June 2015 - Kentucky Farms are Fun

Agritourism
Monthly
Kentucky
Department
of Agriculture
James R. Comer, Commissioner
Agritourism ascendant
Bourbon tourism, Louisville
Bluegrass horse farms
Multi-million-dollar gateway slated by
Ky. Distillers for Louisville’s Main Street
Fans reserve tour appointments to see
equine champions on their farms
The Frazier History Museum plans to develop an
expanded bourbon history exhibit and experience at its
location on West Main Street, Louisville.
The $1.4 million project includes increasing
classroom space, creating a more visible entrance and an
expanded museum store. It is expected that the exhibit
and its related services will require the Frazier History
Museum to expand to the three buildings adjacent to
the museum on West Main Street.
This second phase of the project will allow the
museum to serve a projected 41,500 students, teachers
and families annually, increasing the current number
served by 13,000 and attracting approximately 10,000
new visitors to the museum annually. Phase I of the
project included increasing exhibit space by nearly
5,000 square feet and creating a first floor theatre for
historic interpretations and cultural programming.
Working with the Kentucky Distillers’ Association
(KDA), the Frazier will explore and develop the
concept of a new bourbon-oriented visitor experience
that will be located at the Frazier and will serve as an
official starting point to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail ®
adventure and the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft
Tour®, both of which are owned and trademarked by
the Association.
Initial plans call for bourbon-related exhibits and
visitor experiences on bourbon’s history and cultural
development. Interactive learning programs and events
will introduce and support the growing number of
bourbon distilleries throughout the Commonwealth.
Consideration of an expanded bourbon presence at
(see BOURBON, page 4)
June 2015
By Jessica Smith
California woman
achieves her wish to
Perhaps the only thing as
see Bluegrass horse
exciting as the Kentucky
country in her
remaining time.
Derby itself is visiting the
Story and photos, page 2.
farms at which the horses are
bred, born, and raised.
Lexington, the “Horse Capital of the World,”
has over 400 nearby horse farms. Over 80 percent of
Derby winners were bred by those farms. Here are five
prominent Bluegrass farms that provide public tours.
Claiborne Farm
703 Winchester Road, Paris
Claiborne Farm is one of the oldest horse farms to
remain under a single family’s management, the Hancock
family. Over the years, noted Claiborne sires included
Mr. Prospector and Bold Ruler. The influential farm
has won 22 Kentucky Derby races, 19 Preakness Stakes,
22 Belmont Stakes, and 29 Breeders’ Cups.
Famous Residents: Claiborne’s Allison Hancock
notes that many visitors want to see the burial site of
the most accomplished Thoroughbred ever, Secretariat.
Currently among the stallions standing at Claiborne is
2013 Kentucky Derby winner Orb.
Tours: Hour-long walking tours of the farm are available
by appointment, each day at 10 and 11 a.m. Phone
(859) 233-4252; email [email protected].
Coolmore’s Ashford Stud
5095 Frankfort Road, Versailles
Ashford Farm was purchased by Coolmore in the
mid-1980s. Coolmore also maintains farms in Australia
and Ireland.
Famous Residents: In 1982, Coolmore stallion
(see FARMS, page 3)
Agritourism
Monthly ●
• June
• 1
● A management bulletin for the Kentucky agritourism industry ● Dr. Amelia Brown Wilson, Director,
Division of Agritourism
(502)2015
782- 4136
Photos: Margaret Gabriel
Debra Luis at
the Lexington
Visitors Center.
California woman gets wish
to visit Kentucky horse country
Debra and her benefactors: Back row from left, Mary Quinn
Ramer, president, VisitLEX; Ann Sabatino Hardy, director,
Horse Country, Inc.; and travel companion Allison Luis
Sutton.
By Jim Trammel
Californian Debra Luis was in the news in April,
wishing to see Kentucky horse country while it was still
possible for her.
Luis, 60, has worked in animal control most of her
professional career, and has been a horse lover all her
life. She was diagnosed in January with amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Her relatives had conducted a crowd-sourcing
campaign on GoFundMe.com thatraised a majority of
the funds needed for Luis’s visit.
Lexington Herald-Leader reporter Cheryl Truman
told AM that Mary Quinn Ramer, president of
VisitLEX, and the Lexington Convention/Visitors
Bureau had provided “lots of help” and had been
arranging farm visits.
In late May, Luis was able to visit Taylor Made
Farms, where Triple Crown hopeful American Pharoah
spent his early career.
Cheryl Truman’s Herald-Leader story, and photos of Debra at
Taylor Made: www.kentucky.com/2015/06/01/3879418/california-womanwith-als-fulfills.html
2 •
Agritourism Monthly • June 2015
Photo: Cindy Grisolia
first families to settle in Lexington. The farm was
established as a Thoroughbred farm in 1946 by John A.
Bell, and was purchased by Darley in 2001.
Famous Residents: Currently, Darley stands 15
top racehorses and stallions, including Kentucky Derby
winners Animal Kingdom and Street Sense. Jonabell is
also the burial site of 1978 Triple Crown winner Affirmed.
Tours: Advance reservations are available for 9:30
a.m. tours Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday each
weekday. Call (859) 255-8537 or e-mail Peggy at info@
darleyamerica.com.
WinStar Farm
3001 Pisgah Pike, Versailles
WinStar Farm was originally settled in the 1700s.
