

2010-10-01T13:47:00.000-07:00

We finished harvest a month ago and the wines are fermenting. Ed is busy everyday with the wines and also making a few small experimental batches with some of his hybrids.

We sold out of the Harvest White which we will no longer be making and we only have a few bottles of the Indulgence left, but will have more ready to bottle next year.

J's Steakhouse and Wine Bar, a new restaurant in downtown Norfolk is now carrying our Poet's White, so if you stop in for lunch or dinner, be sure to ask for a glass or bottle of it.

Hope you are enjoying the nice long fall weather....we are, as well as are our cats.

Max napping on a wine barrel outside

Itsy Bitsy rolling around in the cool grass

Chai hunting grasshoppers

Cooper just up from a nap, not sure what to do next..ahhh the life of a cat

Zeke and Jake giving each other kisses. They are inseparable.

Harvest

2010-09-01T13:01:00.000-07:00

We harvested the Marechal Foch vineyard last Saturday. Tomorrow the Petite Amie will be harvested and this coming Saturday we'll harvest the LaCrosse. The crops are small this year because of the damage from the snow, hail and too much rain. This has been the worst year for weather we've had in 27 years of growing grapes.

We'll be bottling some of the 2010 wines around Thanksgiving.

We had our last concert of the year in August. The Kris Lager Band was great and we had a lot of fun.

I made a quick trip to Kansas City a week ago. My Mom and her husband Ted were up from TX visiting. I have two sisters who live in KC and Leavenworth and my nephew Quinton from Leavenworth was just diagnosed with Acute Lyphoblastic Leukemia June 22nd. He's on a new cocktail of chemo and meds and has put on some weight and is looking better. We pray we get a good report around December or January. If so, they'll consider him in "remission" and he'll be on chemo for another 3 years.

Ed has been ultra busy as usual in the vineyards and now processing grapes and making the wine, so he's not able to go too far away.

You may see a new face at Cuthills Vineyards every so often. This year Beth Noelle Sindelar (she goes by Beth or Noelle) from Pierce has been working the tasting room when I need to be gone and has been a tremendous help. Noelle knows a lot about Cuthills Vineyards wines and wines in general. She will also be taking classes towards becoming a certified sommelier.

Grapevine Concert July 24th

2010-07-22T14:11:00.000-07:00

We'll be releasing our 2009 Country Red, 2009 Prairie Red, 2009 Brianna and 2009 Willow Blush. Feel free to bring chairs and a picnic. Purchase your tickets here!

Our Spring and Summer So Far

2010-06-20T11:42:00.000-07:00

I've been practically living out of a suitcase since May. Starting with the Nebraska Jazz and Wine Festival in Kearney, then the brochure swap in Hastings, two graduations in May, then the Cattleman's Ball in Kearney the beginning of June and a winery marketing workshop in Lexington mid June. I think I'm home for awhile....whew!

Ed has been busy in the vineyards. The vineyards had a lot of damage from the heavy snow, then about 1 1/2 months ago we had hail for 2 hours straight and 4 inches of rain. The vineyards are coming out of that, but we sure don't need all the rain we've been getting the last few weeks. Two weeks ago we had over 8 1/2 inches of rain in less than 4 days and flooding in a lot of towns around us. Good thing we're on a hill.

Nebraska Jazz & Wine Festival May 7th & 8th

2010-05-05T11:15:00.000-07:00

Hi to all our friends and customers in the Kearney, Hastings, Grand Island area! I'll be at the Nebraska Jazz and Wine Festival in Kearney this coming Friday from 5 pm-11 pm and Saturday from 3 pm - 11 pm. Come and enjoy Nebraska wine!

The Secret Life of Trees

2010-03-29T10:32:00.000-07:00

If anybody out there is a plant person, nature lover, ecologist, or just loves to see how things on our planet interact, I strongly urge you to read " The Secret Life of Trees: how they live and why they matter ". It may sound boring, guess again. This book is written in a style that's not only easy to understand, but also at times make it hard to put down. I think you'll look about you in a different way.

Help in the Vineyard

2010-03-27T13:42:00.000-07:00

Just got in from doing some pruning out in the vineyard. I have the same help this year, and he's dependable as usual. Max started several years ago with us and I would find it difficult to get by without him. Sometimes his jabbering gets a little too much, but whether its an honest question or commenting on something he forgot he told me just minutes before, I love his company. The only problem is, well, with all of the trash in the vineyard this time of year sometimes his belly drags on the ground. Oh....,sorry, I forgot to tell you Max is an old cat.

Never mind, the story is still the same, and Max doesn't need facial muscles to tell me everything important in the world. His version is a little different than most cats. Please no mice, no table scraps, and please don't pick me up, I'm not a baby. Max is not unlike several cats we have here in that he was dumped here. Maybe by someone who got their kids a pet and later realized not everyone is up to the task of taking care of a cat with epilepsy. Max needs phenobarbital twice a day and he's very creative in finding ways to elude me. Please don't get pets if your not in it for the long haul and please have your pets spayed and neutered. Yes, Max is not the only one who jabbers.

Ed's In The Vineyard

2010-03-17T14:22:00.000-07:00

Finally Ed has been able to get in at least one of the vineyards to start pruning. He almost has that one done and has also been taking cuttings of some grapes some vineyards want to start growing. He's still unable to get in to the majority of the vineyards because the snow is still covering the grapes if you can believe it.

