Straight from the Finishing Tank

May 10th
Stop #2: Glacial Till Vineyard

Glacial Till Vineyard in Palmyra, NE

Having been thwarted by closed signs at two vineyards the day before, Katherine and I decided to strike out on our tour again. Our first stop of the day was near Palmyra. My trusty GPS got us most of the way there, but even though it wasn't exactly accurate, we could at least see our destination from where it left off. Glacial Till was a modest establishment, and we found ourselves in the position of not knowing which door to use. After circling the building, someone luckily stuck his head out of a door and directed us to the right one. The right door, which was the middle one, had a welcome mat in front of it. How did we manage to miss that? A different young man greeted us, along with his black and white dog, Zephyr.

The dog smiled at us.

Glacial Till, unlike most other vineyards, includes a tour of their facilities with their tasting. We got to explore the holding tanks, and see the different machinery used to make the wines. Our guide Tim, one of the owners' sons, explained the different phases and equipment used in their wine making process. We happened to drop in on a bottling day, and watched as the workers, who consisted of family and friends, bottled, labeled, and corked the wine. After we had moved on to another room, we heard a bottle break, along with the chorus of groaning and joking that followed. Tim let us sample four different kinds of wine straight out of the finishing tanks.

After our amazing taste of our first "fresh" wine experience, Tim led us up a narrow, winding staircase to the top of the building. From there, we could see acres of grapes under a blue, cloudless sky. Zephyr joined us as we sampled a few of the wines. Tim chatted with us and graciously answered all of our questions as we were savoring his family's wines. He told us about a few upcoming events Glacial Till was hosting, and encouraged us on our wine tour.

Artsy, I know.

Although I'm only an amateur wine connoisseur, I was very impressed with Glacial Till's wines. There wasn't a single one that I didn't like. When Katherine and I had finished our tasting, we each picked our favorite and enjoyed a full glass and our surreal surroundings before descending back below with a promise to return.


Favorites: Edelweiss and Frontenac Rose

Glacial Till's Website