KJ Howe, Patty Peters, Chad Evans, Mike Schoenbaechler, the team at Grape Expectations.
Grape Expectations
SOME OF THE BEST WINES COME FROM THE DESERT
BY JOAN S. PECK
When my friend Richard told me that he belonged to a wine group, I smiled indulgently and thought, How nice! He continued, saying they would soon be pressing the grapes and might I be interested in seeing this? I thought, sure, why not? I joined him and the others in his friendly, fun-loving wine group, not knowing what to expect. I was so glad that I did. I can’t begin to express what it was like to step into a massive vaulted room and see all the different barrels of wine in various stages of fermenting lined up against the wall. And the smell—earthy and intoxicating!
That experience opened a whole new world for me—winemaking. And, let’s be honest, who hasn’t thought about making their own wine at some point in their lives—especially after seeing some of the most romantic movies filmed in Italy?
So, where to begin? … perhaps, the nuts and bolts of this fantastic enterprise.
Where is this gem of a place?
Grape Expectations – Nevada School of Winemaking – is located in Henderson, Nevada. It opened its doors to the public in 2007 and is a nine-month experience. People can come and make a barrel of wine themselves or with friends/family or join groups making wine. Anywhere from 1 to 20 people can make a single barrel of wine (no more than 20 people per barrel allowed). The 2022 cost per barrel is up to $5000 (depending on the grapes), which equals $250 per case or $20.86 per bottle, making the whole experience affordable. People also can join a Social Barrel to make one or more cases of wine for $275 per case.
Grape Expectations’ winemaking business is based on two harvest seasons: fall and spring.
The fall harvest is with California grapes, and the varietals provide an endless choice of grapes.
The spring harvest is with Chilean or South African grapes. The Chilean varietals include Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, Carmenere, and Syrah. The South African varietals include Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah from the Coastal Region, Stellenbosch District.
How did Grape Expectations get started? Who is responsible for bringing winemaking to Nevada?
“Charlie Peters, a registered sommelier, studied the winemaking process for two decades. During a trip to his hometown in New Jersey in 2000, he visited a well-established winemaking school operated by Lou Sodano. He decided Lou’s winemaking concept would be a perfect business model for the Las Vegas community. In 2005 Grape Expectations was born, and in 2007, it opened to the public with 70 barrels produced that year.
Over time and through word-of-mouth, the school outgrew its modest home, and on September 1, 2012, they moved to a much larger 11,000 square foot facility. Eight days later, Charlie died unexpectedly.
Patty Peters first moved to Las Vegas in 1981, and she never imagined she’d be part owner of a winery and winemaking school someday. Her life was on a different trajectory that included a career with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
With Charlie’s untimely death in 2012, Charlie’s wife, Patty, reached out to their friend and co-worker, Mike Schoenbaechler (now part-owner), in an effort to keep this unique experience alive and to help it become what it is today—the only winemaking school of its kind in the State of Nevada.”
Mike Schoenbaechler was a long-time friend of Charlie’s and made it a point to volunteer his time and energy to help out at Grape Expectations. After a full day of work, Mike would be at the winery helping Charlie with the day-to-day duties of winemaking while performing the back-breaking work of mopping floors, cleaning equipment, and assisting the many winemakers who frequented the facility. Before Charlie’s death in 2012, he asked Mike to join the staff of Grape Expectations.
Today, Mike says, “It’s a great place to socialize and participate in the fun, unique activity of winemaking.” He wants everyone to know, “We’re here! And we have so much more to offer.”
In 2008, KJ Howe made his first barrel of wine during the second year the winery was open to the public, and he became hooked with it all! KJ has been involved with Grape Expectations ever since. Once his place of work (the Port Tack) was sold, he was on board full-time as the “Professor of Yeastology,” teaching about the winemaking industry.
KJ says, “Grape Expectations is an authentic “hands-on” winemaking experience because everyone does the work and nothing is automated. Other winemaking schools around the country don’t offer that experience.”
In 2013, they added Chad Evans to the Grape Expectations roster to help make Grape Expectations the only winemaking facility of its kind in the State of Nevada and a destination location for anyone wanting to learn the art of winemaking.
“If a great winemaker were a cocktail, the recipe might look something like this: three parts meticulous, two parts expressive, one part maniacal. Combine all ingredients, strain into a busy cellar, and garnish with a good pair of boots.” Few industries depend so heavily on a single stretch of the year, just a handful of weeks in length,” Patty says.
So, what are the four stages for producing your handcrafted premium wine?
Sorting Grapes
Stage 1 – “Crush’n It”
What happens during that critical stretch between harvest and pouring the wine into barrels? “It all begins when the first truckload of grapes arrives at the winery. It’s a mix of artistry, science, manual labor, and experience–to the tune of 18-hour workdays and a lot of caffeine,” says Patty.
