A New Winery

Today my sweet husband and I took a wonderful ride to the western Oklahoma town of Bessie. It was an absolutely glorious day - though it did get a bit windy. We took the drive to visit another winery - not new but new to us. Panther Hills winery is just north of Bessie - a beautiful place, truly home sweet home for the owner, Ron. Like so many of the wineries we've visited, this is a labor of love as well as a lucrative business. They have 5 varieties - Riesling (his first white - quite tasty), Pinot Noir - slightly tart, Shiraz - mmm black chery, Merlot - deep and quiet, as well as a very nice Cabernet Sauvignon. Though they were all delicious, we chose the Riesling and the Cab. I plan to hold the Cabernet until next year.
As he poured our tastes, Ron told us about the wines, the grapes, and his plans for the future. Next to the bottles, he had a dish with pieces of bread made with wheat he had grown. When I asked how his wheat was looking for this year (I've read that the drought has really hurt our state's wheat crop) he responded with the optimism all farmers must have. "Mine looks pretty good. I should be just fine."
These photos are of his home, designed on-the-fly. He explained the design was original and practical. The tasting room is built over the original storm cellar - circa 1928. Before we left, my husband asked the owner about the name - Panther Hills. There's a story behind it, he said. His father owned some land north of here. When the government created the Foss Lake Dam, the land was submerged. Before the dam, there was a creek that ran though this land, Panther Creek. So, Ron thought he would name his winery Panther Creek as a hat-tip to his father. Unfortunately, Ron wasn't the first person to think of that name; there is a Panther Creek Winery in Oregon. He kept the Panther and added Hills which is really more appropriate to the land around the winery.
So, if you'd like to take a nice drive on a Sunday afternoon, take the nice drive out west. Between Cordell on the south and Clinton on the north, this was a great excursion.