News as of July 3, 2008

Spend Independence Day at the Winery
On Friday, July 4, Baltimore Bend Vineyard will be serving up free grilled hot dogs and chips, while our supplies last. Come out and enjoy a leisurely afternoon on the wine deck. Weather forecasts are for a beautiful day!

Excelsior Springs Wine Festival
If you are looking for something to do on Saturday, July 5, join us in Excelsior Springs from 12 pm to 9 pm. We'll be serving and selling a select variety of our wines on the lawn of the historic Elms Resort and Spa. Music is planned throughout the day, and arts, crafts and food vendors will be on hand too. Visit http://www.eswinefestivals.com/ for ticket information or call (816) 630-7467.

SUNSHINE Released
Last weekend during the Waverly Civil War Festival, Baltimore Bend Vineyard released a new commemorative wine - Sunshine. This is a limited edition wine, a semi-dry blend of Vignoles and Seyval. Reviews thus far have been positive. Drop by the winery to give us your opinion.

New Band Scheduled for Aug. 1
We have scheduled a new band to play the winery on August 1, 6 pm to 9 pm. Johnny and the Gasman, out of Odessa, Mo. will be playing the winery. A $5 cover charge applies for the evening; kids are free. Come out and enjoy and evening with us.

Vineyard Update
Many of you have questioned what all of this rain is doing to our grapes. So far, our vines are looking really good. The excess rain has produced a lot of growth, and very quickly, so we are a bit behind in our management. The extra water is really good for weed growth too, so we are battling extra weed pressures this year. In addition, the rains create the perfect condition for disease outbreaks, so we are very diligent in our spray schedule.

We currently are shoot and cluster thinning our Cynthiana vines, which is a very labor intensive job. Our vines are very vigorous and grow crazy with their tendrils crossing rows and wrapping around themselves. We are one of the venues for a regional viticulture field day July 28, so the goal is to have the vineyard in top shape by this time.

Recent Awards
We have a few awards to our running list for 2007. We received word from Indy International Wine Competition that we have received several awards. Still to come: Missouri Wine Competition, Mid-America Wine Competition and Platte Co. Extension wine competition. See below for the total awards won for this year.

Finger Lakes Wine Competition
2005 Chambourcin - Silver medal
2005 Cynthiana - Bronze medal
2005 Cabernet Franc - Bronze medal

Riverside International
2007 Arrowhead Red - Judge's Unanimous Gold
2005 Chambourcin - Bronze medal

International Eastern
2007 Arrowhead Red - Silver medal
2007 Sweet Beginnings - Silver medal

Indy International Wine Competition
2005 Cynthiana - Bronze medal
2005 Chardonel - Bronze medal
2007 Cirrus - Silver medal

New Restaurant Carries Wine
Waverly has a new restaurant ... Harvest Moon. And they are carrying a selection of Baltimore Bend Vineyard wine. They currently offer Chambourcin, Chardonel, Trey Blanc, Cirrus, Sweet Beginnings and Arrowhead Red. Next time you pass through Waverly stop in Harvest Moon for a bite to eat and a little wine!

Upcoming Events:
Here are few additional dates to keep in mind as we head into 2008.

• July 5 - Excelsior Springs, Mo. wine festival. Come out and see us in Excelsior Springs.

• Aug. 1 - Johnny and the Gasman, playing at the winery from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm. $5 cover charge applies.

• Aug. 30 - Harvest Moon returns for another night of fun and music. 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm. $5 cover charge applies.

• Sept. 14 - Johnny and the Gasman, 2 pm to 5 pm. Free live music for the afternoon!

• Sept. 20 - Yes Dear! band plays the winery from  6:30 to 9:30. $5 cover charge applies.

Hope to see you soon.