The best wines are the result of the best fruit. Twenty-one crates of grape varietals are staged for each winemaking group in preparation for crushing. An incredibly effective machine aptly named the “De-stemmer” does the work, using centrifugal force generated by a rotating cylinder to separate the grapes and stems. Everything but the stems is pumped into a fermentation tub.
After crushing, winemakers participate in the fermentation class with KJ Howe, adding yeast and nutrients. Fermentation is the most sensory. As the fruit converts sugars to alcohol, there are endless opportunities to see, smell, taste, and feel the beginnings of a young wine. Fermentation will run for approximately one week. When all the sugars have successfully converted to alcohol, it’s time to press.
Cake left after crushing the grapes.
Stage 2 – “Pressed for Wine”
One week after The Crush, it’s time to liberate your young wine from the fermentation tub into its new home, a 53-gallon American oak barrel, once the wine has achieved dryness (when all the sugars have successfully converted to alcohol).
The process of pressing utilizes a traditional hydraulic wine press. At this point, you have wine—it will look like wine and get you drunk like wine—but it will not taste much like wine because it’s just seven days old.
Stage 3 – “Nice Rack”
Racking happens approximately four months after pressing and, simply put, means moving the wine from vessel to vessel. Wine is pumped from the oak barrel into a stainless-steel tank. The sediment at the bottom of the barrel (the lees – spent yeast cells and other solids) is removed, and the barrel is rinsed clean.
Then the wine is put to bed by pumping it back into the clean barrel emitting aromatic odors as it connects to the barrel. The barrel is filled to the brim to prevent oxidation, a bung is applied to seal it, and it is put back in storage.
Here, you can taste test what the wine will be like when it fully grows up. This is also a time to sigh in relief that the wine has graduated and is now off on its own.
Stage 4 – “Put a Cork in it!”
Woohoo! Approximately four months after racking, it is time for bottling and labeling. It is your ‘Wine Graduation Day,’ and the day your wine bottles leave Grape Expectations to be enjoyed by you.
With the aid of a gravity filler, you will load the wine into sterilized bottles, cork the bottles with a manual press and, finally, shrink wrap a decorative protective capsule on the neck of your 240 bottles of joy. You can now enjoy the fruits of your labor. The work may be over, but not the fantastic memories of making your own wine!
Please note: Any wine produced at Grape Expectations is considered “home-made” and can’t be sold.
So What’s Next? The Neighborhood Tasting Room & Wine Lounge!
Vegas Valley Winery, the first bonded winery in Clark County, opened on December 8, 2017, with a grand opening on January 20, 2018. Vegas Valley Winery’s tasting room and wine lounge is the evolution of their sister business, Grape Expectations. You can “experience our wine—one tasting or one glass at a time.”
Both Vegas Vallery Winery and Grape Expectations’ Nevada School of Winemaking are part of the Henderson Booze District … affording customers the unique opportunity of experiencing “all things wine, beer, and spirits” in one centralized location.
Vegas Valley Winery is a place where you can come to enjoy wines and hard cider crafted locally. It is where customers have the opportunity to purchase wine by the glass and/or bottle and hard cider by the glass and/or growler.
The intimate atmosphere of the Tasting Bar and Wine Lounge makes for a unique and memorable date night destination, social meeting spot, and even your next book club meeting or card club. It’s a great place to “change-up” from the more boring venues for meeting your friends and business contacts, adding new excitement into whatever you’re doing.
There’s More? Yup!…
Many regular events held at Vegas Valley Winery include:
- Wine Wednesday where customers can purchase glasses of white and Rose’ wines ($7), red wines ($8), and small pizzas ($5) from 4 – 9 p.m.
- Food Truck Fridays 5 – 9 p.m.
- Live Music every Friday and Saturday from 7 – 9 p.m.
Other events include:
- Yoga and Wine
- Essential Oil Meet Ups
- Impromptu Speakeasy’s
- Meditation and Wine
- Sip & Shop Events
- Comedy and Wine
- Appy Hour Wine Paring
- Cork n Craft and Wine
- Painting and Wine
Coming soon, Vegas Valley Winery will launch their Wine Club, where Members will enjoy many benefits in addition to wine shipments and pickup parties. Members will receive special discounts in the Tasting Room all year long, exclusive wine club events, etc.
Since joining The Killer Wine Group, I have had so much fun making “killer wines!” Richard Stearns designed our logo, and we even got to create our own wine label.
I can’t begin to express how delightful it is to visit Grape Expectations, sip their outstanding wine, and be in an atmosphere that takes you far, far, away into the “old world” comfort of simple living and tasting. Patty Peters, Mike Schoenbaechler, KJ Howe, and Chad Evans make up an unusually copasetic group with their upbeat, easy-going energy on display.
Grape Expectations and all it offers is truly one of Nevada’s most incredible hidden gems. Come and experience for yourself that some of the best wines do indeed come from the desert!
Find them online at:
www.vegasvalleywinery.com