Today the large and influential Thoroughbred stallion
farm spans over 2,400 acres.
Famous Residents: WinStar currently stands 20
stallions, including Distorted Humor, the sire of 2003
Derby winner Funny Cide; and 2011 Breeders’ Cup
Classic winner Drosselmeyer.
Jockey Gary Stevens visited Old Friends for a reunion with
his Derby champion mount Silver Charm. NBC Sports covered
the event for its broadcast of the 2015 Kentucky Derby.
FARMS
... from page 1
Storm Bird sired Storm Cat, who went on to become
one of the industry’s legendary sires of champions.
Also standing at the farm is Kentucky Derby winner
Fusaichi Pegasus.
Tours: Typically, tours are open to the public only at 3 p.m.
weekdays, but during the week before Derby, Coolmore
offers tours each day at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Call
(859) 873-7088 to reserve your spot in each 10-person
tour, or email [email protected].
Darley’s Jonabell Farm
3333 Bowman Mill Road, Lexington
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s
Darley Farm is a central Kentucky horse farm of global
influence, currently standing stallions in six countries
around the world.
Jonabell Farm, Darley’s Kentucky location, was
originally settled by the Bowman family, one of the
www.ladyandthetrack.com is a free newsletter that
provides weekly informative and fun updates about betting
advice, track news, and trends. Jessica Smith’s March 30,
2015 article is reprinted by permission.
Tours: WinStar conducts tours Mondays, Wednesdays,
and Fridays at 1 p.m., except on Kentucky Oaks Friday.
Reserve with Kaitlin Kristofferson at (859) 873-1717.
Old Friends
1841 Paynes Depot Road, Georgetown
Old Friends is a non-profit Thoroughbred retirement
haven created in 2003 by Michael Blowen, to provide a
home for racehorses retired from the track or pensioned
from stud duty. Initially a one-paddock farm housing
two such horses, Old Friends has expanded to 136 acres
in Georgetown plus another branch in New York.
Famous Residents: More than 150 horses
have been cared for at Old Friends, including many
champions. Recently, Old Friends retrieved Silver
Charm, 1997 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner
(barely missing the Triple Crown with a second-place
Belmont Stakes finish), returning him from stud duty
in Japan in 2014.
Fans can support Old Friends in several ways. The
farm sells a fund-raising calendar, book, and magazine
online. Also, the farm hosts fund-raising events such as
an after-Derby party featuring food, live music, and the
company of former champions.
Tours: Weekday 10 a.m., 1 p.m., or 3 p.m. tour times
may be reserved by phoning (502) 863-1775.
Tours are $10 for adults and children 12 and older.
These proceeds support the farm’s rescue operations.
Agritourism Monthly • June 2015 •
3
BOURBON
... from page 1
the museum began nearly a year ago when the Frazier
and the KDA partnered on a bourbon history exhibit
that included the actual congressional resolution
declaring bourbon to be “America’s native spirit.” The
exhibit marked the first time the document left the
National Archives since it was signed in 1964. The
exhibit, which is still on display, also includes artifacts
from the Kentucky Distillers’ Association and the
Bourbon Trail distilleries.
The buildings were a gift to the museum from
Laura Frazier and Catherine Frazier Joy when their
father, Frazier Museum founder Owsley Frazier, passed
away 2 1/2 years ago.
Through artifacts and objects, the Frazier History
Museum tells the stories of a broad spectrum of world,
national and regional history. Its renowned historic
interpretations of colorful characters and specialized
interactive programs have become hallmarks of the
institution. To further develop and integrate the
expanded bourbon presence with the Frazier’s current
permanent collections, temporary exhibits, and
learning programs, the Frazier has hired Imagination, a
world-renowned international creative agency.
The Frazier History Museum is located at 829 West
Main Street on Louisville’s downtown “Museum Row.”
This world-class museum provides a journey through
more than 1,000 years of world and American history
with ever-changing and interactive special exhibits,
daily performances by costumed interpreters, and
engaging special events and programs. The Frazier is
open Monday-Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and
Sunday, noon to 5:00 p.m.
The Kentucky Distillers’ Association is a non-profit
trade association founded in 1880, serving as a voice
for bourbon and distilled spirits issues. Its 27 members
produce 90 percent of the world’s bourbon and have
transformed the legendary industry into a thriving
global economic engine and major tourism attraction
with its Kentucky Bourbon Trail and Kentucky
Bourbon Trail Craft Tour experiences.
— Kentucky Distillers’ Association press release
More: www.kybourbon.com, www.kybourbontrail.com. Frazier museum
information and tickets: (502) 753-5663, www.fraziermuseum.org.
Kentucky Bourbon Affair June 3-7
to feature local food, chefs
Kentucky Proud, which markets farm-fresh food and
ingredients across the Commonwealth, is partnering
with the Kentucky Bourbon Affair fantasy camp to
showcase the state’s top agricultural offerings and
talented local chefs.
From savory culinary pairings with bourbon to
fresh cocktail ingredients and even an on-site farmers’
market, Kentucky Proud products will be highlighted
throughout events June 3- 7, said Eric Gregory,
president of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association.
The Kentucky Bourbon Affair is an intimate
five-day exploration into the state’s signature spirit,
featuring behind-the-scenes tours, private barrel
selections, and specialty events at the world’s most
iconic distilleries and famous Louisville hotspots.
