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Agritourism Monthly • June 2015 • 1

Multi-million-dollar gateway slated by Ky. Distillers for Louisville’s Main Street

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Agritourism ascendantBourbon tourism, Louisville Bluegrass horse farms

Fans reserve tour appointments to see equine champions on their farms

By Jessica Smith Perhaps the only thing as exciting as the Kentucky Derby itself is visiting the farms at which the horses are bred, born, and raised.

Lexington, the “Horse Capital of the World,” has over 400 nearby horse farms. Over 80 percent of Derby winners were bred by those farms. Here are five prominent Bluegrass farms that provide public tours.

Claiborne Farm 703 Winchester Road, Paris

Claiborne Farm is one of the oldest horse farms to remain under a single family’s management, the Hancock family. Over the years, noted Claiborne sires included Mr. Prospector and Bold Ruler. The influential farm has won 22 Kentucky Derby races, 19 Preakness Stakes, 22 Belmont Stakes, and 29 Breeders’ Cups.

Famous Residents: Claiborne’s Allison Hancock notes that many visitors want to see the burial site of the most accomplished Thoroughbred ever, Secretariat. Currently among the stallions standing at Claiborne is 2013 Kentucky Derby winner Orb.Tours: Hour-long walking tours of the farm are available by appointment, each day at 10 and 11 a.m. Phone (859) 233-4252; email [email protected].

Coolmore’s Ashford Stud5095 Frankfort Road, Versailles

Ashford Farm was purchased by Coolmore in the mid-1980s. Coolmore also maintains farms in Australia and Ireland.

Famous Residents: In 1982, Coolmore stallion

Kentucky Department

of AgricultureJames R. Comer, Commissioner

June 2015 ● A management bulletin for the Kentucky agritourism industry ● Dr. Amelia Brown Wilson, Director, Division of Agritourism ● (502) 782-4136

(see BOURBON, page 4) (see FARMS, page 3)

California woman achieves her wish to see Bluegrass horse

country in her remaining time.Story and photos, page 2.

The Frazier History Museum plans to develop an expanded bourbon history exhibit and experience at its location on West Main Street, Louisville.

The $1.4 million project includes increasing classroom space, creating a more visible entrance and an expanded museum store. It is expected that the exhibit and its related services will require the Frazier History Museum to expand to the three buildings adjacent to the museum on West Main Street.

This second phase of the project will allow the museum to serve a projected 41,500 students, teachers and families annually, increasing the current number served by 13,000 and attracting approximately 10,000 new visitors to the museum annually. Phase I of the project included increasing exhibit space by nearly 5,000 square feet and creating a first floor theatre for historic interpretations and cultural programming.

Working with the Kentucky Distillers’ Association (KDA), the Frazier will explore and develop the concept of a new bourbon-oriented visitor experience that will be located at the Frazier and will serve as an official starting point to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail® adventure and the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour®, both of which are owned and trademarked by the Association.

Initial plans call for bourbon-related exhibits and visitor experiences on bourbon’s history and cultural development. Interactive learning programs and events will introduce and support the growing number of bourbon distilleries throughout the Commonwealth.

Consideration of an expanded bourbon presence at

2 • Agritourism Monthly • June 2015

California woman gets wish to visit Kentucky horse countryBy Jim TrammelCalifornian Debra Luis was in the news in April, wishing to see Kentucky horse country while it was still possible for her.

Luis, 60, has worked in animal control most of her professional career, and has been a horse lover all her life. She was diagnosed in January with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Her relatives had conducted a crowd-sourcing campaign on GoFundMe.com thatraised a majority of the funds needed for Luis’s visit.

Lexington Herald-Leader reporter Cheryl Truman told AM that Mary Quinn Ramer, president of VisitLEX, and the Lexington Convention/Visitors Bureau had provided “lots of help” and had been arranging farm visits.

In late May, Luis was able to visit Taylor Made Farms, where Triple Crown hopeful American Pharoah spent his early career.

Cheryl Truman’s Herald-Leader story, and photos of Debra at Taylor Made: www.kentucky.com/2015/06/01/3879418/california-woman-with-als-fulfills.html

Debra Luis at the Lexington Visitors Center.

Debra and her benefactors: Back row from left, Mary Quinn Ramer, president, VisitLEX; Ann Sabatino Hardy, director, Horse Country, Inc.; and travel companion Allison Luis Sutton.

Photos: M

argaret Gabriel


Storm Bird sired Storm Cat, who went on to become one of the industry’s legendary sires of champions. Also standing at the farm is Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus.Tours: Typically, tours are open to the public only at 3 p.m. weekdays, but during the week before Derby, Coolmore offers tours each day at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Call (859) 873-7088 to reserve your spot in each 10-person tour, or email [email protected].

Darley’s Jonabell Farm3333 Bowman Mill Road, Lexington

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s Darley Farm is a central Kentucky horse farm of global influence, currently standing stallions in six countries around the world.

Jonabell Farm, Darley’s Kentucky location, was originally settled by the Bowman family, one of the

Jockey Gary Stevens visited Old Friends for a reunion with his Derby champion mount Silver Charm. NBC Sports covered the event for its broadcast of the 2015 Kentucky Derby.