At least people can drive up our driveway now! The wind helped dry it out some. We'll be getting the new labels printed soon, so be watching for the release of our new wines in the next month.

New Wines Bottled

2010-03-07T17:03:00.000-08:00

My sister Heidi, I and Ed bottled for 7 1/2 hours today and got all our red wines from 2009 done. We don't have the labels yet, but should be releasing some of them in the next month or so. We're really excited to release some new wines this year. One will be a semi-dry red called Rattlesnake Charley Red. Rattlesnake Charley was a relative of Ed's and was quite the character. He rode with the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show in Europe and the US. When we release the wine we'll have more about Rattlesnake Charley on our web site. Stay tuned!

Nature

2010-02-24T11:42:00.001-08:00

Ed and I have gotten so much joy from watching the beautiful herd of deer who come every night to the corn field across the road from us to eat dinner. We've seen up to 30 deer in one group. I finally went over to the neighbors last night and asked if I could go to their backyard to take photos. I spooked the deer a bit and my little camera just doesn't have a large enough lens, but I got a photo of some of the deer.

A View From Alaska....I Mean Nebraska!

2010-02-17T19:27:00.000-08:00

More and more snow keeps piling up here. It's going to be a mess when it starts melting. Ed should have started pruning about a month ago, but can't get in the vines.

Back From Scotland

2010-02-02T14:08:00.000-08:00

Ed and I were finally able to take a vacation together for the first time since 2003. We flew to Scotland with Ed's brother and wife and had a great time. So much history to see and not enough time. We did cover a lot of ground though and can't wait to go back sometime. One place that was a must see was the Wallace Memorial where in the Hall of Heroes is a bust of a distant relative of Ed's and Bill's, Robert Tannahill. Robert Tannahill was a well known poet in Scotland. I had to take a picture of Ed and Robert side by side because there is such a resemblance.

Robert Tannahill (1774-1810)

The sixth of nine children, Robert Tannahill was born on 3 June 1774 at Castle Street, Paisley. His father was a silk weaver and the family moved to a thatched cottage at 11 Queen Street in Paisley (where the Paisley Tannahill Club still meet). Tannahill received a basic education but he read widely and showed an early interest in and a talent for poetry. When he was twelve years old he was apprenticed to his father as a weaver. He continued his self education, learning to play the flute and going to theatre performances in Glasgow.

In the years following his fathers death in 1802 he began to publish his poetry, in some cases as words to existing tunes, particularly Irish music. Frail and shy, his poetry was often inspired by the countryside around Paisley. Despite having a deformity in his right leg, he would go for long walks in the Gleniffer Braes above the town. Poems such as "The Braes of Gleniffer" and "The Flower O' Levern Side" were about local haunts. He also wrote about soldiers and war as the loss of life during the Napoleonic Wars had an affect on him.

Tannahill founded a Burns Club in Paisley in 1803 at the Sun Tavern in High Street and James Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd, was a guest there. Like Robert Burns before him, Tannahill showed an understanding of humanity, love and friendship. He published a collection of his works in 1807 and they were well received. However, when another group of poems was rejected by an Edinburgh publisher he burned many of his writings. He was often prone to bouts of depression and he drowned himself in a canal in Paisley on 17 May 1810.

In 1883 a series of concerts were held on Gleniffer Braes and the money raised paid for a statue to Paisley's most famous poet. It was erected close to Paisley Abbey.

William Wallace National Monument in Stirling

In the William Wallace National Monument. See the little winding stairs in the background...we walked 246 up to the top!

St Andrews Cathedral

View from the top of St Andrews Cathedral. We climbed 157 small winding steps one way!

Wouldn't you get a hair cut even if you didn't need one?!

St Andrews Castle. The town of St Andrews is where the game of golf began.

Dirty Dicks Pub on Rose Street in Edinburgh where we enjoyed Steak Pie and Haggis!

Edinburgh Castle

Stirling Castle

Tour and tasting at Tullibardine Distillery near Stirling

Beautiful harbour at Crail in the Kingdom of Fife

Harbour at sunset at Anstruther

Dreel Tavern in Anstruther where we hung out with the locals. Had a wonderful meal and a great way to end our trip to Scotland.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-03T08:44:00.000-08:00

It was an interesting Christmas to say the least with the blizzard and all. We weren't able to get out for several days as I'm sure was the same for many people. The week after Christmas we were able to spend some time with family. It was a week of mixed emotions. It was good to see family, but we also lost two cats, Sarah and Pepper, both to the same cancer two days apart from each other. We have very good vets in Norfolk and they did everything they could for them, but both passed away shortly after surgeries.

Last night we had another mini blizzard and woke up to 4 inches of fresh snow. It is crisp outside, but sunny and beautiful.

Henri is in heaven with the weather and when it was snowing last night and the wind was fierce he was laying out on a drift in the middle of it. He continues to catch Meadow Voles. We believe he is digging them out of the rose bushes by the winery.

Ed and I have had a few rarities happen in the last few months. Several months ago Henri was barking non-stop at about 1 am, so finally I went out to see what it was. He was going crazy and when I pulled him away I had a hard time identifying what it was I was seeing. When Ed came out he saw it was a porcupine! Porcupines are usually in west central and western Nebraska, but not here. Needless to say Henri had quills inside it mouth and on his nose and was taken to the vet.