Kentucky Proud is the official state marketing
program for farm products raised, grown or processed
in Kentucky by Kentuckians. The Kentucky
Department of Agriculture program now involves
more than 4,000 farmers, retailers, restaurants, schools,
markets, and parks.
“Bourbon is one of Kentucky’s most iconic
agricultural commodities, and the Kentucky Bourbon
Affair is the perfect vehicle to showcase Kentucky Proud
foods to Kentuckians and guests around the world,”
said Commissioner of Agriculture James Comer.
Kentucky Proud food and ingredients will be
featured at Wednesday’s opening event, “Bourbon
Under the Rocks;” the “Craft to Cocktail 2.0” program
Friday night; Saturday night’s closing “Casabourblanca”
gala; and the Sunday Polo on the Waterfront send-off.
The chef lineup includes:
• Ken Barkley – Captain’s Quarter Riverside Grille
• Jeff Bridges – Bourbons Bistro
• Kathy Cary – Lilly’s Bistro
• Christian Hattemer – Down One Bourbon Bar
• Dallas McGarity – MARKETPLACE Restaurant at Theatre Square
• Ryan Rogers – Feast BBQ
• Paul Sant – Crowne Plaza Louisville
• Randy Twyford – Twyford BBQ & Catering
• John Varanese - Varanese
— Kentucky Distillers’ Association press release
More information and tickets: www.kybourbonaffair.com.
4 •
Agritourism Monthly • June 2015
Riding along a fine line
LONG C TRAILS of Scottsville,
Kentucky (or Westmoreland,
Tennessee), sits on the state line,
and the trails cross over. It’s not
the only way Jack Hanes works
both sides of a situation: At this
location, you can ride or hike, bring
your own horses or rent, and stay
one day or multiples.
By Jim Trammel
Long C Trails is a family-operated
trail ride that offers clean family fun in a
peaceful, alcohol-free atmosphere, promises
its owner.
“Riders and hikers can enjoy the
scenery of middle Tennessee and southern
Oscar Lark is a trainer and a long time rider at Long C Trails.
Kentucky, including over 2,000 acres of
He had been working with Buttercup for a month, and this ride in
horseback-riding trails, winding Long
April, which just happened to be on her third birthday, was her
Creek, scenic overlooks, waterfalls, wildlife,
first time on any trail.
and majestic bluffs,” owner Jack Hanes said.
Customers have their choice of riding
“I started talking to the neighboring farmers, and
or hiking through woods, to creeks, to scenic
I was able to convince 14 of my neighbors to allow me
overlooks, or around the property’s waterfall.
to build horse trails.” Jack now operates trails that span
Those who don’t own horses may go on guide2,000 acres of his and others’ lands, under individuallyassisted rental rides for $25 for the first hour and
negotiated agreements with the adjacent landowners.
$20 for each hour after. Children under seven
Both the horse barns were already on the farm,
can be led by guides in the round pen ($12 for 30
built in 1891. Jack renovated the barns in 1999 and
minutes). Camping out or sleeping in for a day, a
2002. Things took shape gradually after that. One of
weekend, or up to two weeks is also accommodated,
the primitive cabins was completed in 2006, and the
as customers craft their own one-of-a-kind
two-story hotel was constructed over 18 months across
experiences.
2008 and 2009.
Guided rides began in 2000, and the trails were
Development history
marked in 2001. “Now I have GPS maps of all the
The 450-acre farm has been in Jack’s family for
trails, and I have marked way points and put up metal
over 200 years. His grandfather was born there.
signs,” Jack said.
When Jack retired as an educator in 2002, he
The campground opened along with the trails.
had already begun looking for some way to save the
From
12 electrical hookups, Long C has grown to 23.
family farm and be sure that it always would at least
This operation is run by Jack and one other full
pay its own way.
time person, Kristyn Sullivan, and two or three part“About that time, it was pointed out to me
timers, one of which is Jack’s son B.J.
that there was not a facility anywhere in this area
for people to ride their own horses, so that’s how it
started,” Jack recalled.
Agritourism Monthly • June 2015 •
5
Flexible offerings
Flexibility of services is a key to Long C’s operation.
You may ride your own horse or rent one of theirs. You
may camp overnight, in the designated camping areas.
You may book a stay in the 1,800-square-foot “vacation
home,” Rocky Top Ranch, with two bedrooms, full
kitchen, covered porch, sun room, and living/dining
room.
Your horse will board in similar luxury: The
building has its own private four-stall, two-paddock
barn with ample grazing area and a private trail leading
into Long C’s extensive network of riding trails.
Less extensive lodgings include the Grassy Knoll
cabin, which sleeps 12, and the Hole in the Woods
cabin that sleeps four.
More traditional inn accommodations are found in
the “Long C Hotel,” which has two rooms (numbered
209 and 409), sleeping two or four guests, with more
hotel-style amenities, including linens, towels, blankets,
individual heat and air controls, mini-refrigerators,
microwave ovens, and televisions with DVD players.
Customized to customer desires
One may also dispense with riding altogether and
hike any trail, including a special two-mile nature trail
Jack has carefully laid out, labeling trees and flora along
the way, leading to a small waterfall. This trail is rated
moderate to difficult because it includes an optional
steep 110-foot descent leading down to the base of the
waterfall, that requires careful use of a rope handrail.
