IT'S SUMMER! And we're having beautiful weather with more on tap for the weekend and into next week. We got some much-needed rain on Tuesday night, so everything is greening up again, and all the vegetables that Nic has planted are doing well after gasping for breath. Lee is very excited about the season and the way it is progressing in the vineyard. Great warm weather through bloom and an early start in general will mean a good year if we don't have a repeat of last year's rainy September. Water is the 21st century issue in grape growing and all farming.

Competition season is in full swing, with results arriving this week from the San Francisco International Wine Competition. Our '06 Arcturos Semi-Dry Riesling and our '06 Arcturos Dry Riesling both took silver medals with ‘05 Arcturos Cabernet Franc, '05 Arcturos Pinot Blanc, and '06 Arcturos Sur Lie Chardonnay all earning bronze. It's always exciting to win medals in California.

Lee is heading to this weekend's inaugural Riesling Rendezvous in Woodinville WA. He's one of 47 Riesling experts from around the world participating in the three-day event which includes tastings, food pairings, and workshops.

Equipment is beginning its trek to our new winery location on Old Mission Peninsula. Having a second production site will enable us to grow our wine business to meet the demand. As the majority of our grapes grow on Old Mission, this new site will shorten the time between vine and vat, meaning that the juice will be just that much fresher going into the tanks. We're hoping for production of cherry wine there later this summer.

The Old Mission tasting room is still on tap, but we've run into a couple of glitches with Township zoning. As soon as these are ironed out, we'll be getting ready to welcome you on McKinley Road, but still looking for you at the Farm in Suttons Bay. The bottling line has been humming this week, filling bottles to empty the tanks from a big crop last year in anticipation of the new tasting room.

Jill Marietta and Andrew Raymond from Monroe, Michigan will be married on the back deck of the Inn tomorrow at 3:00 with family and friends looking on. That means the Inn is fully booked this weekend, but we do have a few rooms available throughout the week and weekend, and even a single night available for next Friday. It's the perfect time to visit as most of the summer crowd won't arrive until the 4th.

No news to report from the petting zoo. Those nannies are holding on, but we do expect new kids at any time. Plus, we still have a couple of kittens and bunnies looking for permanent homes. You can reach Diane at 231.994.1291 if you're interested.

Come on up - it's the best time of the year - up on the Farm.