Casa Somerset Vineyard is HERE!!!!!!

WOW!!!!! We really live here. We each have our own kitchen, Christine is a bully in the kitchen. We are busy setting up all of the rooms. Christine and I have a lot of furniture. Believe me, I know. My sons and I have moved TONS of furniture over the past month!!! We have 10 acres of land and a 6 acre lake. Right now, the lake has some algae, but we are working to get it cleared out. We will have 4 paddle boats for our friends to float on, in the evenings with a bottle of vino from Somerset Ridge Winery.

You have to come by and visit.......really!

We got married here last November, who will be next?????

Each day we have many Kodak moments.

Look, a new batch of Lemoncello, just like Jasper III taught me. We could sip this together.

Think...weddings, Girls night out, anniversary dinners, etc.

We have planted 500 Cabernet Sauvignon vines, with that many more to come. There are at least 7 Vineyards and 2 tasting rooms within a couple of miles, and with more to come . We are the wine capital of Kansas. The Napa Valley of Kansas and Somerset. The fastest growing wine region of Kansas. We are located between Louisburg and Paola. Mile and half from Louisburg Cidermill, don't forget cidermill donuts

Happy Residents of Somerset

Mike and Christine Hursey

This is about the vines we just planted.

Cabernet Sauvignon (clone from Rutherford, Ca) crossed with Norton (“Monticello” clone). Red wine grape intended for the production of barrel aged dry wine of the highest quality. Size of berries and clusters midway between Cabernet and Norton. In 2006 in west central Illinois the grapes were harvested on 9/18/06, with Brix 22.5, ph 3.32, Acid 7.75. Like Norton the berries hang extremely well and this vine could have been harvested later with little fear of late season rots.Unlike its parent Norton, which grows poorly during its first few seasons, Crimson Cabernet grows extremely well and can be trained to the top wire at the end of the first year if grown in a well managed vineyard. It can bear some trophy grapes in the second season and a modest commercial crop in the third. It seems to prefer cane pruning.Crimson Cabernet should be grown on a single curtain trellis system. The canes have a drooping tendency and are easily combed downward allowing for excellent air, sun and spray exposure. We have not noticed any particular disease, insect, or bird problems.The wine is a dark crimson color and has the body and middle pallet that Norton noticeably lacks but for which Cabernet is so renowned. It also is reminiscent of Merlot. We have not held stocks of wine long enough to comment on the extended aging ability of Crimson Cabernet, but of the three grand parents that we can identify (Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc, Vitis Cinerea) all make wines that markedly improve with age.

Today at Casa Somerset

Christine was the first in our new master bathtub with a glass of vino. I followed, but it looked so much as it should be. The fireplace is on the second floor and it will have gas logs. We think we have found the mantles for both fireplaces.

We were just enjoying the day. It was fairly warm for February. Not the high 60s like yesterday, but still bearable in a house with no heat. We spent four hours picking up and cleaning. There is so much to do. We were thinking of what will be someday.

They started insulating the walls on Saturday. It should be done by Tuesday. The drywall will then start. I am getting excited. They say that getting the drywall installed really makes it feel like a house. We are ready!

We checked the vines today and they look dead as can be. We are ready for the spring so that the current vines will come back to life, and so that we can plant some more this year! If you are interested in helping, let us know. It is work, but it is really fun!

Mike and Christine

Casa Somerset

This is going to be a great place to have friends over!!!

Our stuccoing contractor Kevin and his guys really got after the painting even with the horribly cold weather. They still are going to make it look like "Old European", which means they are going to do a tea stain on top of the stucco.

The vines look just dead. But, they will come back in the Spring. Then we will plant the 2009 vines as well. It will be awesome! We hope our friends will come back this year to help us with the new planting....... ???? :-)

I am so ready to move in, if we could just get an inspection. Hopefully this week.

Christine and Mike's Wedding ,Casa Somerset.