Photo: C

indy Grisolia

first families to settle in Lexington. The farm was established as a Thoroughbred farm in 1946 by John A. Bell, and was purchased by Darley in 2001.

Famous Residents: Currently, Darley stands 15 top racehorses and stallions, including Kentucky Derby winners Animal Kingdom and Street Sense. Jonabell is also the burial site of 1978 Triple Crown winner Affirmed. Tours: Advance reservations are available for 9:30 a.m. tours Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday each weekday. Call (859) 255-8537 or e-mail Peggy at [email protected].

WinStar Farm 3001 Pisgah Pike, Versailles

WinStar Farm was originally settled in the 1700s. Today the large and influential Thoroughbred stallion farm spans over 2,400 acres.

Famous Residents: WinStar currently stands 20 stallions, including Distorted Humor, the sire of 2003 Derby winner Funny Cide; and 2011 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Drosselmeyer. Tours: WinStar conducts tours Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 1 p.m., except on Kentucky Oaks Friday. Reserve with Kaitlin Kristofferson at (859) 873-1717.

Old Friends 1841 Paynes Depot Road, Georgetown

Old Friends is a non-profit Thoroughbred retirement haven created in 2003 by Michael Blowen, to provide a home for racehorses retired from the track or pensioned from stud duty. Initially a one-paddock farm housing two such horses, Old Friends has expanded to 136 acres in Georgetown plus another branch in New York.

Famous Residents: More than 150 horses have been cared for at Old Friends, including many champions. Recently, Old Friends retrieved Silver Charm, 1997 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner (barely missing the Triple Crown with a second-place Belmont Stakes finish), returning him from stud duty in Japan in 2014.

Fans can support Old Friends in several ways. The farm sells a fund-raising calendar, book, and magazine online. Also, the farm hosts fund-raising events such as an after-Derby party featuring food, live music, and the company of former champions. Tours: Weekday 10 a.m., 1 p.m., or 3 p.m. tour times may be reserved by phoning (502) 863-1775. Tours are $10 for adults and children 12 and older. These proceeds support the farm’s rescue operations. www.ladyandthetrack.com is a free newsletter that

provides weekly informative and fun updates about betting advice, track news, and trends. Jessica Smith’s March 30, 2015 article is reprinted by permission.

FARMS ... from page 1


BOURBON ... from page 1

the museum began nearly a year ago when the Frazier and the KDA partnered on a bourbon history exhibit that included the actual congressional resolution declaring bourbon to be “America’s native spirit.” The exhibit marked the first time the document left the National Archives since it was signed in 1964. The exhibit, which is still on display, also includes artifacts from the Kentucky Distillers’ Association and the Bourbon Trail distilleries.

The buildings were a gift to the museum from Laura Frazier and Catherine Frazier Joy when their father, Frazier Museum founder Owsley Frazier, passed away 2 1/2 years ago.

Through artifacts and objects, the Frazier History Museum tells the stories of a broad spectrum of world, national and regional history. Its renowned historic interpretations of colorful characters and specialized interactive programs have become hallmarks of the institution. To further develop and integrate the expanded bourbon presence with the Frazier’s current permanent collections, temporary exhibits, and learning programs, the Frazier has hired Imagination, a world-renowned international creative agency.

The Frazier History Museum is located at 829 West Main Street on Louisville’s downtown “Museum Row.” This world-class museum provides a journey through more than 1,000 years of world and American history with ever-changing and interactive special exhibits, daily performances by costumed interpreters, and engaging special events and programs. The Frazier is open Monday-Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday, noon to 5:00 p.m.

The Kentucky Distillers’ Association is a non-profit trade association founded in 1880, serving as a voice for bourbon and distilled spirits issues. Its 27 members produce 90 percent of the world’s bourbon and have transformed the legendary industry into a thriving global economic engine and major tourism attraction with its Kentucky Bourbon Trail and Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour experiences.

— Kentucky Distillers’ Association press release

More: www.kybourbon.com, www.kybourbontrail.com. Frazier museum information and tickets: (502) 753-5663, www.fraziermuseum.org.

Kentucky Bourbon Affair June 3-7 to feature local food, chefsKentucky Proud, which markets farm-fresh food and ingredients across the Commonwealth, is partnering with the Kentucky Bourbon Affair fantasy camp to showcase the state’s top agricultural offerings and talented local chefs.

From savory culinary pairings with bourbon to fresh cocktail ingredients and even an on-site farmers’ market, Kentucky Proud products will be highlighted throughout events June 3- 7, said Eric Gregory, president of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association.

The Kentucky Bourbon Affair is an intimate five-day exploration into the state’s signature spirit, featuring behind-the-scenes tours, private barrel selections, and specialty events at the world’s most iconic distilleries and famous Louisville hotspots.

Kentucky Proud is the official state marketing program for farm products raised, grown or processed in Kentucky by Kentuckians. The Kentucky Department of Agriculture program now involves more than 4,000 farmers, retailers, restaurants, schools, markets, and parks.

