Owner Greg Shippe poured me a glass of Niagra, which is a sweet white wine. I told him I'd never wine-tasted before, and he gave me a quick course on tasting rules: the three steps of swirling, sniffing and tasting. "Drinking dry wine is like drinking espresso. It's hard to enjoy right off the bat. It takes some time getting used to it before you can really enjoy the taste," Shippe says.
As we walked through the door I were greeted by dark green walls covered with custom license plates. Here winning ribbons and old baseball caps. Warm scents of cedar and potpourri filled the air. I discovered a large wooden bar that had an array of colorful glass wine bottles and was excited and curious to taste the wines that Davenport offered. Davenport has a selection of red, white and blush wines: 13 wines available for tasting and 30 wines produced. The winery also carries fruit wines in flavors such as peach and apple.
photos: Eric Braem
I felt like I knew a little more about wineries as I left Davenport and headed to Basehor. On my 30-minute drive down Kansas Highway 24/40, the scenic stretch of road was calming. The stresses of everyday life seeped out onto the highway behind me. I arrived at Holy-Field winery and walked up the wooden steps into the gift shop and tasting room. The room was filled with hand-painted wine glasses, ornaments, candles and assorted wine paraphernalia.
grapes, flow hints of oak. I took sip and taste the gentle flavor that resembled Welch's sparking white grape juice, reminding me of New Year's Eve as a child.
The visit to Davenport Winery became sort of a celebration because I had no idea that such delicious wines could be found this close to Lawrence.
Owner Michelle Meyer greeted me at the door and poured me a glass of white wine called Melody. I used my newly found tasting skills to swirl the wine around in the glass, take a sniff and then a sip. I was delighted by Melody's floral and honey flavor. The winery samples 14 other wines at the tasting.
Meyer told me about a customer who had recently come in, complaining he had spent $100 on a bottle of wine at a liquor store and thought it was terrible. She says that was one of the main reasons why students often stay away from wines. "A lot of college students stick to what they know and what is cheap. You can drop $100 on a bottle of wine and get something you don't like or you can spend $3.50 for a beer and get something that you know you will like," Meyer says. Meyer recommends wine tasting to students to begin breaking down that uncertainty. "Wine tasting allows you to make an educated choice on what you tasted, and it's fun to wine taste. There aren't that many opportunities to do it outside of a winery," Meyer says.
I looked at my watch and realized an hour had gone by as I was sipping my wine and chatting with Meyer. As I started driving back to Lawrence I realized that after living here for years, I had found an aspect that was overlooked. The winery road trip is perfect for Valentine's couples and friends looking to experience new finds around Lawrence.
— Laura Kinch can be reached at lkinch@kansan.com