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HK
Heidi Kaisand
0:00
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Good morning and welcome to create with Heidi. I'm Heidi Kaisand, owner of hen and chicks studio in Conrad, Iowa, and lover of all things creative. Each week here on create with Heidi we like to cover topics that educate and inspire you about how people are being creative. Whether it's quilting, scrapbooking, food, wool, or just hanging out with others who seem to have their creative Mojo grooving in all the right directions. We are excited to share these things with you. Each week, I love to start the program with a quote. And today it is it's a smile. It's a kiss. It's a sip of wine, it's summertime, and that is by Kenny Chesney, and must be, I'm sure a lyric in one of his songs. So today, our guest is Ilene Landy. Good morning, Ilene.
IL
Ilene Lande
0:57
Good morning, Heidi. How are you today?
HK
Heidi Kaisand
0:59
Oh, very well, thank you. Oh, good. Well, you and your husband, john McKnight are the owner of brick arch winery in West Branch, Iowa. And we're so excited to have you join us because, of course, am I still I think at one point you might have, I don't know youunofficially said that I was the largest western Iowa distributor for brick arch winery. With would that be the same?
IL
Ilene Lande
1:28
That is absolutely true. wilting and wind seem to go together really? Well.
HK
Heidi Kaisand
1:33
They do, don't they? Well, why don't you tell us a little bit about brick arch winery? How long have you been in West Branch?
IL
Ilene Lande
1:42
Well, we started the winery with another family in 2004. Then circumstances changed as they do. So we after five years, we moved to West Branch where john and I built a new tasting room with event space on Main Street. And we have been there since obviously, West Branch is the entire downtown is a historic district. And I had started construction in the historic post office. But that unfortunately collapsed during district construction. And
HK
Heidi Kaisand
2:20
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yeah, well. And that was quite an event, wasn't it, Ilene, that that literally this side of the building, wasn't it that just it just literally collapsed on on on itself.
IL
Ilene Lande
2:32
one corner of the brick arch collapsed and slid into the hole that we had just done for the new building. So the entire structure had to be demolished. And then we started over. But the new building looks at exactly the same front image as the old one. So it still fits into the historic district.
HK
Heidi Kaisand
2:53
And that is that is wonderful. And we should say nobody was hurt. During that event. It was you know, nobody was inside. Correct. on that.
IL
Ilene Lande
3:04
We had all gone home and Alas, the only casualty was the Porta Potty out the front.
HK
Heidi Kaisand
3:10
And the thing that can be that can be fixed. And one of the things I thought was very cool. This obviously has nothing to do with with the wine. But one of the things that you did is I'm going to say in that process, you took some of the bricks that were in the original arch and use them inside, correct?
IL
Ilene Lande
3:31
Yes, in our event space, right at the back of the stage, we built an homage to the original building out of those original bricks. And the US post office in Keystone that's at 1907. We use those elements into the backdrop of the stage.
HK
Heidi Kaisand
3:52
And I think that is that is very cool
IL
Ilene Lande
3:55
that people are confused. They think that's the original arch or the original position but it's just the original, some of the original bits that we found in the rubble
HK
Heidi Kaisand
4:05
and be able to recreate something which is perfect to have it as a backdrop backdrop on your stage. And the the so the name the name of your winery, brick arch, obviously stems from the arch the brick arch that was in the building structure originally. Yes. Yes and and I like that on your labels. I always think a good label. May is is a good reason to pick up wine and know that maybe isn't the right the right way to say that but it's got to have a good label on it. And all of your labels have that brick arch literally on on them with other with other things too but but have that art john them?
IL
Ilene Lande
4:52
Yes, we tried to use use the basic image of the brick arch and then the white lines haven't have that arch in green, the red ones have that arch and red. And then the image underneath the arch tells you what particular kind of wine it is.
