White Squirrels, Grapes, and Roses

Kenton is a little town in northwest Tennessee about an hour's drive from Ripley.  It is the "Home of the White Squirrel."  Now, I'm not going to go into the genetic makeup and the rest of that stuff. It just isn't the focus of this post. Here's a tidbit, however, to get you started: White Squirrel Wars.

Did I really travel to Kenton to see a white squirrel? Um, Nope. They tell me that there are a few in Halls, here in Lauderdale County, so I can drive 20 minutes if I really want to see one. But I did travel there to visit the White Squirrel Winery.

The winery was formerly a Tennessee Walking Horse farm and the land has been in the family for eons. (If you've never seen the TN Walking Horse, you must.) The current owner, state senator, Bill Sanderson, has quite an enterprise going for him. His wife does the graphics for the business. She also makes candles and teaches.  They have a huge building with gift shop and a cute efficiency bed and bath set-up for when you imbibed too much of their product.  Just kidding, good for weddings, etc.

See, Miss Get Involved decided to join the Master Gardener Program (more on that later) sponsored by the state extension program.  So how does a trip to a vineyard factor into the class?  Learning about grapes, silly.


Do you know why roses are planted at the ends of rows?  Did you know that some vines grow upright while others have to be clipped and trained? Were you aware that a grape begins fermenting as soon as it is picked?  Are grapes still picked by hand or by machine?

Don't know why Sanderson decided to turn to grapes but he went all out.  Went to Napa Valley and studied a bit. Brought some folks from the Valley to look at his operation and got their seal of approval.  With the help of a grant, he was off to the races. They turned the family-owned building in the downtown area into a wine-making and storage facility.  They sell the grapes they can't use to folks like Kix Brooks (of Brooks and Dunn fame), who has a winery in the Nashville area, as well as peaches and strawberries they won't use.


We tasted the fruit of the vines before we went out into the vineyard. They make a white wine using the Niagara grapes found in the New York wine region which was good. The red muscadine was awesome; didn't care as much for the white Muscadine. Personal opinion  The peach and the strawberry wines I would serve at a party. Good but not what I want  to
drink regularly.

Came home with an assortment to savor.  Why so many?  TN does not allow wineries to place their goods directly into stores.  Must use a broker. Therefore, White Squirrel may or may not be in a store near me.  And. Sistah Girl is not driving that distance for a bottle of wine. Of course, you can take my assessment and order through their online store. Or, you can take a trip to northwest TN and buy it yourself.

Great place to visit.  Might make their Fall celebration.  We'll see. Oh, roses are planted at the end of the rows because they attract the same diseases as grapes. Rather than inspect each vine, the growers can check the rose bush see what needs to be done to the vines in that row. Fascinating.