“Bourbon is one of Kentucky’s most iconic agricultural commodities, and the Kentucky Bourbon Affair is the perfect vehicle to showcase Kentucky Proud foods to Kentuckians and guests around the world,” said Commissioner of Agriculture James Comer.

Kentucky Proud food and ingredients will be featured at Wednesday’s opening event, “Bourbon Under the Rocks;” the “Craft to Cocktail 2.0” program Friday night; Saturday night’s closing “Casabourblanca” gala; and the Sunday Polo on the Waterfront send-off.

The chef lineup includes:

• Ken Barkley – Captain’s Quarter Riverside Grille• Jeff Bridges – Bourbons Bistro• Kathy Cary – Lilly’s Bistro• Christian Hattemer – Down One Bourbon Bar• Dallas McGarity – MARKETPLACE Restaurant at Theatre Square• Ryan Rogers – Feast BBQ• Paul Sant – Crowne Plaza Louisville• Randy Twyford – Twyford BBQ & Catering• John Varanese - Varanese

— Kentucky Distillers’ Association press release

More information and tickets: www.kybourbonaffair.com.


By Jim TrammelLong C Trails is a family-operated trail ride that offers clean family fun in a peaceful, alcohol-free atmosphere, promises its owner.

“Riders and hikers can enjoy the scenery of middle Tennessee and southern Kentucky, including over 2,000 acres of horseback-riding trails, winding Long Creek, scenic overlooks, waterfalls, wildlife, and majestic bluffs,” owner Jack Hanes said.

Customers have their choice of riding or hiking through woods, to creeks, to scenic overlooks, or around the property’s waterfall.

Those who don’t own horses may go on guide-assisted rental rides for $25 for the first hour and $20 for each hour after. Children under seven can be led by guides in the round pen ($12 for 30 minutes). Camping out or sleeping in for a day, a weekend, or up to two weeks is also accommodated, as customers craft their own one-of-a-kind experiences.

Development historyThe 450-acre farm has been in Jack’s family for

over 200 years. His grandfather was born there. When Jack retired as an educator in 2002, he

had already begun looking for some way to save the family farm and be sure that it always would at least pay its own way.

“About that time, it was pointed out to me that there was not a facility anywhere in this area for people to ride their own horses, so that’s how it started,” Jack recalled.

“I started talking to the neighboring farmers, and I was able to convince 14 of my neighbors to allow me to build horse trails.” Jack now operates trails that span 2,000 acres of his and others’ lands, under individually-negotiated agreements with the adjacent landowners.

Both the horse barns were already on the farm, built in 1891. Jack renovated the barns in 1999 and 2002. Things took shape gradually after that. One of the primitive cabins was completed in 2006, and the two-story hotel was constructed over 18 months across 2008 and 2009.

Guided rides began in 2000, and the trails were marked in 2001. “Now I have GPS maps of all the trails, and I have marked way points and put up metal signs,” Jack said.

The campground opened along with the trails. From 12 electrical hookups, Long C has grown to 23.

This operation is run by Jack and one other full time person, Kristyn Sullivan, and two or three part-timers, one of which is Jack’s son B.J.

Riding along a fine line

Oscar Lark is a trainer and a long time rider at Long C Trails. He had been working with Buttercup for a month, and this ride in April, which just happened to be on her third birthday, was her first time on any trail.

LONG C TRAILS of Scottsville, Kentucky (or Westmoreland, Tennessee), sits on the state line, and the trails cross over. It’s not the only way Jack Hanes works both sides of a situation: At this location, you can ride or hike, bring your own horses or rent, and stay one day or multiples.


Flexible offeringsFlexibility of services is a key to Long C’s operation.

You may ride your own horse or rent one of theirs. You may camp overnight, in the designated camping areas. You may book a stay in the 1,800-square-foot “vacation home,” Rocky Top Ranch, with two bedrooms, full kitchen, covered porch, sun room, and living/dining room.

Your horse will board in similar luxury: The building has its own private four-stall, two-paddock barn with ample grazing area and a private trail leading into Long C’s extensive network of riding trails.

Less extensive lodgings include the Grassy Knoll cabin, which sleeps 12, and the Hole in the Woods cabin that sleeps four.

More traditional inn accommodations are found in the “Long C Hotel,” which has two rooms (numbered 209 and 409), sleeping two or four guests, with more hotel-style amenities, including linens, towels, blankets, individual heat and air controls, mini-refrigerators, microwave ovens, and televisions with DVD players.

Customized to customer desiresOne may also dispense with riding altogether and

hike any trail, including a special two-mile nature trail Jack has carefully laid out, labeling trees and flora along the way, leading to a small waterfall. This trail is rated moderate to difficult because it includes an optional steep 110-foot descent leading down to the base of the waterfall, that requires careful use of a rope handrail.

“If you don’t want to travel the steep section, you may take a shorter route and still see the waterfall from above, but you won’t have to descend into the valley,” Jack said.

Also along the trail, hikers will see what Jack promotes as the largest grapevine in Kentucky (to his knowledge), with a 24-inch circumference. Hikers also take in springs, gorges, switchback trails, and scenic overlooks.

Those who don’t own a horse may rent “for a look at nature’s beauty that only can be seen from horseback,” Jack said.

