Tom Holland was busy the last week placing hedge posts to support the 288 grapevines he and his wife, Barbara, have planted at the homestead south of Lawrence.

Tom Holland views starting a vineyard as similar to working a bill in the Kansas Legislature.

“It is kind of like planting small vines,” he said. “You’re hoping something takes root and becomes productive at some point.”

With a three-week hiatus from the Legislature until the start of the wrap-up session, the state senator spent the week putting hedge posts in place to support the 288 grape vines he and wife, Barbara, have planted this spring at the family home on County Road 1055 south of Lawrence. If all goes well, the Chambourcin vines planted will produce grapes for a red wine and the Traminette vines for a white in four years. Both are hybrid varieties developed to thrive in Kansas, Holland said.

The Hollands are not waiting for the vines to mature before launching Haven Pointe Winery Vineyard. Holland said he bought produce last fall to be used for the first wines the family hopes to have available for tasting and purchase late this summer or early fall.

“We’re going to specialize in all Kansas products: grapes, apples and even honey,” he said. “I secured some honey from Kansas aviaries we’re going to use to produce mead.”

Holland said other preparations included securing the needed federal permits from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and learning more about wine making and grape growing. His has taken online evening courses, and Highland Community College offers in “vinology” in Wamego.

He has also tapped into the expertise of Douglas County Extension agent Marlin Bates and soaked up the knowledge shared by local wine industry pioneers at BlueJacket Crossing, Davenport Orchards and Holy Field Vineyard and Winery.

“The support I’ve gotten from other vineyards around here has been tremendous,” Holland said. “All recognize the way to grow the industry is through collective growth and production.”

Kansas grapes can produce very good wines, Holland said, but the reputation of local wineries as a whole is hurt by those who produce wines from grapes imported from California and elsewhere that they then “slap a label” on as a Kansas wine.

His legislative and wine interests intersect with his efforts to get the support of the Kansas congressional delegation to lobby the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau to give the state’s grape producing regions American Viticultural Area designations, Holland said. AVA designations reflect that the soil, climate and other environmental factors in which grapes grow influence the characteristics of a wine. Having an AVA designation on the label means at least 85 percent of the grapes used to make the wine were grown in that area, which gives wineries a marketing advantage by helping develop a regional brand and assuring consistency of product to consumers.

Holland said it occurred to him recently that the family’s vineyards have another thing going for them.
“I realized the other day that we are in the Vinland Valley,” he said. “I need to work that into my marketing some way.”

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Wineries may realize the advantage of raising all boats through cooperation, but it’s something county quilt shops and those in the area have been clued into for years. Sharon Vesecky, owner of Quilters’ Paradise in Baldwin City, said the third annual Heartland Quilt Shop Hop will start Saturday and continue through April 9. The shops will be closed Sunday. Local quilt shops have been involved in some form of shop hop for 18 years, she said.

This year’s quilt store tour will have 10 stops, including four in Douglas County. Participating county stores are Quilters’ Paradise, Quilting Bits and Pieces in Eudora, and the two Lawrence shops of Sarah’s Fabric and Stitch On Needlework and Gift Shop. A full list of participating shops on the tour that stretches from Topeka to Parkville, Mo., can be found at heartlandquiltshophop.com.

Although many quilters get involved with other activities with the coming of warm weather, they still look forward to the annual tour, Vesecky said. To help entice quilters to visit all the shops, their owners are giving away 10 sewing machines to those submitting cards for a drawing that have stamps from all 10 participating shops.

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It’s the spring wellness show season with one scheduled Saturday for Eudora and another set for Baldwin City the following Saturday. The Wild Over Wellness fest will be from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the Eudora Public Safety Building, 930 Main St. A number of physical screenings will be available, including blood pressure, dental, vision and hearing tests. The Kansas Highway Patrol will be at the event with a seat-belt demonstrator. Free bicycle helmets will be given to attending children and free food will be available to all.

There will be a 5K walk/run before the event. Check-in at the Eudora Community Center starts at 8:45 a.m. and the race at 9 a.m. There is a $25 fee.

The annual Baker University Community Wellness Festival will be from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Collins Center, 524 Sixth St. Free blood pressure, posture, body fat, bone density, hearing, vision and dental checks will be conducted. Blood work tests will also be available through Lawrence Memorial Hospital for $40 ($50 for males adding a PSA test). Free bicycle helmets will be given to children while supplies last, and T-shirts will be handed out to the first 250 attendees. Drawings will be held every 15 minutes with two adult and two children’s bicycles among the prizes given away.
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If you find Lecompton as charming as many do, you may vote for the northwest Douglas County town in Kansas! Magazine’s “Best Small Town Kansas” contest. Lecompton was one of 15 towns selected for the contest out of the 129 nominated.

Votes can be cast at the magazine’s website travelks.com.ks-mag/small-towns. Supporters can stuff the ballot box with one vote a day through May 31. The Douglas County Commission adopted a resolution Wednesday urging county residents to support Lecompton in the contest.

-mag/small-towns