To have and to hold, from this day forward…



You are invited to witness the joining in marriage of

Christine Thomas
And
Michael Hursey

Saturday, November 1st at 3pm.
Casa Somerset
16315 W. 287th St.
Paola, KS. 66071


Immediately following the marriage ceremony will be
The Blessing of the Vines and The House
By Ursuline Academy of Paola

Afterwards, please join us across the street
For a light evening meal and refreshments.

We will have pasta and ask that you might bring
A dish that will go with pasta to share.

In lieu of gifts, we are asking our friends to bring wine for the party.

We hope that this celebration on November 1st, All Saints Day,
which is celebrated by a feast, will be an annual event with our good friends.
Life is all about Family and Friends.

This is Mike's Love of Christine, I love you Christine!!!!!


An RSVP (reply) to this invitation would be appreciated.


Our love will continue to grow
Like a well-tended vineyard,
Growing stronger and more bountiful with time.

This is the day of the Saint and the Day of the Feast!!!!

The Stairs to the Top

I got to the house at 5:30 tonight and Jason was working on the stairs. I asked if they could be in by the weekend. The house is moving along, the roof was put on this week. Jason says the stairs will be finished tomorrow. No more ladders!!! Christine will love that.

Come out this Sunday and see it. We will be there from 1pm till 3pm. This is going to be the place to be in 6 months. Friends, Family, and good times. Visit our vineyard. Bring a bottle of wine from Somerset Ridge and sit and talk with us for a while.

We will pick grapes in the morning at Somerset Ridge Winery,with Cindy and Dennis Reynolds.. Later, we will visit the Cider Fest at the Louisburg Cidermill with Tom and Shelly, what an event. All in Miami county.

Read about the events the next several weekends.

http://www.louisburgcidermill.com/

http://www.somersetridge.com/

The House for Friends,RAIN and God

Elsie said "You have the most blessed life." You planted the grape vines in May, and it rained every third day for six weeks. Then, the first of August you pumped out 500,000 gallons of water from your lake over the Dam to be able to dredge the lake. After that, the weather dried out. The lake got really low, and the fish were in the deep section. Then Tuesday of this week, you had the lake dredged to remove excess silt, as you can see. And now it is raining again!

We have mounds and mounds of the richest, BLACK, dirt you ever have seen.

If anyone wants any call me, it is for sale, for a price :-):-)

I can't believe how much Rain we have gotten!!!!! It is still coming, and the lake is filling up. Elsie was right, (I really didn't say that did I!!) :-):-) She is the hardest working person I have ever known. You have to love her. She is wonderful.

More Rain coming.

Mike

Heading for Ft.Scott tomorrow. Another adventure for Christine!!!

8/2/08



Welcome to Mike and Christine's blog!!!

The first section of the Casa Somerset vineyard is in!
We are located on 287th Street in Paola, KS.

That is me (Christine) getting ready for the planting!

The weekend of May 25th, some VERY good friends came out and helped us plant 400 cabernet grape vines on the gentle western slope of the property. As you can see, the vines overlook the lake, which is rather scenic!

Mike and I decided a year or so ago to plant some grape vines. We asked Dennis Reynolds of Somerset Ridge Winery to help us obtain the vines. Our vines are Norton cabernet and were grown in Illinois, so they will withstand the cold Kansas winters without dying. We decided the initial planting would be 10 rows of 40 vines each. They are approx. 5 feet apart in the row, and the rows are 9 feet apart. We had the rows trenched 2 feet deep, to make planting easier.

Because we are going to grow organically, we brought in cotton burr compost to add to each of the plants as they were put in the ground. (Mike is an organic gardener, so we are going to have organic wine!!) We have added cotton burr compost to the rows now, which helps to control the grass growing between the vines, as well as nourish the vines.

Right now the vines are growing in "Blue Tubes" (you can "Google" that) which protect the vines and help them to grow. A tall bamboo stake holds each one upright. You might wonder "where do you buy 400 bamboo stakes?", but our friends just up the road at the Somerset Ridge Winery helped us find BWI in Lenexa, KS., which has just about everything you could want for growing and gardening!

We are also building a house on the property. The house is up higher on the slope with a view of the lake and vines. I know eventually it will look beautiful. As soon as they start framing, I will add some pictures of the progress.
Christine