HK
Heidi Kaisand
5:10
Yes, and that and that is wonderful. Because I always know that one of my favorites is the uncommon red and it has a stallion on it. So I like that. Always. Now I can look real quick and go I that's the one I'm wanting there. So one of the things about your building while we're talking about the building is that it It literally is an event center. So you can you can come in and buy your wine, I mean, in the bottle, but you can also eat there. You can also host an event there. Is that correct?
IL
Ilene Lande
5:46
Absolutely. Yep. And then in the in the wintertime, which is unusual for Iowa wineries, because they're usually more active in the summer. For us. We have music throughout the winter, because we have a lovely venue indoors with floors. So you will see and hear the band from virtually anywhere in the building. And so we have live music to the winter. Sure, which at least which we will again starting in October. Wonderful,
HK
Heidi Kaisand
6:17
I'm sure yes. I'm sure you've had a period of time here during COVID when you weren't able to host those events. But I bet it feels good to be planning those again for the fall.
IL
Ilene Lande
6:29
Yes, there's they're penciled in, literally penciled in for just starting in October through the winter.
HK
Heidi Kaisand
6:34
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That's wonderful. Well, we're gonna take a quick commercial break, and we'll be back right after this. Welcome back to create with Heidi and I have him joined today with our guest Eileen Landy of brick arch winery. And I must admit right now that Eileen Ilene. We sell brick arch winery at hen and chicks studio. And I always have fun telling people about this family winery, even though I don't I don't lift a single finger to help do anything but but drink it, but drink it and buy it so but it's certainly fun to have that I'll say this little claim to fame that in our family that we've got this beautiful winery in our family. So that is my connection, a tiling. So I love that. And Ilene, let's talk a little bit about the wine and the creativity of making it because you You are very integral in that part, correct?
IL
Ilene Lande
7:53
Yes, I am the winemaker.
HK
Heidi Kaisand
7:54
And so tell us a little bit about I mean, did you guys grow up thinking I'm going to be a winemaker? Is that is that where you started? Or, you know, how did you get to where you're at?
IL
Ilene Lande
8:08
accidentally, completely accidentally, I grew up knowing I was going to be a scientist, which I am and I got a PhD in microbiology, immunology. I did basic research, I ran a small biotech company for 25 years. And we got sort of accidentally brought into the wine business with some friends, we had a good mix of talent. And I've learned to love the whole winemaking process. Because it won't make you wind. It's half art to have science. And unfortunately, you got the more the creative side of the family. But
HK
Heidi Kaisand
8:53
I think you're doing just fine. You're doing just fine. But just me I don't have the science part of it. So we know well join forces where we can. But when you're when you're making wine, it really there really is science involved. Because I'm assuming when grapes are grown. They're they're not all grown equally.
IL
Ilene Lande
9:17
Oh yes, it's very much as lots of science, lots of lab work involved. And every, every great variety of every year is different. There's no such thing as a recipe for a wine blend. You take the wine that happens from this vintage and it's usually a blend, say your favorite uncommon red is a blend. You take the grapes and this year I make I do blind tastings blind lens and then I bring in a focus group with my regular customers and staff at the winery. If we take this year's grapes and we defeat which you Is the blend that we're going to use and the sweetness level of if that's relevant for the particular wine. And we try to make it as similar to previous years we can. But it's always an approximation.
HK
Heidi Kaisand
10:16
Sure, it's, it's similar, but might be different.
IL
Ilene Lande
10:19
Always. The vintage is always a little bit different.
HK
Heidi Kaisand
10:22
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Sure. Well, I certainly have been tasting uncommon red for several years now. And I think you're doing just fine. Keeping that one. So you're, you're doing great. And so are all of your, I'm gonna say is your wine kitchen? I don't know what else wine lab? I don't know what you refer to it as? Is that all there on the premises? Or do you have a different facility where you actually are, you know, making those blends?