Non-trail activities include swimming and basketball. A restaurant is temporarily shuttered until a new cook is found.

Jack said the Long C has the “brown signs” (state transportation department tourism directional signs) because “we’re 10 miles away from the nearest state highway, town or anything, in definitely a rural area.” All they have to do regarding directions is “get people to Scottsville and tell them to follow the signs,” Jack said.

Spirit- and charity-driven

The stable holds “Cowboy Church” every Sunday at about 8:30 a.m., a tradition for visitors and local residents since early in Long C’s history.

The stable also regularly partners with the Hearts and Hands Missions group, who operates outreach programs in Honduras. Stable functions raise funding

In the Little Barn Shop, photographer and artist Eileen Herb-Witte will take custom photos of you and your family (or she will go out on the trail with you for action pictures). Eileen can imprint her photos on souvenir T-shirts, license plates and mugs. Eileen also sells originals and prints of her paintings. and can do custom pet portraits. She does all Long C’s graphics work, brochures, and printing, and she shot all the photography displayed in the Long C office.


for the group, and the group serves food for the stables. H&H membership is drawn from several Franklin, Kentucky-area churches.

The stable held a Memorial Day event for a departed longtime friend. The “Remember Jerry” Ride paid tribute to the memory of Jerry Wilson Brown, Jack’s best friend, who ran a barbershop on the premises and was unofficially known as the face of Long C Trails.

This year’s ride and buffet, Jack reported, this year raised $800 for High Point hospice in Gallatin,

During my talk with Jack, since his business straddles the Kentucky-Tennessee line and draws from both states, I asked in which state he has experienced the better-developed agritourism effort. Perhaps sensing the answer I was seeking, Jack gave the recent edge to Kentucky.

“We started out with most of our business from Tennessee, but then we joined a group of agritourism businesses in Bowling Green, and that really boosted our Kentucky business,” he said.

Jack was president of that group, the 10-county Cave Region Agritourism Association, for six years, and also served two years as president of the Scottsville (Ky.) Chamber of Commerce (2005-2006), posts that helped Long C Trails develop Kentucky business ties. -- J.T.

LONG C TRAILSJack Hanes, owner 8959 Hanes RoadWestmoreland, TN 37186(270) 618-7500E-mail: [email protected]

Tennessee, which had furnished end-of-life care for Brown, and also $2,000 for the Hearts and Hands Honduras mission.

On June 12-14, departing each morning at 9:30, the stables will host the “Mike and Margaret Likens Wagon Trail Ride.” Camping is available if reserved through Long C, and food will be available to raise donations for the Hearts and Hands Mission Team. For more information about joining the ride, call Mike or Margaret at (615) 655-4111.

The stable also holds a riding event to benefit

In October 2013, photographer Suzanne Swan of Leoma, Tennessee, and her husband, Jim, camped and rode the Long C Trails on their second visit. Here the trail marking shows Jim taking a walk on the wild side, deep into the dangerously uncivilized Tennessee woodlands.

Border skirmish: Kentucky vs. Tennessee

These are the children and grandchildren of Jackie Allen, one of Long C’s longtime riders, posing on their horse at their camp site. Children under seven may be led by guides in the roundpen. Riding privileges have to be enjoyed some other time by those pregnant, weighing over 240, or subject to health conditions which would make it more likely for someone to suffer injury.


St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in Memphis the last weekend in August (this year Saturday, Aug. 26) and seasonal observances for Father’s Day, Halloween, and Thanksgiving.

Spiritual underpinningsJack is not shy about insisting that Long C Trails is

a God-driven business. “God has blessed me, as a plain old country boy, in more ways than are imaginable,” Jack said. “I ask Him every morning to guide me in what he wants me to do that day. This business basically belongs to Him.”

A Long C rider since 2013, Melanie Blount sent the website this photo taken of her and her husband, Eddie, taking a creek ride through the Kentucky-Tennessee woods.

Left: The smaller of the two “primitive” cabins, the Hole in the Woods, which can sleep four. Right: The two-room Long C Hotel.

Jack makes a regular request of his customers, and of Sunday morning visitors to Cowboy Church, to “ask God each day to guide us all to do what He needs us to do.”

Jack looks to divine inspiration even for management guidance. “When I get a nagging feeling that I ought to do something, and it won’t go away, I figure it was from God — and I build another building,” he said.

If God makes management demands, He also tenders rewards. “God sends us the most awesome people every weekend, but it’s because we’ve got so many people asking God to guide us,” Jack explains.

All photos were submitted to Long C Trails

website (www.longctrails.

com) from customers,

and were made available to AM courtesy of Jack Hanes.


Kentucky’s return to winemakingBy Sarah BairdA high-school acquaintance from Poosey Ridge, a one-stop-sign hamlet in the eastern Kentucky county where I grew up, was croaking at me in a hushed way, tapping his Zippo lighter anxiously on the bar.

“I heard that Old Man M— was just telling people to go in there and pick off them grapes. He don’t have a clue what to do with them.”