Henri was also barking non-stop one morning this past week and finally we looked out the bedroom window and saw a deer laying in the east vineyard near the Tuscan Villa Inn B & B. Ed thought maybe it was injured because there were no other deer around. I told Ed the ears were really big, so he thought it might be a Mule Deer. I was trying to sneak over to the winery to get my camera, but the deer took off and Ed saw it run to the corn field across the road. He said it pranced then several times would spring into the air and come down on all fours. Ed called Dan at Willow Creek SRA and told him what he saw and Dan confirmed it was a Mule Deer. They typically are seen in western Nebraska but not in our area.

We'll see what happens this month!

Wild Plum Wine Ready!

2009-12-27T17:08:00.000-08:00

We released the Wild Plum wine December 18th. This wine is made from Nebraska wild plums and is a nice balance of sweet and astringency, $18.00/btl. I know a lot of you have been waiting for it and this wine sells out fast. We've sold quite a bit already and have some out in stores in Nebraska.

We are closed Monday and Tuesday December 28th and 29th, but if you are in the area and would like to stop by please give us a call 402-329-6774 and if we are around we will be glad to help you. We will be open 11 am-6 pm on Wed. December 30th.

Cuthills Vineyards will be Closed December 31st-February 4th

Orders will be accepted on-line and if we are at the winery we will be more than happy to help you.

Cuthills Vineyards will be open February-April Friday, Saturday & Sunday 1 pm-5 pm

May-December Wed-Sat 11 am-6 pm, Sunday 1 pm-5 pm

2009-12-27T16:29:00.000-08:00

Outside our bedroom window.

Henri loves laying in snowdrifts.

Outside our bedroom window. We have more snowdrifts taller than this!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T11:45:00.001-08:00

It's Christmas day and we're drifted in as many probably are today or for the last few days. Ed just made some wonderful gluten free blueberry pancakes for lunch and tonight sounds like a good soup night. The weather has been good for watching movies and reading books and Henri loves running and laying in the snow drifts.

Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday Henri & Holly

2009-12-24T11:39:00.000-08:00

Today Henri and Holly share a birthday. Henri turned 1 1/2 and is getting bigger. He now weighs 95 lbs and loves romping around in this snow. Holly turned 49 and is mentally preparing herself for the big 50 next year.

Merry Christmas everyone and have a very Happy New Year!

Get Your Wine Before Christmas

2009-12-21T13:14:00.000-08:00

There is still time to get your wine or send wine out for Christmas if you order today. Any wine ordered today or Tuesday December 22nd should reach most parts of Nebraska by the 23rd. If your wine needs to be shipped out of state, we would recommend UPS 2nd Day Air.

We are closed today and tomorrow, but if you would like to pick up some last minute gifts, just give us a call and we'll make sure we are here for you to purchase them. We will be open our regular hours on Wednesday December 23rd from 11 am-6 pm.

We will be closed December 24th & 25th. We will be open again December 26th 11 am-6 pm and Sunday 1 pm-5 pm. Closed Monday and Tuesday, Open Wednesday December 30th 11 am-6 pm.

We will be closed December 31st through February 4th. You may still order wine on-line during that time.

Have a very Merry Christmas! Holly & Ed

Holiday Open House Dec. 4th, 5th & 6th

2009-12-04T17:45:00.000-08:00

Our Holiday Open House is under way. Each of these three days we will be drawing for door prizes, sampling wines, and providing snacks. Cuthills Vineyards is celebrating its 15th Anniversary, so the entire month of December we are offering 15% off everything in the tasting room including wine, wine accessories and jewelry by Holly Eve Designs. Our popular black rhinestone ladies T-shirts are regularly $29.98, but this month only they are $19.98 Plus 15% off!

If you are ordering on-line be sure to use the promotional code: anniversary15

Stop by and see us and visit Henri. He and Holly share a birthday...December 24th. Henri will be 1 1/2 years old.

Covidien Plant Managers Meet At Cuthills Vineyards

2009-11-19T17:09:00.000-08:00

Covidien plant managers from various parts of the United States ended their week long meetings at Cuthills Vineyards for some good Nebraska fun and wine. The HR folks at Covidien in Norfolk did a great job of planning the evening from having huge Nebraska ribeyes grilled with all the fixin's to supplying cowboy hats, sheriff's badges and black mustaches. Before coming out to Cuthills Vineyards they got to ride combines and find out all about growing corn, then at Cuthills Vineyards we treated them to a VIP tour of the production area and explained the winemaking process.

When someone from the Covidien plant in Norfolk asked one of the plant managers from another state what he thought of Nebraska, he replied "Nebraska is a lot of the good stuff that makes America. I really feel like I'm in the Heartland."

George Paul Vinegar Family

2009-11-19T16:38:00.000-08:00

Here's a photo of George Johnson of George Paul Vinegar with his family. From left to right: Emily, Karen, George, Eric and Adam. They now have vinegar available for sale on the web site.

Photos At George Paul Vinegar

2009-11-01T13:48:00.000-08:00

Front area of George Paul Vinegar. The building was designed by Emily Johnson and built out of strawbales by friends and family

Front area of George Paul Vinegar

Where the vinegar is produced

The Lab

Holly & Ed with George's brother Larry Johnson

George Paul Vinegar Grand Opening Sat. Oct. 24th

2009-10-23T13:46:00.000-07:00

Our friends George and Karen Johnson and their family have been working very hard for several years to make this become a reality. Check out their web site to see the straw bale building they put up. At the grand opening you'll be able to taste the vinegars made from Nebraska fruit and wine and watch them press apples. Cuthills Vineyards will be there sampling and selling wines. A fun way to spend a nice fall day. 1:00 pm-5:00 pm 302 E Nebraska Ave, Cody, NE.