IL
Ilene Lande
10:51
We have a different facility that we use for production. The downtown West Branch is that space just there isn't enough physical space. We cannot take a semi around the back of our building. And we get bottles when empty wine bottles in on a truck that we have to be able to do that. So about six miles away. In on the edge of Iowa City, we have a larger production area. And that's, that's where my lab is. That's where the wine tanks are stored. And the extra bottled product is stored there. Sure, sure.
HK
Heidi Kaisand
11:32
And so, you know, how did you transition from? I'll say biologist, and you know, in your medical lab to wine, did you? Did you take classes? I seem to recall maybe a trip overseas at some point. I mean, how how did you immerse yourself in the winemaking process to learn more?
IL
Ilene Lande
11:54
Well, when we first started, one of my partners was and had been an amateur winemaker for 20 years. And he he knew he had a great palate and had lots of skills in small scale production that I took classes from University of Missouri and from demek. Commercial winemaking, which was a whole different process. When you're working with hundreds of gallons, instead of 10s of gallons, it makes a big difference. And then yes, I was blessed to be able to go on a winemakers tour to Bordeaux several years ago, and that was just the most magical experience. Just amazing. Yeah,
HK
Heidi Kaisand
12:43
there's there's so much wine, history and knowledge. In Europe. I mean, all over the world, but in and I can recall when I was at Iowa State, My degree is consumer Food Science and one of my senior classes. And I know people find this hard that this to believe that this is my class, but it was it was a five credit class of food and wine. And actually, my instructor was from Marshalltown. And she was fabulous. Fabulous, but because she had traveled to many of the locations, so she'd pull out a bottle of a board, you know, like a bar Joe. And she would have the slides from the trip that she went on the Rhine and the they know where the winery was. And you'd be able to talk about the foods of that region. And it was just an amazing experience. It just brings a whole new life to that. To drinking a glass of wine and understanding, you know where it was made and how it was made.
IL
Ilene Lande
13:49
My daughter was able to take the wine and spirits class that I was stage she said it was the most instructive experience, you really learned a tremendous amount and when she's available. She's one of my best tasters that I use in the focus panel. Sure,
HK
Heidi Kaisand
14:04
I bet I bet because she is a scientist as well. So that is Yep, yep. There's, there's something about understanding that, that process. And when you're, you know, when you're making wine and thinking about wine, you know, like, like, how, you know, what's your goal? What do you get into for your groove? What's your groove? You know, I mean, like, What wouldn't? If you want to say when I'm sewing, and I'm being creative, you know, I might have a good Hallmark movie on and I might have some music playing or I've got, you know, my whatever, you know, what does that look like for a winemaker? How did I mean what is that? Or is it just the fact that you've got bottles and jars and things and and you're working on on that chemistry part of
IL
Ilene Lande
14:48
it? Well, it's all of the fermentation process that happens in the fall when the harvest comes in. batched it's standard for Farming sort of thing. You take care of the you take care of the grapes, you do all the crushing press and manage fermentation, then there's, that's that whole process actually doesn't take very long. And then during the winter, as you say, when I'm alone in the lab testing it involves running across the room climbing a ladder, open tank, open a tank, take a sample of run back, do the lab tests on that. And it is really, it really brings it back to the lab experience that I enjoyed so much before when I was running a biotech company.
HK
Heidi Kaisand
15:41
It's so interesting, because I can I can envision it's not just about it's not just about drinking, I mean, you don't just drink all of it. You're you're testing it and checking I'm sure acidity and all those kinds of things, too.
IL
Ilene Lande
15:53
You have Yes, you have to maintain it. It's it's actively changing in the tanks, and you have to monitor it, to keep it in good shape and see when its flavor is ready to use for blending. Sure.