Old Man M— was our county’s wealthiest farmer, and his estate sat high on a plump hill overlooking his fields of cattle like a backwoods Xanadu. He had recently purchased the county’s lone, celebrated winery at auction, when its previous owner’s financing went belly up.

He was a lifelong cow man, not an aspiring vintner, and under his watch, the grape vines hung heavy with unharvested fruit. Rumor had circulated that families who might be hungry were secretly welcome to venture in and pick the grapes, a form of 21st-century gleaning.

Wine grew following tobacco

Wine was something new here. When I was young, even if you weren’t a farmer, if you lived in that part of Kentucky, your life was tobacco. But soon after I left high school, the circle was broken.

The tobacco quota buyout happened, leaving hundreds of tobacco farmers scrambling to figure out how to keep their livelihoods afloat. Over 70 percent of Kentucky tobacco farmers had given up their crop, taking the buyout and shifting their focus to more diverse agricultural pursuits.

What was going to replace it? One common answer quickly revealed itself to be wine.

“Experiment” with grape vines

“I inherited the land my winery’s on today from my mom and dad, and it was a tobacco farm,” said Norrie Wake of Lake Cumberland Winery in Wayne County. “During the buyout, everything was ‘alternative crops, alternative crops’, but of course none of us really knew anything else that would grow well,” laughed Wake. “I decided to do a little experiment with planting some grape vines.”

Even for the most abstemious, making wine now seems like a relatively tame vice. Former tobacco farmer Zane Burton — owner of Sinking Valley Winery in Plato, Kentucky, and the son of teetotalers — told the Rodale Institute in 2006 that his conversion from tobacco to wine sprang from “economic need and a quirky personality.”

“I was a schoolteacher for 40 years before we got heavy into winemaking,” said Suzanne Lawson of Mountain Rose Winery in Wise, Virginia, a former coal mining town just across the Kentucky state line in the heart of Appalachia.

“Twenty years ago, we had 12,000 students in our school system,” said Lawson. “Now, we only have about 6,000. There’s no coal, fewer jobs, fewer families. The winery, though — everyone in the community is real proud to have it.”

Kentucky as wine pioneer

While wine might seem at first blush an unusual replacement, it’s actually not so strange that farming and mining communities across Kentucky have used the grape to rise up from floundering traditional income streams.

Chardonnay grapes at Equus Run vineyard. -- photo: Equus Run website


Kentucky was the first wild frontier for the early colonies, as 18th-century adventurers and Don Quixote types made Kentucky the country’s third-largest producer of grapes and wine — until the Civil War arrived in the Bluegrass in 1862.

Then the once-untamed frontier shifted into an out-and-out battlefield. Kentucky’s role as a border state ensured that families torn between the blue and the gray — brother pitted against brother — were as common as cornbread. Troops from both sides marched, camped, and fought in the vineyards, where vines were ripped from the ground and, by gunfire or campfire, burned to ash.

Wine names honor heritage

Running a vineyard isn’t about producing and selling a commodity product, as it was with tobacco and coal — it’s about hawking a brand. For many of Kentucky’s upstart wineries, their tobacco or coal heritage is impossible to miss:

• Labels of Sinking Creek Vineyard’s “Prohibition Repeal Red” illustrate Prohibitionist (and Garrard County native) Carrie Nation; barrels of wine being dumped; and a woman casting a ballot, signifying the “beginning, enforcement, and blissful repeal of Prohibition.”

• The tasting room of Highland Winery in Seco operates out of a former coal camp company store; the top of the building still reads “Southeast Coal Company.”

• Up the Creek Winery in Burkesville has a tobacco barn sketched on its label, signfying “the winery’s farm and the Commonwealth’s heritage.”

• Suzanne Lawson’s Mountain Rose Winery names all its vintages after former coal camps (Pardee, Dorchester) and claims to be the first “mines-to-wine” vineyard.

These promotional pieces come more easily to some than others. One of the biggest hurdles for many budding vintners is the total personality overhaul often required to succeed in the business. The product is not just a freshly bottled chardonnay, but the entire concept of wine from Kentucky.

Mosaic morass of restrictive laws

If you’re interested in just what Prohibition felt like, Kentucky has your answer. The Commonwealth boasts one of the largest remaining number of dry counties in the nation, regions where the sale and purchase of alcohol is entirely illegal.

Located at the north end of the Bible Belt, Kentucky strongly supported the Eighteenth Amendment when it was presented in 1918, and it was one of the first three states to ratify the federal anti-liquor law. (It is often repeated that the state voluntarily set back its winemaking industry by tearing out its grape vines when Prohibition became law.)

After the amendment’s repeal in 1933, Kentucky left its counties to determine on their own whether they’d like to remain liquor free. At last count, 38 counties in Kentucky were dry, 33 were wet, and 49 were “moist” (dry with wet precincts) or dry-with- special-circumstances, including specially-approved wineries. There are 70 different types of licenses for the sale of alcohol.

Kentucky native, New Orleans-based food writer, and self-described “culinary anthropologist” Sarah Baird’s latest cookbook is Kentucky Sweets: Bourbon Balls, Spoonbread, and Mile High Pie (History Press, Feb. 2014). This adventure through Kentucky cultural and

culinary history features recipes, detailed cooking techniques and “tricks,” information about ingredients and how they are cultivated, interviews with a variety of folks, cocktail recipes, photos, and illustrations by artist Chase Chauffe.