Also last chance to purchase wines for just $5.99 during our October Madness Sale! Stop by the winery or order on-line. If you're unable to make it to the winery before the sale ends, call in your order now and pick them up later.

We've Lost Our Heads!

2009-10-07T14:57:00.000-07:00

Many wines marked down to $5.99. Sale good through October 31st.

Fall Is Here

2009-10-03T14:55:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful fall day.....a bit windy, but nice and cool. The leaves are changing on the vines and some are tipped with fire red. Ed is pressing the Lot #1 Field Blend today and the tasting room has been very busy with people coming in and purchasing the wines we have on sale this month for $5.99 (also helps that there isn't a Nebraska game today!).

Some Photos From The Last Few Weeks

2009-10-01T19:29:00.000-07:00

Ed's wine press he designed and built.

New wine bottle condiment bowls and platters made from Cuthills Vineyards wine bottles.

Wine tasting event in Grand Island to benefit juvenile diabetes.

Harvest

2009-09-20T18:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had a crew of pickers come out to help Ed pick the Temparia, one of Ed's hybrid grapes he developed. They picked 2,086 pounds. Today Ed picked the Concord grapes and is processing them as I write this. So far harvest has been really good this year. We're hoping the weather stays nice, the birds and Asian Lady Beetles stay away so we'll be able to make a Late Harvest wine from LaCrosse. Thanks Noelle for helping yesterday.

Happy Birthday Heidi!!!

Our Vineyards

2009-09-12T13:11:00.000-07:00

We started harvesting grapes last weekend. We picked the Marechal Foch and deChaunac and today we picked about 5 ton of LaCrosse and Petite Amie in just 4 hours. Ed is going to use the "free run" juice to make a sparkling wine and the rest to make a blended wine. We're leaving the rest of the LaCrosse to hang for hopefully a late harvest wine if the birds don't get all the grapes. Next weekend we may be picking Ed's Temparia.

We had a terrific crew out today. We've had the same families picking for us for about 12 years now and always have a lot of fun with them....they were even singing out in the vineyard this morning and I told my sister Heidi that they were just way too happy for me that early in the morning. We had the famous Wragge Dogs (from Pierce Locker) for lunch a long with freshly picked tomatoes, cucumbers and watermelon from my Dad's garden. Thank you so much to Dad, Heidi and Doug who have helped us get through every harvest season.

Bottling Wine

2009-09-03T19:28:00.000-07:00

My sister Heidi and her husband Doug came over tonight to help Ed bottle several wines. They bottled the much waited for 2008 LaCrosse, a dry white wine, the 2008 Petite Amie, the 2008 Willow Blanc which we have been sold out of for a while and a new wine Sweet Aronia . Here's a little video of them just finishing up with the Sweet Aronia. Wine can be purchased at Cuthills Vineyards or on-line.

New Wine Press

2009-09-01T13:11:00.001-07:00

As some of you remember, the wine press Ed built out of an old dairy tank about 5 years ago broke last year during harvest and was irrepairable and we were really left in a bind.......actually it was the harvest from hell, but we made it through the fall. This year Ed spent countless hours designing and building a new wine press. This one is very impressive, heavier and is built to last. Ed had Arkfeld Manufacturing in Norfolk cut the steel with their new water pressure cutter for a nice clean cut and then helped his son-in-law Billy with the welding. Billy did a superb job. Today Ed is installing the membrane in the press that when pumped up with air will press the grapes to produce the juice (I'm getting to screw the nuts on with the cordless drill which is tons of fun!).

We're praying the rain holds off this week so we can start harvesting already. I'm loving the cool weather, but we certainly don't need it for the grapes.

Kilborn Alley Blues Band August 8th

2009-09-01T13:11:00.000-07:00

Jim Jarvosky who attended our concerts this summer took these great photos and I had to share them with you. Thanks Jim! I'm in the planning stages for next year's concerts, so watch our web site for dates and bands.

3rd Annual Nebraska Hot Air Balloon & Wine Festival

2009-08-19T10:44:00.000-07:00

I had a great time in Omaha this past weekend at the Festival. There were 14 wineries from Nebraska and 1 from IA. Friday was a great night with several thousand people attending. Unfortunately it rained on Saturday and the attendance wasn't that great even though it stopped raining early evening. But a great time was had by all. Thanks to Barbara, Cherie and Jim for helping me in the booth and Bernadette for letting me stay with you.

Grapevine Concert August 8th

2009-08-19T10:37:00.000-07:00

We were blown away by the attendance! Almost 400 people attended the concert. The day was supposed to get up to 100 degrees, but we had a front go through and the weather was beautiful. The Kilborn Alley Blues Band was great and everyone really enjoyed themselves. This was the last concert for the season, but be sure to watch our web site for dates of next year's Grapevine Concert Series.

July 11th Concert

2009-08-19T10:29:00.000-07:00

This blog is long time overdue for being updated. We had 112 North Duck play at the July 11th Concert. The turn out was ok...only about 200 people, but we had a great night and the band was terrific!

Congratulations Andy & Julie Bose!

