This past week has been a nail-biter on our small family farm because each morning we have been very concerned about how low the temperatures have been with this intense Arctic Blast affecting much of the United States. As many of your know we grow a good amount of affordable u-pick cherries and other stone fruits such as peaches, donut peaches, nectarines, pluots, and a few varieties of plums. We are trying to remain hopeful but the anxiety was a factor for us because last year our u-pick cherry crop last year was tragically light because of late freeze similar to this. Stay tuned because we are hoping that all the tiny buds were tight enough and not far enough along because its been a true winter here this season. We received over 4.5 feet of snow on the farm at one point after Christmas and though its a lot of of work at times to move snow we are grateful for an ample snowpack on Momma Hood so we can irrigate our crops this late spring and summer and feed our community. We are hoping against hope that we have a good amount of blossoms and fruitlets for the coming harvest.
We are in the last stages of releasing our 2021 estate Sparkling Riesling here at the Southern Most Vineyard in the Columbia Gorge AVA. Our Riesling was planted in 2016 and is located on the southwest side of our tasting room the Grateful Vineyard. Ali Mayfield our lovely wine maker has been working closely with Chris and Jordan our brewers to prepare for bottling soon. Our Sparkling Riesling will be on the dry side and will be perfect for any special occasion or to pair with spicy or flavorful foods. Stay tuned for more releases too this year. This has been a massive dream come true to have a full circle winery here at the Grateful Vineyard
We are receiving a lot of inquiries if we host private tasting experiences in our vines or inside our covered heated tents in the colder seasons. Yes we love hosting your private party and sharing with your guests a selections of our beer, wines and ciders along with some food pairings. This one of a kind experience is available for all our guests and to learn more about it kindly email us at thegratefulfarmer@gmail.com
We planted over 20,000 tulips in the fall of 2020 as a gift of beauty for our community to enjoy in the spring of 2021 because its been such a stressful few years with the pandemic and we all need more beauty in our lives. This winter when the snow melted we noticed the the gopher have been working them over and most likely snacking on them all winter but I am very hopeful we will have a few left to enjoy this spring around Late April/Mother Day at the Grateful Vineyard. There is no cost to come and visit and take photos. #tulipsforthepeople Project is our way of giving back to the community. If you want to pick a bouquet they are $1 a stem and help us replace bulbs for the following year.
We host a handful of wedding in our Orchard meadow each summer and we are offering a discount on our last 2022 dates (we offer a discount to local couples as well as teacher and farmers so reach out)
Saturday July 23rd, 2022
Sunday August 7th, 2022
Saturday August 13th, 2022
Friday September 9th 2022
We have plenty of availability in 2023 in all months including June, July, August, September.
Kenny and I decided to get married and the big day is July 4th, 2022. We love farming together and I am so grateful to have found someone to share my farming passion and life with. Statistically there are very few Black Farmers and I am thrilled to have met and fallen in love with one. We ordered 5 more acres of Chardonnay and pinot Noir grape vines that we are going to plant on the north side of the farm and we also have more Newtown Pippens coming as we are growing our cider production every year and need to think about expansion. Our Small craft Brewery turns 2 years old on March 21st 2022-so stay tuned for a little birthday party on the farm around spring break. We are over halfway with the largest project of the winter-pruning all of our fruit bearing trees and grape vines and we have a dead line of getting them all pruned before the blossoms come in the mid-end of April. After that we will work on planting sunflower seeds, dahlias, pumpkins, squash, culinary herbs, lettuce, carrots, beets, grape vines and new baby trees. Thank you again for supporting our multi-generation small family farm and helping us carry on our farming legacy in Parkdale Oregon. xo your grateful farmers, Kenny and Katrina