“THERE’S NO COAL,fewer jobs, fewer families. The winery, though — everyone in the community is real proud to have it.”

Wine making was illegal in Kentucky from Prohibition until 1976, when the law was repealed and aspiring vintners came out of hiding.

Today, there are 68 wineries and roughly 150 grape growers in Kentucky, generating $15 million in annual revenue. The numbers are constantly growing.

Kentucky has climbed back

This spring, the University of Kentucky’s College of Agriculture offers its first official course in viticulture, offering students the chance to learn all about the crop production of grapes. Last fall, the same students were eligible for a course in oenology, cracking the books over the science and industry of grapes becoming wine. (UK now offers a complete certification in wine studies; see story, next page.)

Nationally, Kentucky has climbed back from trampled vines to be America’s sixth-largest wine producing state — not quite the third-place scale of its history, but a far cry from winemaking’s illegal status just a short four decades ago.

About pride as much as product

After all this, though, what does the wine taste like? I’ve swished around many homegrown wines from Kentucky and southwest Virginia — a thin, oxblood red; a fruit-forward white so thick it’s almost a syrup; crisp pink sippers that are razor-sharp on the tongue. Some are bright and tannin-heavy. Some are more like melted hard candies.

But the swirl-and-spit opinion of any wine judge has little bearing on Kentucky wine culture. Small, locally-focused wineries in Kentucky are about

community pride more than the wine itself: a focal point for joyfulness and hope in a landscape that frequently has seemed downright bleak.

“We didn’t try and set out to grow our grapes on reclaimed mine land,” said Lawson of her mountain vineyard. “It’s just all we had to work with. Every fall we have our big grape harvest, and everyone from the community comes out and helps to pick the grapes in shifts. Every year there’s someone new out, even kids. Sometimes, it’s hard to go to the store and not see someone who’s been picking alongside of us.”

“All of us are going to learn”

Learning about winemaking has also been a community experience. “I’m always behind the eight ball, so when I was finally successful with my vines and didn’t know what to do with the grapes, I called my friends in to my rescue,” explained Norrie Wake.

“I said, ‘Hey, guess what? We want you to come out here and help us pick our grapes, then we want you to buy the grapes from us, then all of us together are going to learn how to make wine!’” He laughed at the memory of his audacity.

“We had about 12 couples who did it with us. We used a homegrown recipe book that tells you how to make wine out of anything — even onion wine.

“It was awful at first, but it was our wine. We’ve gotten a lot better since then.”This work originally appeared under the title Can a Return To Winemaking Save Kentucky’s Soul? on Eater.com on February 25, 2015.

www.eater.com/2015/2/25/8104381/kentucky-wine


UK certification program combines wine, brewing, distilling coursesFor several years, University of Kentucky students have been able to take classes related to the wine, beer, and distilled-spirits industries.

Now, those courses will become a cohesive undergraduate certification program that will prepare students for careers in this growing economic sector. In the near future the program hopes to issue 100 to 150 certificates per year.

Wine, brewing and distillation form a multi- billion-dollar industry with myriad career opportunities in science, engineering and the arts, said UK horticulture professor Seth DeBolt.

In 2013, bourbon production from more than 40 Kentucky distilleries surpassed five million barrels, with a value greater than $8 billion a year. Some 10,000 people are estimated to work in this industry.

“Additionally, approximately 25 new craft and full-scale distillers will be opening soon, and there are more than 70 wineries and a thriving craft beer movement that demand trained and knowledgeable employees,” DeBolt said. “Finding graduates with an understanding of fermentation and their industry are vital to the industries’ rapid growth.”

— UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment press release

More: http://news.ca.uky.edu/article/new-uk-certification-program-targets-wine-brewing-distilling-industries

FEAT invites members, vendorsto upcoming Foothills events

Gayle Clevenger of the Foothills Eastern Kentucky Eco-Agritourism Corporation (FEAT), serving Carter, Elliott, Menifee, Morgan and Wolfe counties notes these opportunities for vendors at summer events in the Eastern foothills:

• “Camp-Out Jam-Out” is set for June 5-6 at the Ashland KOA Campground on Industrial Parkway. The weekend features bluegrass music by Hazel Holler, One Grass Time, Horton Holler, Weary Jammers, and No Set Standard Band. Food by Pure Pit BBQ and Mama Hazel’s Bakery. Admission is free, and vendor set-ups are free to FEAT members. Bring your own table. Call Michelle Wallace at (606) 207-1011 for more information.

• The FEAT Conference on July 31 is themed “Feeding Appalachia,” exploring the role food plays in the economy, public health, and tourism. Vendor set-ups are available. (See below.)

• The Wolfe County Adventure-Lite Tour Sept. 19, features rappelling, rock climbing, hiking, sightseeing, storytelling, and food events. For vendor set-ups, contact the Wolfe County Extension Office. — submitted


Campbell County showcaseslocal farm wares during summer

Explore farm operations July 18A free self-guided tour of the many different kinds of farm experiences in Campbell County, Kentucky, will be available to the public 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 18.