2009-07-19T21:53:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful day for a wedding! It wasn't too hot and there was a nice breeze. Andy and Julie were married on a hill overlooking the vineyards then had their reception near the winery. As the sun went down Christmas lights brightened the tent and the festivities went on well into the evening.

If you are interested in booking your wedding, wedding/reception or meetings, parties, etc....Please call Holly Swanson at 402-329-6774.

Where Were You?!

2009-07-12T11:05:00.000-07:00

If you weren't at the Grapevine Concert here at Cuthills Vineyards this past Saturday July 11th, you really missed a good band! 112 North Duck was fantastic and we will definitely have them back in the future. It was a perfect night for the concert.

We had a few sprinkles mid-afternoon, but around 4:30 the clouds went away, the sun came out and we had a light breeze. I was jealous of all the good food I heard people brought...some wanting to share with me, but I was very busy in the tasting room ringing up wine sales. The favorite wines that night seemed to be the Lot #1 Field Blend, Migration and 08 Brianna.

Ed and I met so many nice people. One nice couple from Vermillion, SD brought their 7 month old dog Charlotte and she and Henri had a ball. They didn't stop playing until about midnight when it was time for us to call it a night.

Be sure to mark your calendar for the next Grapevine Concert Saturday August 8th with The Kilborn Alley Blues Band. Tickets are $10 each for 12 and up. Adults 21+ receive a free souvenir wine glass and free wine samples. We have plenty of free parking. Be sure to pack a picnic and pets are welcome. (IT'S AGAINST THE LAW THE BRING IN OTHER ALCOHOL)

Thanks to Dave, Rick, Beth, Dick, Heidi and Doug for helping at the concert!

GRAPEVINE CONCERT JULY 11TH

2009-07-08T18:30:00.000-07:00

5 pm-8 pm 112 North Duck

High energy blues in the tradition of the classic guitar driven blues bands. The band's name was the address of a house of ill repute in the old west.

On The Lawn Bring A Chair!

Concert Tix just $10 ea 12 and older. Adults 21+ receive a free souvenir wine glass and free wine samples. Free parking.

Wine and bottled water for sale.

Bring a picnic, buy a bottle of wine and relax!

PURCHASE AND PRINT YOUR TIX AT www.cuthills.com

It's against the law to bring in other alcohol.

Looking for a place to stay? Call the Norfolk Country Inn 1201 S 13th Street Norfolk NE 68701 402-371-4430 or 800-233-0733 www.norfolkcountryinn.com

Grapevine Concert Series

2009-06-26T14:13:00.000-07:00

Tickets are now available for the Grapevine Concert Series coming up July 11th & August 8th! Concert tickets are just $10 per person 12 and up. Adults 21+ receive a free souvenir wine glass and free wine tasting. Feel free to bring a blanket or chairs and a picnic.

It's against the law to bring other alcoholic beverages on the property.

Happy Birthday Henri!

2009-06-24T17:41:00.000-07:00

Henri is one year old today. He has grown so fast, but will probably grow more. Great Pyrenees usually reach their full grown weight at two years. Ed and I showered him with gifts this morning and with an ice cold Frosty Paws treat. I found these in the ice cream section at WalMart. He loves them.

Miss Rodeo Nebraska Rehearsal Dinner

2009-06-22T12:07:00.000-07:00

Kristen Schott from Battle Creek, NE was Miss Rodeo Nebraska last year and we were delighted when she and Benjamin chose Cuthills Vineyards as the location for their rehearsal dinner this last Friday night. It turned out to be one of the few evenings it hasn't rained in the last 3 weeks and was perfect. Jim's Catering from Madison catered absolutely delicious prime rib and we served up Cuthills Vineyards wine with Kristen and Benjamin's custom wine labels.

Luck Of The Irish

2009-06-14T09:46:00.000-07:00

Ed's a little Irish, but someone must have been a lot of Irish yesterday for us to have perfect weather for an outdoor wedding at the winery. We've been getting rain everyday and on Friday it poured. We ended up getting an inch fifteen and it was muddy here. Saturday was to be an outdoor wedding with 200 guests by two of our vineyards.

It stopped raining for the rehearsal which was Friday night at 7 pm and Saturday was a gorgeous day....barely a breeze and sunny. The wedding was at 5 pm which allowed enough time for things to dry off. Kamilla's Floral and Rentals did the decorating which was simple but elegant. The trolley was provided by Mr. T's Carriage, pulled by the grooms father's John Deere tractor....the groom works for John Deere. Tammy Arnold with Reflections did the photography....can't wait to see the photos!

Give Cancer The Boot!

2009-06-07T09:41:00.000-07:00

This weekend I attended the Cattlemen's Ball near Doniphan. Friday night I stayed at a hotel in Hastings where around 11:30 pm the tornado sirens went off and I spent some time on the phone with Ed while sitting in the bathtub in my room....I guess that's the safest place to go. It poured rain and golfball size hail. The next morning the hood of Ed's pickup was pretty dinged up.

It usually rains every year for the Cattlemen's Ball, but that doesn't slow anything down. Naturally I didn't pack properly and wore sandals and crop pants and thinking to myself as I walk through the mud..."note to self...pack boots, sweater and jeans for next year." But how can you complain when you think of someone going through cancer and sitting for 8 hours or so receiving chemo therapy.

Myself and 3 other Nebraska wineries poured samples during the wine tasting yesterday afternoon. If you've never been to the Cattlemen's Ball, it is a very exciting event and huge! Even if you aren't a farmer or raise cattle...this is a fun event.