“If you don’t want to travel the steep section, you may
take a shorter route and still see the waterfall from
above, but you won’t have to descend into the valley,”
Jack said.
Also along the trail, hikers will see what Jack
promotes as the largest grapevine in Kentucky (to his
knowledge), with a 24-inch circumference. Hikers
also take in springs, gorges, switchback trails, and
scenic overlooks.
Those who don’t own a horse may rent “for a
look at nature’s beauty that only can be seen from
horseback,” Jack said.
Non-trail activities include swimming and
basketball. A restaurant is temporarily shuttered until
a new cook is found.
Jack said the Long C has the “brown signs” (state
transportation department tourism directional signs)
because “we’re 10 miles away from the nearest state
highway, town or anything, in definitely a rural area.”
All they have to do regarding directions is “get people
to Scottsville and tell them to follow the signs,” Jack
said.
Spirit- and charity-driven
The stable holds “Cowboy Church” every Sunday
at about 8:30 a.m., a tradition for visitors and local
residents since early in Long C’s history.
The stable also regularly partners with the Hearts
and Hands Missions group, who operates outreach
programs in Honduras. Stable functions raise funding
In the Little Barn Shop,
photographer and artist Eileen
Herb-Witte will take custom photos
of you and your family (or she will
go out on the trail with you for
action pictures). Eileen can imprint
her photos on souvenir T-shirts,
license plates and mugs. Eileen
also sells originals and prints of
her paintings. and can do custom
pet portraits. She does all Long
C’s graphics work, brochures,
and printing, and she shot all the
photography displayed in the Long
C office.
6 •
Agritourism Monthly • June 2015
LONG C TRAILS
Jack Hanes, owner
8959 Hanes Road
Westmoreland, TN 37186
(270) 618-7500
E-mail:
longctrails @yahoo. com
for the group, and the group serves food for the stables.
H&H membership is drawn from several Franklin,
Kentucky-area churches.
The stable held a Memorial Day event for a
departed longtime friend. The “Remember Jerry”
Ride paid tribute to the memory of Jerry Wilson
Brown, Jack’s best friend, who ran a barbershop on
the premises and was unofficially known as the face of
Long C Trails.
This year’s ride and buffet, Jack reported, this
year raised $800 for High Point hospice in Gallatin,
These are the children and
grandchildren of Jackie Allen,
one of Long C’s longtime
riders, posing on their horse
at their camp site. Children
under seven may be led by
guides in the roundpen.
Riding privileges have to be
enjoyed some other time by
those pregnant, weighing
over 240, or subject to health
conditions which would make
it more likely for someone to
suffer injury.
Tennessee, which had furnished end-of-life care for
Brown, and also $2,000 for the Hearts and Hands
Honduras mission.
On June 12-14, departing each morning at 9:30,
the stables will host the “Mike and Margaret Likens
Wagon Trail Ride.” Camping is available if reserved
through Long C, and food will be available to raise
donations for the Hearts and Hands Mission Team.
For more information about joining the ride, call Mike
or Margaret at (615) 655-4111.
The stable also holds a riding event to benefit
Border skirmish: Kentucky vs. Tennessee
In October 2013, photographer Suzanne Swan of Leoma,
Tennessee, and her husband, Jim, camped and rode the Long
C Trails on their second visit. Here the trail marking shows
Jim taking a walk on the wild side, deep into the dangerously
uncivilized Tennessee woodlands.
During my talk with Jack, since his business
straddles the Kentucky-Tennessee line and draws
from both states, I asked in which state he has
experienced the better-developed agritourism
effort. Perhaps sensing the answer I was seeking,
Jack gave the recent edge to Kentucky.
“We started out with most of our business
from Tennessee, but then we joined a group of
agritourism businesses in Bowling Green, and that
really boosted our Kentucky business,” he said.
Jack was president of that group, the 10-county
Cave Region Agritourism Association, for six
years, and also served two years as president of
the Scottsville (Ky.) Chamber of Commerce (20052006), posts that helped Long C Trails develop
-- J.T.
Kentucky business ties. Agritourism Monthly • June 2015 •
7
Left: The smaller of the two “primitive” cabins, the Hole in the Woods, which can sleep four. Right: The two-room Long C Hotel.
St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in Memphis the last
weekend in August (this year Saturday, Aug. 26) and
seasonal observances for Father’s Day, Halloween, and
Thanksgiving.
Spiritual underpinnings
Jack is not shy about insisting that Long C Trails is
a God-driven business. “God has blessed me, as a plain
old country boy, in more ways than are imaginable,”
Jack said. “I ask Him every morning to guide me in
what he wants me to do that day. This business basically
belongs to Him.”
A Long C rider since
2013, Melanie Blount
sent the website this
photo taken of her
and her husband,
Eddie, taking a creek
ride through the
Kentucky-Tennessee
woods.
All photos were
submitted to
Long C Trails
website
(www.longctrails.
com)
from customers,
and were
made available
to AM courtesy
of Jack Hanes.
8 •
Agritourism Monthly • June 2015
Jack makes a regular request of his customers, and of
Sunday morning visitors to Cowboy Church, to “ask God
each day to guide us all to do what He needs us to do.”
Jack looks to divine inspiration even for management
guidance. “When I get a nagging feeling that I ought to
do something, and it won’t go away, I figure it was from
God — and I build another building,” he said.