Paticipants in the “Backroads Farm Tour” visit 15 wineries, equestrian centers, beef cattle operations, antique farm equipment locations, and horticultural operations to ask questions and shop for produce, honey, wine, and other farm products.

Next “Farm To Plate” dinner July 12In addition, the busy Campbell County

Conservation District sponsoring the tour has also begun a series of “Farm To Plate” dinners through the summer months.

The events bring Kentucky chefs, meat producers,

wineries and breweries together at Greensleeves Farm, located at 10551 Pleasant Ridge Road in Alexandria, for farm-fresh local dinners.

The first gathering last month featured a tour of the farm and dinner prepared by Stephen Williams of Bouquet Restaurant and Wine Bar, featuring meat from Atwood Village Family Farm and wine from Stonebrook Winery.

The next event, on Sunday, July 12, will feature Allison Simpson-Hines of Butcher Betties. On Sunday, August 16, Mark Bodenstein of NuVo at Greenup will be spotlighted, and on Sunday, September 20, Matt Buschle of Virgil’s Cafe will be the featured chef.

Partners for the July, August and September dinners were being finalized at press time.

— submitted

Tickets are limited and can be purchased at www.greensleevesfarm.com, under the “Shop” tab.

Daytime TV star and former “Top Chef ” contestant Carla Hall will serve as the celebrity chef of the seventh annual Kentucky Proud Incredible Food Show Oct. 24 at The Lexington Center and Rupp Arena.

Hall is co-host of ABC Daytime’s lifestyle series “The Chew,” which features restaurateurs and “Iron Chef America” stars Mario Batali and Michael Symon, entertaining expert Clinton Kelly, and health and wellness enthusiast Daphne Oz.

“The Chew” won a 2015 Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Informative Talk Show Hosts. Hall is best known as a contestant on Bravo’s “Top Chef,” where viewers voted her “Fan Favorite.”

Hall, of Washington, D.C., is author of Cooking with Love: Comfort Food That Hugs You and Carla’s Comfort Foods: Favorite Dishes Around the World

She owns Carla Hall Petite Cookies in Silver Spring, Maryland, and plans to open her first restaurant, Carla Hall’s Southern Kitchen.

Hall will give performances at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. EDT in Rupp Arena.

The Kentucky Proud Incredible Food Show will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with cooking demonstrations and seminars by local and regional chefs. In The

Marketplace, more than 100 exhibitors will feature Kentucky Proud products and services.

Tickets to the Kentucky Proud Incredible Food Show will go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. at the Lexington Center Ticket Office at (859) 233-3535 and Ticketmaster.com.

Presale tickets to the $40 reserved section for Carla Hall’s cooking demonstrations will go on sale Tuesday at 10 a.m. A limited number of seats located on stage for the 3 p.m. presentation are available for $100 per seat.

Non-reserved, general admission tickets are $20 and include admission to the 11 a.m. or 3 p.m. show as well as all seminars, demonstrations and The Marketplace exhibit hall. — Lexington Center

For more information, call (859) 233-4567 or visit www.incrediblefoodshow.com.

Tickets on sale Friday for 2015 Kentucky Proud Incredible Food Show


JUNE

4-6: Heritage Festival – Lewisport Poke Sallet Festival – Harlan Capital Expo Festival – Frankfort

4-7: Great American Brass Band Festival – Danville

5-6: Bourbon City BBQ Festival – Bardstown Pennington Folk Festival – Princeton Sally Gap Bluegrass Festival – Williamsburg Portland Festival – Louisville Coalfield Festival – Mortons Gap Bluegrass Festival – Bardstown

6: Great American Art Festival – Danville Americana World Festival – Louisville

6-7: Butchertown Art Fair – Louisville Jefferson Davis Birthday Weekend – Fairview Arts on the Green – LaGrange

6-13: Carroll Co. Fair – Carrollton Nicholas Co. Youth Fair – Carlisle6-7/4: Wayne Co. Fair – Monticello7: Taste of Newport8-13: Boyle Co. Fair – Danville

Metcalfe Co. Fair – Edmonton Muhlenberg Co. Fair – Greenville

8-14: Murray-Calloway Co. Fair8-24: Larue Co. Fair – Hodgenville10-20: Shelby Co. Fair – Shelbyville11-14: ItalianFest – Newport

Festival of the Bluegrass – Lexington12-13: Fort Harrod Beef Festival –

Harrodsburg Summer Fireworks Festival – Ludlow Summer Festival – Lyndon

12-14: Greek Festival – Louisville13: Beer Cheese Festival – Winchester

Vet Jam – Glasgow Stephen Foster Festival – Bardstown

13-20: W. C. Handy Blues & Barbecue Festival – Henderson Clark Co. Fair – Winchester Woodford Co. Fair – Versailles

14-29: Allen Co. Fair – Scottsville15-20: Bullitt Co. Fair – Shepherdsville Clinton Co. Fair – Albany Green Co. Fair – Greensburg Union Co. Fair – Sturgis18-20: “Stringbean” Memorial Bluegrass