They have several tents set up that are anywhere from 200'-300+' to accommodate all the activities. One tent is dedicated to what they call the General Store filled with vendors selling all kinds of high quality products from handmade jewelry to gorgeous Amish furniture.

Another tent also filled with more vendors is where the style show is. All clothes, jewelry, shoes, bags, etc. are made in Nebraska and the models are the stars...because they have given cancer the boot. In fact I met Kyle Rosfeld there. Kyle used to be a ranch hand and now makes a living in the Valentine, NE area designing and custom making boots, handbags, even wine bottle holders. Kyle uses some old equipment and old traditional methods to make his boots. The craftsmanship is stunning.

There are hundreds of wonderful items for auction and raffle. Many beautiful boots were donated and autographed by famous people from country stars to Warren Buffet and Bill Gates.

The last evening is a HUGE prime rib dinner catered by Chances "R" from York, NE. I don't know how they can feed the masses and still keep the food consistent. Their prime rib is the best and even at an event this huge you can get a piece from rare to medium well done.

The 2010 Cattleman's Ball will be in Buffalo County (Kearney, NE) next year which is unusual to have it in the same area two years in a row. I believe the dates are June 4th & 5th, so mark your calendars and get ready to have a great time and support cancer research.

You Won't Believe It!

2009-05-04T09:45:00.000-07:00

I would have never thought it could happen twice....and so close together, but it did. Two weeks ago today my Mom was visiting from Texas and she and I were having a wonderful day together. She was driving their new van and we were headed east of Dodge, NE on Hwy 91, when all of a sudden someone pulled out from a side road to cross the Hwy and hit Mom's side. We are fine and so is the man who hit us, but they did take Mom to the hospital and an EMT took me shortly after that. We were both x-rayed and bruised and sore. Mom ended up having to stay extra long while her van was fixed, but we were really fortunate things weren't worse.

Well, this past weekend I was in Kearney, NE at the Nebraska Wine & Jazz Festival serving wine samples. It was a great event and had a fun time being in Kearney (where I graduated from high school). As I was leaving Sunday morning, I was going through an intersection,

when an elderly woman ran a red light and hit me on my side of the pickup. All I can say, is thank the Lord I was in the pickup, because she was going so fast if I would have been in my car it would have been much worse. The woman who hit me is fine, although the Dodge Ram did a lot of damage to her car. I am fine, but my knee is swollen and I have some abrasions on the side of my back, but God was definitely watching over me.

Ed has been busy pruning the grapes and if we don't get anymore rain he should be done in a few days. Ed, Heidi and Doug bottled the Lot #1 Field Blend and Chancellor a few weeks ago and they have been selling very well. The 2008 Temparia should be ready for release in June.

I'll be at the Grand Island HyVee doing a wine tasting from 3 pm - 6 pm on May 9th, so if you are in the area stop by for free samples (hopefully I won't be in another accident!).

Spring Is Here!

2009-04-25T16:14:00.000-07:00

Ed got the bedroom done the end of February and we love it! Ed's brother Bill gave him a belated birthday present and took Ed to Mexico...a much needed vacation for all the hard work he did on the bedroom. As soon as Ed got back it was back to the real world and pruning the vines. I took off for Taos, NM to study ring design for a week and had a great time. Be sure to check out my jewelry at www.hollyevedesigns.artfire.com.

Now that spring is here we'll be open more hours. May-December Wednesday-Saturday 11 am-6 pm and Sundays 1 pm-5 pm. May 1st & 2nd you can catch us at the Nebraska Wine & Jazz Festival in Kearney. The first weekend in June we'll be at the Cattlemen's Ball near Doniphan, NE and our Grapevine Concert Series are July 11th & August 8th.

Winery Open February 6th!

2009-02-05T13:41:00.000-08:00

Cuthills Vineyards will be open again February 6th. The winter hours are February-April Friday thru Sunday 1 pm - 5 pm. We currently have 18 wines available.

Ed has been busy working on our bedroom, so we can finally sleep in a regular bed after 3 years. He has been working day and night and is doing all the work himself. Our neighbor Mike Gleason has been coming over and helping Ed put up the posts and beams as Ed gets them done. The wood is virgin Doug Fir and is beautiful. Ed is chiseling all the mortise and tenons by hand and they wood is held together with wooden pegs. We should be able to set up our bed this month!

Beautiful Snow Today

2009-01-09T13:50:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! We are getting a lot of snow today. Henri and the Starlings are enjoying the snow. Henri dug out his pruning shears to help Ed prune the vines, but he is still a pup and fell asleep. Henri is 6 months old and at last weigh in is 72.5 lbs.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-22T07:35:00.000-08:00

Cuthills Vineyards will be closed Dec. 24th and 25th. We will be open Dec. 26th and 27th 11 am-6 pm and Dec. 28th. We will be closed the month of January. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Bottling Wine Today

2008-12-20T13:59:00.000-08:00

Despite the weather today, Ed, Noelle and Mike are bottling wine. They are bottling the Traminette-Riesling, Willow Blush and Wild Plum. Cuthills Vineyards will be open Sunday December 21st 1 pm-6 pm and will be open again December 26th & 27th 11 am-6 pm and Sunday 1 pm-6 pm. Be sure to stock up on Christmas and New Years wines before it's too late. Have a wonderful snowy weekend.

