The South family established Strawbale Winery on their acreage in 2006. The building is constructed of compacted straw, straw bales, and wire covered with stucco. The building is a prairie-style wine cellar.
I enjoyed my tour of the Strawbale Winery. Their wines are produced, fermented, and blended on-site. They grow some of their fruit and buy the others from local markets. Their winery sits on a pleasant and relaxing acreage. I enjoyed patting their outdoor cats and looking at their chickens. I like that they have re-purposed items they use at their winery. They have a blackboard that they use as their countertop. Their wine is stored in giant plastic vats until it is ready to be bottled and corked. I found their winery to be very clean and efficient.
My friends and I tasted a variety of wines. Don, the winery owner, poured out the samples for us. I like white wines. I want wine that is sweet and very mild. I enjoyed their semi-sweet Plum, Apple Raspberry, and Apple Rhubarb wine. I also liked their sweet Burning Bog, a cranberry and jalapeno wines blend, and Pear wine. They have Dry, Semi-Sweet, Sweet, and Fortified ( 18% alcohol ) wines. I found their wine prices very reasonable in today’s wine market. I bought a bottle of their Strawberry Rhubarb Semi-Sweet wine.
Strawbale Winery has a lot of fun and exciting activities you can attend throughout the year. They have a Harvest Festival, Folk Off, Sangria Sundays, Strawbale Summer Porch, and Series. In December, they offer Twilight Flights. You will start with food and wine. Then a helicopter flight from the winery to downtown Sioux Falls to view the lights of the city and Falls Park Winter Wonderland. Return to the winery for desserts and dessert wines.
I truly enjoyed my visit to Strawbale Winery. The winery is a fun place to relax and unwind with a nice glass of wine.
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