Vintage Escapes Winery and Vineyard just opened up the Spring of 2019.

Vintage Escapes Winery has a fairly small venue with an equally small parking area.  On the outside the winery doesn’t look like very much, the siding and roof are covered in steel giving it a rustic feel.  The large wood cellar doors look nice but are not used by the public. On the inside there are dark hardwood floors, an antique pine plank vaulted ceiling with dark beams running across.  As you walk in the door, if you look up, there will be a mounted moose head right above you and a vintage lit chandelier.  The bar has a nice warm feel with the dark oak finish. There were a few small vintage pictures hung on the walls and 3 other vintage/antique pieces in the tasting area. Overall, it felt more rustic than vintage.

On the back side of the winery, they have a nice cozy patio with a really great view. However, don’t expect to see any vines here as all of their grapes are purchased from farmers.

Vintage Escapes Winery and Vineyard decided to open a little early in my opinion.  They  did not have any red wines ready to even taste because they need longer to ferment and age. Which is disappointing if you prefer red wine.  Thankfully, the white wines and fruit wine they had available were really well made.

They had a total of five wines (only 4 in which you could purchase a bottle) when we visited. Three white wines, a fruit dessert wine, and a rosé.  They have three pre-selected wine flights which include three wines each (if you do the white wine and sweet wine flights you can try all of the wine they have available with one overlap).

White Wine:

Brianna:  His – this wine was very sweet and had a floral aroma.  The description states a jasmine and lilac aroma which was exactly what I could smell.

Edelweiss:  His – This is one of the other grape varietals I like.  Edelweiss wine has citrus notes to it like orange and grapefruit with a bit of pear-like sweetness that balances out the more bitter notes.  This one was one of my favorites from this winery.

La Crescent:  His – After trying many different La Crescent wines and noting that many of them taste more like a fruit syrup to me, I was pleasantly surprised when this one wasn’t quite as sweet as the others.  It is still a bit too sweet for me but you could taste the pineapple and mango notes instead of just the sugar.

Red Wine:

Will be available in the future.  The red wines are still being made.

Rosé Wine:

Pioneer Rosé:  His – The Rosé was a great combination of white and red wines.  It has a slight cherry flavor and a very sweet aroma.  It doesn’t taste as sweet as it smells but is still a sweet wine.

Dessert Wine:

Raspberry Wine:  His – This was my overall favorite for the wines they had.  The Raspberry Wine was like eating a raspberry right off of the bush.  It was sweet but the tartness from the raspberries leveled out the taste.  After you drink the wine you can still taste the raspberries long after.

Her Tasting Notes: I’m never super excited to try wines that are just named after the grape. They do not all taste the same but I feel it implies that the wine maker did nothing to make it unique or original. All of their white wines were well done with good flavor, smell and feeling. I do feel like they are just a bit above basic; meaning you get what you’re expecting with above average quality. The Pioneer Rosé was my favorite, its such a light, sweet wine that’s perfect for sipping on nice summer days. I highly recommend you try the raspberry wine, my husband and I actually fought over this tiny sample. The flavor is so strong and fresh, I’m not sure I could drink a whole bottle but the taste was really good.

We are both looking forward to visiting this winery again when their red wines become available.

Painter Creek Winery is a new winery located in Minetrista, MN.  This winery opened late December 2018.  They are located on a large ranch space next to Minnetonka Orchards. We visited shortly after they opened so their wine list seemed quite limited.

The location of this winery may seem a little bit out of the way but the wine, cider and atmosphere are all worth the trip.  The tasting room sits on a ranch and looks like a large pole-barn-like building.  Once you walk in it is nice and welcoming.  There was corrugated steel on the walls and vintage lighting giving the whole space a rustic feel. The bar top looked to be made of concrete and could seat a small group. There was plenty of other chairs and tables and a large fireplace inside as well. It was a cold January day when we visited so the outdoor seating area was not set up. Another fun feature that we did not get to experience was the indoor/outdoor bar (its like a mini  garage door that when open connects the main indoor bar to the outside seating area).

While we were there we were served by a very friendly gentleman. He didn’t seem to know very much about the wines (mispronouncing several different grape names) but he was very enthusiastic and really wanted us to try everything they had to offer. It made the visit interesting, in a good way. There was another man working behind the scenes who we did not have direct contact with but witnessed the interaction between the two employees which wasn’t very friendly and made it a bit awkward. 

His Tasting Notes:  I enjoyed all of their red wines.  The Marquette was an easy drinking wine.  It is a semi-dry red that has medium body.  The Frontenac Dessert Wine was my least favorite of their wines.  It was a very sweet wine with the chocolate notes taking over any of the fruit notes.

There cider is quite good.  The Farm Cider is a classic cider with a strong apple taste.  The Honey Gold Cider is similar to the Farm Cider but has less of an apple flavor leaving it lacking.  The Habanero Farm Cider is a fun cider to try.  It has the nice hard cider flavor with the lingering heat of the habanero peppers. It is not overly hot so anyone that may not like a lot of spice will still be able to drink the Habanero Farm Cider just fine.

Her Tasting Notes: Some of my favorite wines are made with Marquette grapes so I was excited to see that they had one available. The Rams Head Marquette at Painter Creek was not on my list of top Minnesota Marquette wines but it was still one of my favorites that they had to offer. My favorite was actually the mulled wine they were just serving for a special event (I drank mine and my husband’s). I also enjoyed all the ciders. Overall, I would like to return to this winery later this year when the weather is nicer and once they release more wines.

We took home a bottle of the Rams Head Marquette, Old Oliver Cabernet Sauvignon, and a bottle of the Farm Cider.

Wine List*

Rams Head Marquette

Mildred Red Merlot

Old Oliver Cabernet Sauvignon

Anchors Away Chardonnay

Route 26 Frontenac Dessert Wine

Mulled Wine

Hard Cider List*

Farm Cider

Honey Gold Cider

Cidergria Cider

Cidosa Cider

Habanero Farm Cider

*List as of January, 2019. Some products may no longer be available and Painter Creek may have new wines added since our visit.*

https://paintercreekwinery.com/