Taking the Long Road Back to Kansas Wine Country

This month's Feature Destination:
Windswept Winery

July 2006

“In the 1890s and early 1900s, there were vast vineyards across the state of Kansas-hundreds of acres,” Randy Storey reminds us.

“We named our wine, “Land Rush White” knowing that grapes assume a special characteristic of the land they are grown in. It’s a great wine, and a great way to remember the Land Rush into the Oklahoma Territory.”

Randy and Rebecca Storey are the owners of Windswept Winery in windswept Udall, Kansas, about a 25-minute drive southeast from Wichita.

“Kansas is really a great place to grow fine grapes,” Randy said. “We are really proud to be part of the Kansas reawakening and the growth of Kansas vineyards and fine wines.”

Randy knows a great deal of information about growing grapes and developing good wine, which is perhaps a little surprising when you learn that their winery just opened last year. Ah- but that’s why we chose Windswept Winery to be the featured destination for this month’s edition of Kansas Agritourism.

The Road to Learning
Randy is the fifth generation of his family to farm this land, though the 200 plus acres have been used primarily for wheat and soybeans. Rebecca, as a teenager, worked at the Rosati Winery in St. James, Missouri, learning about different varieties, how to prune the vines, etc.

Randy and Rebecca joined the Kansas Grape Growers and Winemakers Association in 1997, attending every meeting they could to learn about vineyards and winemaking. After three years of research, they were ready to plant their vineyard.

They planted French-American hybrids, which are vines with an American rootstock that will endure the sometimes long, hard Kansas winters. The climate in Udall is well suited to grapes, with adequate rainfall, and a sandy loam soil that supports healthy growth.

They also began attending classes in Enology, the study of grapes and winemaking, held at Grayson County Community College in Sherman, Texas! Every Friday night, for two years, Rebecca and Randy made the 5-hour drive to Texas, attended two days of classes, and then drove home on Sunday nights. Both were still working full time jobs off the farm.

They also sought out every resource at home.

“We deeply appreciate all of the help and support we’ve received from the Kansas Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, the Travel and Tourism Office, the Agritourism people—they’ve all been super-interested in helping the industry grow, and helping us grow,” Randy said.

Fruits of Their Labors
In 2005, Randy left his other job, and opened Windswept Winery to the public seven days a week. In the Tasting Room and Gift Shop, they have 12 labels for their guests to choose from, with an interesting variety of red wines; white wines; dry, semi-dry and sweet; along with a blush, an apple wine, and a blackberry wine. They also carry a nice complement of wine accessories, grapevine items, and gift packaging.

Under construction is a new 40-foot by 40-foot banquet and meeting room, with French doors opening onto an outdoor patio of the same size. When the building is complete, the winery will accommodate meetings, weddings, anniversaries, and similar dinner occasions, using local caterers to provide the meals.

To learn more from Randy and Rebecca, including how they market their new winery, and how they assist others learn to establish a Kansas vineyard, Click here.

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Senate Bill Helps Kansas Wineries

Kansas Senate Bill 297 went into effect on July 1, now allowing Kansas wineries many additional opportunities for business and sales.

The major provisions include:

• Customers visiting a Kansas winery may now purchase a case of wine and have it shipped directly to their home.
• Out of state customers as well as Kansas residents may now order wine from all in-state wineries, as well as out-of-state wineries in states having reciprocal agreements, and have it shipped to a local retailer they designate for pickup. This allows proper age identification of the consumer, as well as applicable tax collection. (All but about 5 states now have reciprocal wine agreements.)
• Kansas wineries may now accept orders by Internet or by phone and ship the wine to the retailer designated by the customer (for Kansas residents), or by means in compliance with the customer’s state laws.
• Customers in wineries or restaurants can now take an open, but unfinished bottle of wine with them when they leave, provided the bottle be sealed in an authorized, tamper-proof transparent “wine doggy bag” and properly labeled.
• Wine may now be sold by the glass at the State Fair.

Interested parties should read the bill in its entirety, http://www.kslegislature.org/bills/2006/297.pdf