HK
Heidi Kaisand
16:09
Oh, well what what interesting conversation we're having Eileen, we're gonna take a quick commercial break. We'll be back right after this. Welcome back to create with Heidi, this is Heidi Kaisand. And I'm having a lovely conversation with Eileen Landy from brick arch winery in West Branch, Iowa. And this is the wine that we do sell at Tennant check studio. So if you come in, we don't sell all of the kinds that they that you make. I have of course narrowed it down to my favorites to having in, in the shop, but and what our customers like one of the things I love saying about your wine, at least from my perspective, and I certainly even having taken some college classes in winemaking, I certainly am not any expert or wine judge or anything like that. But I do enjoy a nice glass of wine. But I think all of your wines are very drinkable. And to me that, because I say that because they're not so sweet, that you have to think of it as a dessert. And they're not so extreme the other way dry, or kind of thing are so strong, that it's different. I they've all got different flavors, and they all have I'm gonna say different enjoyment levels of what you're eating with it and all that kind of stuff. But they all are, are pleasant. So I hope that's my compliment to you is that they are just all very nice drinking wines. Thank you. When you're making them, are you thinking about what you would pair them with for food? Because I think that's a, that's a big part of, of wine and understanding wine is how it it goes with what you're eating. And I'm going to use the example of the Uber cherry dessert wine that you've had, that you said you said, you know, get a good piece of chocolate. You know, when you when you have that, and oh my gosh, if you ever like chocolate covered cherries, that was that was just fabulous. It ought to have that. But if I hadn't had that piece of chocolate, I wonder, you know what, what my experience of that wine would have been like? So what is it like? I mean, how do you? How do you think about wine and food together?
IL
Ilene Lande
18:46
We always think about that whenever we're trying to make a new blends, or we're trying to decide how sweet it should be, for example, sometimes we're always thinking about what it would pair with. And on the back of every label. It lists the grapes, the sweetness level, and suggested pairing so that you'd have some clue that charbonnel should go with creamy pasta sauce. Well, I know we're cherry with dark chocolate or cheesecake.
HK
Heidi Kaisand
19:21
Yes. And for all of our mercial town listeners, I think I remember when you were describing, I believe it would be a little red wagon. That would be good with something a little spicier because it's sweeter. Is my saying that correctly? Yes, yes. And so the perfect pairing and I've tried this several times, so I can tell you it's good. The perfect pair of red wagon is with xenos special. And that's a pizza. As you know special xenos Pizza is here in Marshalltown. So I'll give a plug to my favorite pizza place. But the xenos special has a little bit of everything on it has a little sausage on it that's a little spicier. And the little red wagon goes perfectly with with xenos special so always always good to have those the right combinations
IL
Ilene Lande
20:18
and that's the trying to match something that's super hot and spicy with a little sweetness, Chinese food and diverts demeanor, anything that's got some spice to it if he puts a sweet with it and without paying spice we also have a suggested tire swing with spicy barbecue. Oh, yeah, the same reason.
HK
Heidi Kaisand
20:40
Yes, I could see Yes, that would be a very good one. And and then there's again, I'm going to mention my favorite, the uncommon read. I do think that is just a just a really pleasant read. That goes goes well how would you describe that?
IL
Ilene Lande
20:58
Well, uncommon red in my house is the red wine for white meat. So we have that with with chicken, turkey, pork, and ham. It's, it's a dry read, but it's light. weight and body. It has a lot of fruit character to its cherry raspberry flavors, and it goes really well with cranberries that would make a pork dish with apples and cranberries in uncommon great goes really well with that.
HK
Heidi Kaisand
21:26
Oh, yummy. I'm gonna have to try that now. And I'm gonna have to use that description that it's the the white meat red is that red wine for whitebait red, the red wine for white meat. Okay, so that's a new selling point that I'll have for for when people come in. Well, we certainly would love to have people visit hen and chick studio, any time in Conrad so that they can see the bottles that are as beautiful as the wines that are inside of them. And of course, you can stop at hen and chicks to do also to find out about everything you need to know about quilting, and all things creative. We're open Monday through Friday 10 to five and Saturday 10 to three. And I lean we thank you for joining us today and helping us learn more about wine.
IL
Ilene Lande
22:17
Thank you very much it it's been a pleasure. Well, wonderful.
HK
Heidi Kaisand
22:20
And until next week, everybody be creative.