Festival – Gray Hawk Super Moon Music & Arts Festival – Whitesburg

6-11: Breckinridge Co. Fair – Irvington Hardin Co. Fair – Elizabethtown Jessamine Co. Fair – Nicholasville7-11: Laurel Co. Fair – East Bernstadt8-11: Ichthus Festival – Lexington9-11: St. Francis Picnic – Loretto9-12: Whippoorwill Festival – Berea9-18: Ballard Co. Fair – LaCenter Barren Co. Fair – Glasgow Harrison Co. Fair – Cynthiana9-19: Lions Club Bluegrass Fair – Lexington10-11: Lebowski Fest – Louisville

Master Musicians Festival – Somerset10-12: Bacon, Bourbon & Brew Festival –

Newport Craft Festival -- Berea Blues, Brews & BBQ Festival – Louisville

11: Peach Jam Festival and Pageants – Utica Duncan Hines Festival – Bowling Green

11-12: Kentucky Farm Fest – Crestwood11-18: Gallatin Co. Fair – Warsaw13-15: Franklin Co. Fair – Frankfort16-18: Shriners Bluegrass Festival –

Olive Hill17-18: Robfest – Shelbyville17-19: BreyerFest – Lexington Forecastle

Festival – Louisville Riverfest Regatta – Augusta

18: Olde Time BBQ & Chili Cook Off– Glendale Sweet Corn Festival – Georgetown

23-25: Paradise Music and Arts Festival – Hustonville

24-25: Cruisin’ the Heartland – Elizabethtown29-8/1: Sandy Lee Songwriters Festival –

Henderson31-8/2: Powell County Corn Festival –

Stanton

KENTUCKY FESTIVAL CALENDAR

19-20: Kentucky Blueberry Festival – Edmonton Kentuckiana Pride Festival – Louisville

19-21: MainStrasse Village Original GoettaFest – Covington

20: Lake Cumberland Blues Harbor Festival – Jamestown

20-27: Lawrenceburg Fair22-27: Scott Co. Kiwanis Fair – Georgetown McCracken Co. Fair – Paducah Garrard Co. Fair – Lancaster Bourbon Co. Fair – Paris23-27: Purchase District Fair – Mayfield

Rudy Fest – Grayson24-30: Henderson Co. Fair – Henderson25-28: Fleming Co. Fair – Ewing 26-28: Frontier Days – Glencoe27: Blueberry Jubilee & Pancake Day –

Paris Crestwood Festival Pride Festival – Lexington

27-28: Bluegrass Lacrosse Festival – Louisville

28-7/4: Lincoln Co. Fair – Stanford29-7/4: Estill Co. Fair – Irvine Hart Co. Fair – Horse Cave Henry Co. Fair – New Castle Marion Co. Fair – Lebanon

JULY 1-4: Butler Co. Fair & Green River Catfish

Festival – Morgantown2-4: Summer Motion – Ashland

Old Joe Clark Bluegrass Festival – Renfro Valley

3: Kentucky River Days Celebration – Warsaw

Freedom Fest – Winchester3-4: Crescent Hill July 4 Celebration –

Louisville Freedom Fest – Murray

3-11: Adair Co. Fair – Columbia Western Ky Fair – Hopkinsville

4: Founders’ Day Celebration – Elizabethtown Independence Day Celebration – Casey July 4 Festival – Lexington Sisters of Notre Dame July 4 Festival – Covington


Live Cooking Demos with Celebrity Chefs

Hands-on Exhibits & Bookstore

Bluegrass Bands & Food Trucks

Foodie Market & Art

20 Acres of Interactive Fun! in Crestwood, KY

Just minutes from Louisville

Teach • Exhibit • Attend For festival participation contact Kim Buckler at [email protected].

Oldham KY Tourism & Conventions presentsOldham KY Tourism & Conventions presents

July 11th & 12th

2015

Weekly festival updates!

100+ “HOW TO” WORKSHOPS Taught by Local and State Experts

• All Things HEMP• Animal Husbandry• Artfully KY - Art Demos

(Sunday Only)• Brewing, Distilling

& Hard Ciders• Jr. Chef Workshop • KY Climate Gardening

• Naturally KY: Rivers, Preserves & Gardens

• Modern Homesteading• Natural Health: Oils

& Herbs• Organic Gardening• Real & Whole Foods• The Conscious Consumer

Tim Farmer’s Country Kitchen

Mark Williams The “Spirited” Chef

FREE Eco Shopping Bag

with admission


Bring your family to “Dairy Night” at the Ballgames!

To order �ckets, contact: Eunice Schlappi at 502‐782‐4122 (leave message) or email at [email protected]

Thursday, June 25 - 7:05 p.m. (deadline to order �ckets ‐ June 17)

Thursday, June 11 - 7:05 p.m.

(deadline to order �ckets ‐ June 2)

All other tickets are $7 & payable at the ballgames

- 4 - free tickets per dairy farm family (tickets sponsored by Endovac/IMMVAC)

- 2 - free dairy t-shirts per dairy farm family (t-shirts sponsored by SUDIA/ADA of Ky)

agritourism monthly - kentucky farms are...

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