Viticulture instructor Lucas McIntire (in apron) nears the end of this session of the eight-month Vineyard Management course at Kirkwood Community College with some of his students. (photo/Dave DeWitte)
CEDAR RAPIDS – A few random thoughts as the eight-month Vineyard Management course at Kirkwood Community College wrapped up tonight with its last class of this session.
- If you have to spend a lovely September evening “studying,” the Kirkwood vineyard is not a bad place to be.
The moon rises over the Kirkwood Community College vineyard in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Sept. 18, 2013. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
- I know they’re supposed to be for wine, but the grapes we sampled in the vineyard beat out the much-touted new Cotton Candy grapes, and pretty much every other table grape you’ll ever taste. (Pssttt… Don’t bother with the Cotton Candy grapes. Who wants their grapes to taste like sticky sugar??)
- Managing vineyards is nearly a year-round endeavor, lasting as long – and even a bit longer – than the eight-month series we took.
Catawba grapes, shown on Wednesday, Sept. 18, will be among the last to be harvested at the Kirkwood vineyard in Cedar Rapids. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
- Catawba is about as easy to pronounce as it is to spell.
- Okanagan Riesling is more fun to say, and the grapes taste as tropical as they sound.
- Kirkwood is lucky to have such an enthusiastic instructor in Lucas McIntire (and since the class is over, this isn’t for brownie points!) If you want a hands-on learning experience, I would highly recommend the course.
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I was glad to have been able to participate in this class with you! Great to have met you 🙂
Nice to have met you too, Gina. Good luck on your ventures!