If God makes management demands, He also
tenders rewards. “God sends us the most awesome
people every weekend, but it’s because we’ve got so
many people asking God to guide us,” Jack explains.
Chardonnay grapes at Equus Run vineyard.
-- photo: Equus Run website
Kentucky’s return to winemaking
By Sarah Baird
A high-school acquaintance from Poosey Ridge, a onestop-sign hamlet in the eastern Kentucky county where
I grew up, was croaking at me in a hushed way, tapping
his Zippo lighter anxiously on the bar.
“I heard that Old Man M— was just telling people
to go in there and pick off them grapes. He don’t have a
clue what to do with them.”
Old Man M— was our county’s wealthiest farmer,
and his estate sat high on a plump hill overlooking his
fields of cattle like a backwoods Xanadu. He had recently
purchased the county’s lone, celebrated winery at auction,
when its previous owner’s financing went belly up.
He was a lifelong cow man, not an aspiring vintner,
and under his watch, the grape vines hung heavy with
unharvested fruit. Rumor had circulated that families
who might be hungry were secretly welcome to venture
in and pick the grapes, a form of 21st-century gleaning.
Wine grew following tobacco
Wine was something new here. When I was young,
even if you weren’t a farmer, if you lived in that part of
Kentucky, your life was tobacco. But soon after I left
high school, the circle was broken.
The tobacco quota buyout happened, leaving
hundreds of tobacco farmers scrambling to figure out
how to keep their livelihoods afloat. Over 70 percent
of Kentucky tobacco farmers had given up their crop,
taking the buyout and shifting their focus to more
diverse agricultural pursuits.
What was going to replace it? One common answer
quickly revealed itself to be wine.
“Experiment” with grape vines
“I inherited the land my winery’s on today from
my mom and dad, and it was a tobacco farm,” said
Norrie Wake of Lake Cumberland Winery in
Wayne County. “During the buyout, everything was
‘alternative crops, alternative crops’, but of course none
of us really knew anything else that would grow well,”
laughed Wake. “I decided to do a little experiment with
planting some grape vines.”
Even for the most abstemious, making wine now
seems like a relatively tame vice. Former tobacco farmer
Zane Burton — owner of Sinking Valley Winery
in Plato, Kentucky, and the son of teetotalers — told
the Rodale Institute in 2006 that his conversion from
tobacco to wine sprang from “economic need and a
quirky personality.”
“I was a schoolteacher for 40 years before we got
heavy into winemaking,” said Suzanne Lawson of
Mountain Rose Winery in Wise, Virginia, a former
coal mining town just across the Kentucky state line in
the heart of Appalachia.
“Twenty years ago, we had 12,000 students in our
school system,” said Lawson. “Now, we only have about
6,000. There’s no coal, fewer jobs, fewer families. The
winery, though — everyone in the community is real
proud to have it.”
Kentucky as wine pioneer
While wine might seem at first blush an unusual
replacement, it’s actually not so strange that farming
and mining communities across Kentucky have used
the grape to rise up from floundering traditional
income streams.
Agritourism Monthly • June 2015 •
9
Kentucky was the first wild frontier for the early
colonies, as 18th-century adventurers and Don Quixote
types made Kentucky the country’s third-largest
producer of grapes and wine — until the Civil War
arrived in the Bluegrass in 1862.
Then the once-untamed frontier shifted into an
out-and-out battlefield. Kentucky’s role as a border
state ensured that families torn between the blue and
the gray — brother pitted against brother — were
as common as cornbread. Troops from both sides
marched, camped, and fought in the vineyards, where
vines were ripped from the ground and, by gunfire or
campfire, burned to ash.
Wine names honor heritage
Running a vineyard isn’t about producing and
selling a commodity product, as it was with tobacco
and coal — it’s about hawking a brand. For many of
Kentucky’s upstart wineries, their tobacco or coal
heritage is impossible to miss:
Kentucky native, New
Orleans-based food writer,
and self-described “culinary
anthropologist” Sarah Baird’s
latest cookbook is Kentucky
Sweets: Bourbon Balls,
Spoonbread, and Mile High Pie
(History Press, Feb. 2014).
This adventure through
Kentucky cultural and
culinary history
features recipes,
detailed cooking
techniques and
“tricks,” information
about ingredients
and how they
are cultivated,
interviews with a
variety of folks,
cocktail recipes,
photos, and
illustrations by
artist Chase
Chauffe.
10 •
Agritourism Monthly • June 2015
• Labels of Sinking Creek Vineyard’s “Prohibition Repeal
Red” illustrate Prohibitionist (and Garrard County
native) Carrie Nation; barrels of wine being dumped;
and a woman casting a ballot, signifying the “beginning,
enforcement, and blissful repeal of Prohibition.”
• The tasting room of Highland Winery in Seco operates
out of a former coal camp company store; the top of the
building still reads “Southeast Coal Company.”
• Up the Creek Winery in Burkesville has a tobacco barn
sketched on its label, signfying “the winery’s farm and
the Commonwealth’s heritage.”
• Suzanne Lawson’s Mountain Rose Winery names all its
vintages after former coal camps (Pardee, Dorchester)
and claims to be the first “mines-to-wine” vineyard.
