Davenport Mandolin

A friend of mine took me on the 2011 Kaw Valley Farm Tour back in October. It was a gorgeous fall day, and I got to spend a lot of it outdoors while we explored farms and local groceries. And, amazingly, Davenport Orchards and Winery.

Believe it or not, there are vineyards and wineries in Kansas. I was a bit surprised by this information, myself. When I discovered that there was one just outside of town, I got pretty excited. I was just starting to get into my wine tastings when I was introduced to this tidbit.

Dozens of people were milling around when we arrived. We made our way inside and pushed through the crowd up to where they were giving out free samples. They let us sample five different wines, from their driest to their sweetest, and my favorite was dead center: the Mandolin.

This wine is made from sweet red grapes, and definitely is more of a dessert wine than one you'd have with a meal. It was even too sweet for me to drink while writing. It has a pretty robust flavor, and might be a good choice for those who don't normally like red wine.

After the tasting, we listened to a talk about how they process the grapes, and then went on a hay rack ride around the vineyard. It was so beautiful and peaceful out there. Our tour guide mentioned that they took volunteers to help pick grapes when they were ready, and that their last batch of the season would be ready the following week.

I was out there the next weekend to pick. It was a perfect morning for it. The weather could not have cooperated better. I tagged along with a couple and we chatted while we snipped plump bunches of shiny purple grapes and plopped them into huge tubs. I stayed long enough to prune two long rows. I was scraped and sticky and sunburned by the end, but it was a fabulous feeling of accomplishment. It's exciting to think that someday the grapes I picked that Saturday will be turned into wine.