Chronicles of the Long Shot Farm

Winery

Working on the Driveway

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We started phase two of our driveway project in January, with a”backhoe expert” reshaping the bank on the back of the barn and re-positioning dirt to match the engineering drawings.  The driveway section up to the barn is pretty much done, but we need to get at least ten dump truck loads of dirt hauled in to finish shaping the parking lot to the required specifications.

Lucky for us, PennDOT asked if they could reshape the bank below the vineyard – to reduce water run-off.  And we get to keep all the dirt they have to move!! They plan to excavate sometime in February.

We bought two dump truck loads of shale to cover the driveway section up to the barn and built a wooden form for concrete to reinforce the section of the stone wall below the large barn doors.  Now we are waiting for a warm day to pour the concrete.

The Value Added Producer Grant!

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It seems like a very long time ago (in July) that we submitted a grant application to the US Department of Agriculture for a “Value Added Producer Grant“.  We never really thought that we would actually have a chance of getting this grant, but we found out in late October, that we were one of the award recipients.   We are so excited and thankful for this opportunity.  It will definitely speed up the process of getting a winery off the ground.

This grant is meant to help small farms add value to their raw product/commodity, as in grapes to wine, milk to cheese, fruit to jam etc.  The grant funds can be used for packaging (as in bottles, corks and labels), marketing and wine-making  ingredients and disposable supplies- as long as it is not capital equipment.

The grant announcement has been picked up in several local and national publications, such as the Cumberland Valley Business Journal  and the Wines&Vines trade publication.  Stay tuned for updates!

Tasting Room Staircase Access and Floor

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We finally “broke ground”  (in this case “broke ceiling”) on the future tasting room access from the downstairs production area of the barn and put in a staircase.  That was step 1 of our November remodeling project.

The more important – and more tricky – part was a complete overhaul of the floor, of what will be the tasting room.

All the floor board were torn out, and engineered structural beams were inserted between the original hand-hewn beams. Then everything was leveled with strips of wood.  It took a lot longer than anticipated, but it was definitely worth it.

The beams were covered with a layer of plywood, then a layer of thick insulation (from recycled entry door segments), followed by a second layer of plywood.  The floor is super sturdy, no longer creaks, and it is perfectly level!!  This space is roughly 20 ft by 40 ft.