Christmas In The Air

2008-12-17T17:10:00.000-08:00

The Christmas spirit is in the air, we have beautiful snow...and a lot of it and we're looking forward to spending time with family and friends.

I guess we're supposed to be getting bad weather tomorrow. Ed is hoping to bottle three wines on Friday. He will be bottling the Wild Plum, Traminette-Riesling and the Willow Blush.

We are open Thursday-Saturday 11 am -6 pm and Sunday 1 pm - 6pm. We are closed Dec. 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th. We will be open Dec. 26th, 27th 11 am - 6 pm and Dec. 28th 1 pm - 6 pm. If you need wines on the 22nd or 23rd please call the winery and leave and message because Ed will be around and may be able to open for you. We will be CLOSED JANUARY.

Holiday Open House Dec. 6th & 7th

2008-12-05T18:43:00.000-08:00

This weekend is our open house and we'll be having extra savings for just these two days. We'll have 10% off 6+ bottles of wine or 15% off 12+ bottles of wine and 25 % off all other merchandise (except jewelry). We'll also have Wine Gift Baskets to choose from or we'll be glad to make a custom basket for you. We have a number of food items to include in the gift basket with wine such as chocolate truffles, hickory smoked beef sausage, crackers, assorted cheese, jellies and wine accessories. Don't forget Custom Wine Labels to add a special touch to your gift of wine.

For those of you waiting for the Wild Plum wine, we'll be bottling that sometime around the 16th or 17th along with the Willow Blush and Traminette-Riesling. Hope to see you this weekend.

Closed Thanksgiving Day Nov. 27th

2008-11-16T11:54:00.000-08:00

Cuthills Vineyards will be closed Thanksgiving Day November 27th to be with our families. We hope you will be able to spend the day with family, friends and loved ones too. Eat and drink in moderation and drive safely.

Festival of Trees Nov. 14-16

2008-11-15T12:54:00.000-08:00

The Festival of Trees is at the Lifelong Learning Center at Northeast Community College in Norfolk this weekend. We participated this year for the first time. There are many beautiful displays. I believe admission is $5 and they are serving desserts and there are door prizes.

Henri & New Squeaky Wine Bottle Toy

2008-11-15T12:51:00.000-08:00

We were in Omaha the other day and had to stop by PetSmart to see the latest toys. We couldn't resist this squeaky wine bottle for Henri.

First Big Snow

2008-11-12T11:52:00.000-08:00

We woke up to 2 inches of snow Tuesday morning and it was beautiful out. I had to take a picture of the grapes still hanging on the vine and Henri.

Northeast Community College in Norfolk is having a Festival of Trees November 14-16, so please stop by the college to see Cuthills Vineyards display.

Wine Tasting November 8th

2008-10-30T10:34:00.001-07:00

I will be at the From Nebraska Gift Shop Saturday November 8th pouring wine samples from 4 pm-7 pm. If you are in Lincoln please stop by. They are located in the Haymarket.

Grape Ornaments

2008-10-29T12:24:00.001-07:00

We finally had a hard freeze and now any grapes left on the vines look like little Christmas tree ornaments. We've had beautiful crisp fall weather the last few days and not too windy. Any day in Nebraska when it's not too windy is a beautiful day. Ed has been busy with the wines. He just ordered labels and bottles and should be bottling the Edelweiss in the next few weeks.

We'll also have a few new wines....not sure when they will be bottled though. One will be a Traminette-Riesling blend. Both grapes are grown at Geo. Spencer Vineyards. Ed made a small blend of his red hybrids and the wine will be called Lot #1....this will be a dry red wine and will be under our second label Primordium Cellars. Also for the first time we will have a wine made from Aronia berries grown by our neighbors Mike & Jennifer Gleason who also grown the raspberries for us.

We only have about 3 cases of the Temparia left and won't have any until spring, so we are limiting purchases to only 1 bottle.

Henri is growing. He will be 4 months old on November 24th. He loves to greet customers, is very jealous of the cats and loves treats from Steve the UPS driver.

Home Grown Wine Tasting

2008-10-23T10:51:00.000-07:00

Mark a good friend of ours and I poured wine at a fundraiser for the Nebraska Children's Home at the Nomad Lounge in Omaha. There were three wineries and four micro breweries there. The event was a success with several hundred people attending. The Nomad Lounge is a very cool place on Jones Street just two blocks south of the Old Market.

If you are in Lincoln Saturday November 8th, I'll be doing a wine tasting at the From Nebraska Gift Shop from 4 pm - 7 pm.

Harvest Is Finished

2008-10-14T17:36:00.000-07:00

This was the craziest year for harvest. The wet, cool weather and equipment breaking down. The new press broke down and we ended up borrowing a wine press from our friends at Strawbale Winery near Sioux Falls, SD. Ed made it through pressing grapes and needless to say we are not keeping the new press. Ed is hoping he can spend some time this winter on the old press and try to fix it.

Ed is also busy making small batches of wine from his experimental grapes. He has about 3 gallons of a red Muscat he's breeding which will make a sweet wine. It looks very promising and we hope to have a commercial wine available from it in 2010.

We are sold out of several wines now, but will start bottling new wines in November, so it's always an exciting time of the year. We will also have a Holiday Open House December 6 & 7.

