Lindsay creek Vineyards and a huge backing dilemma!
We just left one of our favorite Harvest Hosts, Southfork Lodge in Lowman, ID, which, if you watch our video, you know that we loved the lodge and it’s owner Jeni-Lei.
But, it was time to move on and we have discovered that Harvest Hosts are wonderful places for an overnight stay with fantastic owners. Lindsay Creek Vineyards did not disappoint!
I contacted Art, the owner of Lindsay Creek Vineyards, a few months ago to schedule our visit. He was, by far, the nicest most accommodating person to talk to on the phone. I was so excited to get to meet him. About a week prior to our arrival there was a note on the Harvest Host website that Art had suffered a heart attack. I called the lodge to find out his status and they said that he had a stent placed and was back at the Vineyard keeping an eye on things (although his employees were making sure that he took it easy)!
We arrived late in the afternoon to find this absolutely beautiful little boutique vineyard. They were serving dinner that evening AND had a Bingo game scheduled for that evening. How could we resist?
It was time for a special date-night with Norm. I needed to clean up and really enjoy the evening. Off came the camping clothes and on went one of the few “dressy” dresses I have with with me during our summer adventure.
We had a tasty lamb-shank dinner (we never have lamb but hey “when in Rome”)! It was beautifully prepared and served. The employees were beyond kind. It was wonderful! Combine that with a little wine tasting paired with chocolate and we were off to a fantastic evening!
The evening did not stop there. We had a fun and rambunctious game of Bingo where almost all attendees were winners and received a delicious bottle of wine!
The employees asked us how long we were staying the next day as they were bottling some cabernet sauvignon and said that they could use a little extra help. We were so excited to delay our departure by just a bit and join in this fun activity. We have never bottled wine before - and they were going to trust us???
We went to bed that night, overlooking the vineyard, with great anticipation for what tomorrow would bring.
We were up bright and early, ready to lend a hand. As we entered the bottling area in the shed we found LOTS of volunteers; community members and other harvest host guests. We finally got to meet Art! He said this was the largest turnout of volunteers that the vineyard had ever experienced. I have no doubt that these kind-hearted souls had heard about Art’s heart attack and they showed up as his friends to give a helping hand.
We continue to be more than pleasantly surprised at the outpouring of generosity and kindness when folks find out there is someone in need. This is truly the type of people we meet along the way on our travels.
My job was to keep the bottles standing upright as they entered into the filling station. Not too difficult and I only knocked them over a few times. Norm was our videographer most of the time but he did have some fun crimping the metal cap over the cork when the bottles exited the filling station.
It was quite the process to see the how everything came together. Many of the volunteers were new to the job and I don’t think we broke even one bottle!
We had a fantastic time bottling wine! The vineyard provided a yummy breakfast and lunch for us and sent us home with not one but TWO gift bags of wine from the vineyard along with some wine that we had just bottled.
The best part was that we got to visit with Art. He shared with us his enthusiastic vision for his winery which has now become a destination for events including weddings, corporate parties, live music on Saturdays and a wine club.
We absolutely love supporting small businesses like this. We encourage all of our Mountain Beaches friends to shop small, shop local and always be on the lookout to give those in a need a helping hand!