These promotional pieces come more easily to
some than others. One of the biggest hurdles for many
budding vintners is the total personality overhaul often
required to succeed in the business. The product is not
just a freshly bottled chardonnay, but the entire concept
of wine from Kentucky.
Mosaic morass of restrictive laws
If you’re interested in just what Prohibition felt like,
Kentucky has your answer. The Commonwealth boasts
one of the largest remaining number of dry counties
in the nation, regions where the sale and purchase of
alcohol is entirely illegal.
Located at the north end of the Bible Belt,
Kentucky strongly supported the Eighteenth
Amendment when it was presented in 1918, and it was
one of the first three states to ratify the federal antiliquor law. (It is often repeated that the state voluntarily
set back its winemaking industry by tearing out its
grape vines when Prohibition became law.)
After the amendment’s repeal in 1933, Kentucky
left its counties to determine on their own whether
they’d like to remain liquor free. At last count, 38
counties in Kentucky were dry, 33 were wet, and 49
were “moist” (dry with wet precincts) or dry-withspecial-circumstances, including specially-approved
wineries. There are 70 different types of licenses for the
sale of alcohol.
HERE’S NO COAL,
Tfewer
jobs, fewer
“
families. The winery,
though — everyone
in the community is
real proud to have it.”
Wine making was illegal in Kentucky from
Prohibition until 1976, when the law was repealed and
aspiring vintners came out of hiding.
Today, there are 68 wineries and roughly 150 grape
growers in Kentucky, generating $15 million in annual
revenue. The numbers are constantly growing.
Kentucky has climbed back
This spring, the University of Kentucky’s College of
Agriculture offers its first official course in viticulture,
offering students the chance to learn all about the crop
production of grapes. Last fall, the same students were
eligible for a course in oenology, cracking the books
over the science and industry of grapes becoming
wine. (UK now offers a complete certification in wine
studies; see story, next page.)
Nationally, Kentucky has climbed back from
trampled vines to be America’s sixth-largest wine
producing state — not quite the third-place scale of its
history, but a far cry from winemaking’s illegal status
just a short four decades ago.
About pride as much as product
After all this, though, what does the wine taste
like? I’ve swished around many homegrown wines from
Kentucky and southwest Virginia — a thin, oxblood
red; a fruit-forward white so thick it’s almost a syrup;
crisp pink sippers that are razor-sharp on the tongue.
Some are bright and tannin-heavy. Some are more like
melted hard candies.
But the swirl-and-spit opinion of any wine judge
has little bearing on Kentucky wine culture. Small,
locally-focused wineries in Kentucky are about
community pride more than the wine itself: a focal
point for joyfulness and hope in a landscape that
frequently has seemed downright bleak.
“We didn’t try and set out to grow our grapes on
reclaimed mine land,” said Lawson of her mountain
vineyard. “It’s just all we had to work with. Every fall
we have our big grape harvest, and everyone from the
community comes out and helps to pick the grapes in
shifts. Every year there’s someone new out, even kids.
Sometimes, it’s hard to go to the store and not see
someone who’s been picking alongside of us.”
“All of us are going to learn”
Learning about winemaking has also been a
community experience. “I’m always behind the eight
ball, so when I was finally successful with my vines and
didn’t know what to do with the grapes, I called my
friends in to my rescue,” explained Norrie Wake.
“I said, ‘Hey, guess what? We want you to come
out here and help us pick our grapes, then we want you
to buy the grapes from us, then all of us together are
going to learn how to make wine!’” He laughed at the
memory of his audacity.
“We had about 12 couples who did it with us. We
used a homegrown recipe book that tells you how to
make wine out of anything — even onion wine.
“It was awful at first, but it was our wine. We’ve
gotten a lot better since then.”
This work originally appeared under the title Can a Return
To Winemaking Save Kentucky’s Soul? on Eater.com on
February 25, 2015.
www.eater.com/2015/2/25/8104381/kentucky-wine
Agritourism Monthly • June 2015 •
11
FEAT invites members, vendors
to upcoming Foothills events
UK certification program combines
wine, brewing, distilling courses
Gayle Clevenger of the Foothills Eastern Kentucky
Eco-Agritourism Corporation (FEAT), serving Carter,
Elliott, Menifee, Morgan and Wolfe counties notes
these opportunities for vendors at summer events in the
Eastern foothills:
For several years, University of Kentucky students have
been able to take classes related to the wine, beer, and
distilled-spirits industries.
Now, those courses will become a cohesive
undergraduate certification program that will prepare
students for careers in this growing economic sector. In
the near future the program hopes to issue 100 to 150
certificates per year.
Wine, brewing and distillation form a multibillion-dollar industry with myriad career
opportunities in science, engineering and the arts,
said UK horticulture professor Seth DeBolt.
In 2013, bourbon production from more than 40
Kentucky distilleries surpassed five million barrels,
with a value greater than $8 billion a year. Some 10,000
people are estimated to work in this industry.
“Additionally, approximately 25 new craft and fullscale distillers will be opening soon, and there are more
than 70 wineries and a thriving craft beer movement
that demand trained and knowledgeable employees,”
DeBolt said. “Finding graduates with an understanding
of fermentation and their industry are vital to the
industries’ rapid growth.”
• “Camp-Out Jam-Out” is set for June 5-6 at
•
•
the Ashland KOA Campground on Industrial
Parkway. The weekend features bluegrass music by
Hazel Holler, One Grass Time, Horton Holler,
Weary Jammers, and No Set Standard Band.
