July 2012 Rain and more rain

So much rain and for what good?  Well, rhubarb loved it! We picked continuously over the month and have started off this year's wine production.  We are grateful to Tirril Brewery in Long Marton for a couple of raids on their front garden rhubarb to supplement our own. Elderflower is normally the first into the tanks but the lack of sun put this behind a week or so.  Finally the sun put in a brief appearance and Angela was out picking the aromatic flowers.  They are now in the tanks fermenting.  The lack of sun delayed the raspberries but after the first picking on 19^th July  we are now picking madly.  Meanwhile we have  adjusted and bottled last year’s Elderflower and Apple wine, Rhubarb wine and Raspberry wine.  The 2011 Raspberry wine has a much deeper colour than that of 2010 – we wonder why?!

We had visits from the Penrith Soroptimists, Melmerby WI, Warcop WI, and Langwathby and Edenhall WI.

At the end of June our art exhibition, Art at the Winery 2012, opened with some stunning works of art by Haydn Morris, Debra Esterhuizen, Maureen Bennett and Roy Fleming.  The opening evening attracted more than 70 people and the place was buzzing.  The free wine helped to loosen tongues and possibly wallets as several paintings and felt artworks had been sold by the end of the evening.

The preview evening in full swing!

Blencathra in snow by Haydn Morris

Evening owl by Debra Esterhuizen

Our non-wine activity was slates!  We bought 12 tons of reclaimed Westmorland Green slates supposedly from a school in Prudhoe for the barn.  These came unsorted and dirty from years of grime and lichen so we spent many days size sorting and pressure washing them, often in the rain.

'Attractive blond lady' (see June posting) in another guise!