Weekend From Hell

2008-09-23T10:50:00.000-07:00

Harvest started out great on Saturday, but at 4 pm the new press broke down. Ed was on the phone for hours with various people from the company. A mechanic from CA flew out Sunday and arrived late Sunday afternoon. They fixed the press so it would run at a slower pace. Ed worked until 7 am Monday in order to get all the grapes pressed. In the meantime the mechanic ordered a part from France and we are still waiting for it.

Today Mike our neighbor who grows raspberries for us brought over 500 pounds of Aronia (photo above) which Ed will make into wine for the first time. It will be a sweeter wine and we won't have much of it.

Ed still has quite a few of his hybrids to pick and the Concord....then we'll be done picking for the season.

Harvest This Weekend

2008-09-17T16:17:00.000-07:00

Ed has been very busy this week picking his hybrids and making small batches of test wine from them. Today he and his daughter Angie bottled Indulgence (raspberry wine).

It looks like we'll be harvesting this weekend....finally. Also Nissen Wines from Hartington, NE will be bringing down their Frontenac and Chancellor grapes. Busy, busy, busy.

Henri Getting Weighed

2008-09-16T18:14:00.000-07:00

I actually had an appointment for Pepper, one of our cats, but took Henri along for the ride. Dr. Brauer weighed him and he is now 27 lbs! She looked him over and he is in great shape. Next week he goes in for his booster shots. He also met Mikey, a 4 lb Pomeranian, today for the first time. Mikey is the granddog of our friends Don and Letha. Mikey and Henri did very well together surprisingly.

Muscat Grapes

2008-09-14T13:47:00.001-07:00

These are the red Muscat grapes Ed has been breeding. He just picked them today and is going to make part of them into a sweet red Muscat wine and part into a Muscat port. These will be just experimental wines not available to the public since we'll only have a few gallons of each. If they make good wines, Ed will start propagating the grapes and we should have a commercial wine by 2010.

Riesling and Traminette Grapes

2008-09-13T16:21:00.000-07:00

Lee and Barb at Geo. Spencer Vineyards in Gibbon, NE put in a few Riesling a few years ago. We weren't really sure if they would grow in their area (they are 3 hours SW of us). This will be the first harvest for the Riesling and since there aren't many, they will be blended with the Traminette. The first photo is the Riesling and the second is the Traminette.

New Grapes

2008-09-13T15:57:00.000-07:00

These are Marquette grapes grown at Geo. Spencer Vineyards in Gibbon, NE. This is a new red grape released from the Minnesota University. Ed will make a dry red wine out of these.

Henri The Greeter

2008-09-13T15:52:00.000-07:00

Henri had a busy day today. He greeted customers and showed some visitors around the vineyards and when the truck of grapes came in from Gibbon, NE he chewed on a cork or two.

Zeke & Henri Video

2008-09-12T16:03:00.001-07:00

Here is just a short clip of Zeke (one of 23 cats) and Henri. Zeke talks all the time and right now Henri is into dragging around his blanket and other toys. He didn't know what to do with his first treat the other night, but last night he got the hang of it and thinks they are pretty special now.

Ed's Hybrids

2008-09-12T12:45:00.000-07:00

Here's a photo of one of Ed's new hybrids he just picked today. Some of his grapes he may have only enough to make one bottle of wine to maybe a gallon of wine. He has been breeding some red muscat grapes and may have enough this year to make about three gallons of wine. At least it's enough to see if this grape will make a good commercial wine and tell us if we should start propagating more.

Late Harvest

2008-09-12T11:42:00.000-07:00

We had hoped to be harvesting this weekend, but with the very cool weather and rain the grapes aren't getting any sweeter, so we'll have to wait another weekend. This is not good because an early freeze could come at any time.

Processing Wild Plums

2008-09-11T14:32:00.000-07:00

Ed and Kent Pavlik are processing the wild plum he and his wife Amy brought in today. The plums are gorgeous. The wild plums are crushed with this older crusher so we can set the rollers further apart so that the plum pits don't split.

Wild Plums

2008-09-11T09:18:00.000-07:00

This morning we unloaded almost 900 pounds of wild plums from Dave and Tim Nissen of Nissen Wines in Hartington, NE. We are also expecting to receive another 800 pounds from some folks in Verdigre, NE today. All the wild plums will ferment together to make a Wild Plum wine. We only have this wine about every other year because the plum blossoms usually get damaged with a late frost, so people are putting their names on a reserve list for this wine. These are just beautiful plums.

Marechal Foch Fermenting

2008-09-11T09:14:00.000-07:00

Here is some wine made from the Marechal Foch grape fermenting. This wine will be blended with others to make the '08 Prairie Red.

Heidi (Holly's Sister) & Henri

2008-09-10T17:01:00.000-07:00

Here is Heidi and Henri last Saturday during harvest. He was so tired after all the excitement.

Ed With Henri 2nd Day At Home

2008-09-10T16:58:00.000-07:00

Newest Family Member

2008-09-10T10:47:00.000-07:00

Here is Henri. We have had him for a week now. Henri is a Great Pyrenees and will grow to be a large dog. Last November we lost Baco, our dog of 13 years to prostate cancer. Baco was a Border Collie/Great Pyrenees mix and was the sweetest dog. He was a great greeter at our winery and a very gentle soul.

Henri is very smart at only 11 weeks old. In the few days we've had him, he knows how to sit, shake and retrieve. We're still working on not chasing the cats. Each morning Henri and Holly go for a walk around the vineyards so he knows some day he will need to guard the property and keep coyotes away from the cats.