Food by Pure Pit BBQ and Mama Hazel’s Bakery.
Admission is free, and vendor set-ups are free
to FEAT members. Bring your own table. Call
Michelle Wallace at (606) 207-1011 for more
information.
The FEAT Conference on July 31 is themed
“Feeding Appalachia,” exploring the role food plays
in the economy, public health, and tourism. Vendor
set-ups are available. (See below.)
The Wolfe County Adventure-Lite Tour Sept.
19, features rappelling, rock climbing, hiking,
sightseeing, storytelling, and food events. For
vendor set-ups, contact the Wolfe County
Extension Office.
— submitted
12 •
Agritourism Monthly • June 2015
— UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment press release
More: http://news.ca.uky.edu/article/new-uk-certification-programtargets-wine-brewing-distilling-industries
Tickets on sale Friday for 2015 Kentucky Proud Incredible Food Show
Daytime TV star and former “Top Chef ” contestant
Carla Hall will serve as the celebrity chef of the seventh
annual Kentucky Proud Incredible Food Show
Oct. 24 at The Lexington Center and Rupp Arena.
Hall is co-host of ABC Daytime’s lifestyle series
“The Chew,” which features restaurateurs and “Iron
Chef America” stars Mario Batali and Michael Symon,
entertaining expert Clinton Kelly, and health and
wellness enthusiast Daphne Oz.
“The Chew” won a 2015 Daytime Emmy for
Outstanding Informative Talk Show Hosts. Hall is
best known as a contestant on Bravo’s “Top Chef,”
where viewers voted her “Fan Favorite.”
Hall, of Washington, D.C., is author of Cooking
with Love: Comfort Food That Hugs You and Carla’s
Comfort Foods: Favorite Dishes Around the World
She owns Carla Hall Petite Cookies in Silver
Spring, Maryland, and plans to open her first
restaurant, Carla Hall’s Southern Kitchen.
Hall will give performances at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
EDT in Rupp Arena.
The Kentucky Proud Incredible Food Show will
run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with cooking demonstrations
and seminars by local and regional chefs. In The
Campbell County showcases
local farm wares during summer
Explore farm operations July 18
A free self-guided tour of the many different kinds of
farm experiences in Campbell County, Kentucky, will
be available to the public 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 18.
Paticipants in the “Backroads Farm Tour” visit
wineries,
equestrian centers, beef cattle operations,
15
antique farm equipment locations, and horticultural
operations to ask questions and shop for produce,
honey, wine, and other farm products.
Next “Farm To Plate” dinner July 12
In addition, the busy Campbell County
Conservation District sponsoring the tour has also
begun a series of “Farm To Plate” dinners through the
summer months.
The events bring Kentucky chefs, meat producers,
Marketplace, more than 100 exhibitors will feature
Kentucky Proud products and services.
Tickets to the Kentucky Proud Incredible
Food Show will go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. at the
Lexington Center Ticket Office at (859) 233-3535 and
Ticketmaster.com.
Presale tickets to the $40 reserved section for Carla
Hall’s cooking demonstrations will go on sale Tuesday
at 10 a.m. A limited number of seats located on stage
for the 3 p.m. presentation are available for $100 per
seat.
Non-reserved, general admission tickets are
$20 and include admission to the 11 a.m. or 3 p.m.
show as well as all seminars, demonstrations and The
— Lexington Center
Marketplace exhibit hall. For more information, call (859) 233-4567 or visit
www.incrediblefoodshow.com.
wineries and breweries together at Greensleeves Farm,
located at 10551 Pleasant Ridge Road in Alexandria,
for farm-fresh local dinners.
The first gathering last month featured a tour of
the farm and dinner prepared by Stephen Williams
of Bouquet Restaurant and Wine Bar, featuring meat
from Atwood Village Family Farm and wine from
Stonebrook Winery.
The next event, on Sunday, July 12, will feature
Allison Simpson-Hines of Butcher Betties. On Sunday,
August 16, Mark Bodenstein of NuVo at Greenup will
be spotlighted, and on Sunday, September 20, Matt
Buschle of Virgil’s Cafe will be the featured chef.
Partners for the July, August and September
dinners were being finalized at press time.
— submitted
Tickets are limited and can be purchased at www.greensleevesfarm.
com, under the “Shop” tab.
Agritourism Monthly • June 2015 •
13
KENTUCKY FESTIVAL CALENDAR
JUNE
4-6: Heritage Festival – Lewisport
Poke Sallet Festival – Harlan
Capital Expo Festival – Frankfort
4-7: Great American Brass Band Festival – Danville
5-6: Bourbon City BBQ Festival – Bardstown
Pennington Folk Festival – Princeton
Sally Gap Bluegrass Festival – Williamsburg
Portland Festival – Louisville
Coalfield Festival – Mortons Gap
Bluegrass Festival – Bardstown
6: Great American Art Festival – Danville
Americana World Festival – Louisville
6-7: Butchertown Art Fair – Louisville
Jefferson Davis Birthday Weekend – Fairview
Arts on the Green – LaGrange
6-13: Carroll Co. Fair – Carrollton
Nicholas Co. Youth Fair – Carlisle
6-7/4: Wayne Co. Fair – Monticello
7: Taste of Newport
8-13: Boyle Co. Fair – Danville
Metcalfe Co. Fair – Edmonton
Muhlenberg Co. Fair – Greenville
8-14: Murray-Calloway Co. Fair
8-24: Larue Co. Fair – Hodgenville
10-20:Shelby Co. Fair – Shelbyville
11-14: ItalianFest – Newport
Festival of the Bluegrass – Lexington
12-13: Fort Harrod Beef Festival – Harrodsburg
Summer Fireworks Festival – Ludlow
Summer Festival – Lyndon
12-14: Greek Festival – Louisville
13: Beer Cheese Festival – Winchester
Vet Jam – Glasgow
Stephen Foster Festival – Bardstown
13-20: W. C. Handy Blues & Barbecue
Festival – Henderson
Clark Co. Fair – Winchester
Woodford Co. Fair – Versailles
14-29:Allen Co. Fair – Scottsville
15-20:Bullitt Co. Fair – Shepherdsville
Clinton Co. Fair – Albany
Green Co. Fair – Greensburg
Union Co. Fair – Sturgis
18-20: “Stringbean” Memorial Bluegrass
Festival – Gray Hawk
Super Moon Music & Arts Festival – Whitesburg
14 •
Agritourism Monthly • June 2015
19-20: Kentucky Blueberry Festival – Edmonton
Kentuckiana Pride Festival – Louisville
19-21: MainStrasse Village Original GoettaFest – Covington
20: Lake Cumberland Blues Harbor Festival – Jamestown
20-27:Lawrenceburg Fair
22-27:Scott Co. Kiwanis Fair – Georgetown
McCracken Co. Fair – Paducah
Garrard Co. Fair – Lancaster
Bourbon Co. Fair – Paris
23-27: Purchase District Fair – Mayfield
Rudy Fest – Grayson
24-30:Henderson Co. Fair – Henderson
25-28:Fleming Co. Fair – Ewing
26-28: Frontier Days – Glencoe
27: Blueberry Jubilee & Pancake Day – Paris
Crestwood Festival
Pride Festival – Lexington
27-28:Bluegrass Lacrosse Festival – Louisville
28-7/4: Lincoln Co. Fair – Stanford
29-7/4: Estill Co. Fair – Irvine
Hart Co. Fair – Horse Cave
Henry Co. Fair – New Castle
Marion Co. Fair – Lebanon
J U LY
1-4: Butler Co. Fair & Green River Catfish Festival – Morgantown
2-4: Summer Motion – Ashland
Old Joe Clark Bluegrass Festival – Renfro Valley
3: Kentucky River Days Celebration – Warsaw
Freedom Fest – Winchester
3-4: Crescent Hill July 4 Celebration – Louisville
Freedom Fest – Murray
3-11: Adair Co. Fair – Columbia
Western Ky Fair – Hopkinsville
4: Founders’ Day Celebration – Elizabethtown
Independence Day Celebration – Casey
July 4 Festival – Lexington
Sisters of Notre Dame July 4 Festival – Covington
6-11: Breckinridge Co. Fair – Irvington
Hardin Co. Fair – Elizabethtown
Jessamine Co. Fair – Nicholasville
7-11: Laurel Co. Fair – East Bernstadt
8-11: Ichthus Festival – Lexington
9-11: St. Francis Picnic – Loretto
9-12: Whippoorwill Festival – Berea
9-18: Ballard Co. Fair – LaCenter
Barren Co. Fair – Glasgow
Harrison Co. Fair – Cynthiana
9-19: Lions Club Bluegrass Fair – Lexington
10-11: Lebowski Fest – Louisville
Master Musicians Festival – Somerset
10-12: Bacon, Bourbon & Brew Festival – Newport
Craft Festival -- Berea
Blues, Brews & BBQ Festival – Louisville
11: Peach Jam Festival and Pageants – Utica
Duncan Hines Festival – Bowling Green
11-12:Kentucky Farm Fest – Crestwood
11-18:Gallatin Co. Fair – Warsaw
13-15:Franklin Co. Fair – Frankfort
16-18: Shriners Bluegrass Festival –
Olive Hill
17-18: Robfest – Shelbyville
17-19: BreyerFest – Lexington Forecastle
Festival – Louisville
Riverfest Regatta – Augusta
18: Olde Time BBQ & Chili Cook Off– Glendale
Sweet Corn Festival – Georgetown
23-25: Paradise Music and Arts Festival – Hustonville
24-25: Cruisin’ the Heartland – Elizabethtown
29-8/1: Sandy Lee Songwriters Festival – Henderson
31-8/2:Powell County Corn Festival – Stanton
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Weekly festival updates!
Agritourism Monthly • June 2015 •
15
Bring your family to
“Dairy Night” at the Ballgames!
Thursday, June 11 - 7:05 p.m.
(deadline to order �ckets ‐ June 2)
Thursday, June 25 - 7:05 p.m.
(deadline to order �ckets ‐ June 17)
- 4 - free tickets per dairy farm family
(tickets sponsored by Endovac/IMMVAC)
- 2 - free dairy t-shirts per dairy farm family
(t-shirts sponsored by SUDIA/ADA of Ky)
All other tickets are $7 & payable at the ballgames 16
To order �ckets, contact: Eunice Schlappi at 502‐782‐4122 (leave message) or
• Agritourism Monthly • June 2015 email at [email protected]