Yes Virginia, There are Wineries in Alaska
I know what you're thinking. The climate is too cold for grapes to be grown in Alaska! Well, that's mostly true. However, try telling that to those in interior Alaska who enjoy summertime temps in the 80s and 90s and sun that shines until after midnight.
But one just needs to step outside of their self imposed mental rule book to find a gem of a find in Homer, Alaska. First of all, Homer is in my opinion one of the prettiest cities in Alaska, so you can't go wrong. But step outside the need for wine to be made from grapes in your mind, and up pops the Bear Creek Winery.
Not only can you spend the night (with hot tub and steam room) at the winery, but you can arrange to have a tour and tasting of one of the most unique wineries you will ever find . . . period.
From the Golden Raspberry to the Blueberry "Mirlot", the wines at Bear Creek take about 30 seconds to get used to (i.e. to remind yourself this isn't grape wine) and then the gates of a whole new wine world swing wide open.
In this video we take you on a behind the scenes tour of the winery with the owner and wine maker himself, Bill Fry. Bill shows us everything from the raw product, to the wart, to the bottling that is still done by hand.
But keep watching after the tasting, because we then take you to the end of the famous Homer Spit to an Alaskan institution: The Lands End Resort and The Chartroom Restaurant. There we dive into the Alaskan Steamer Pot which puts crab, clams, mussels, halibut and other seafoods together with deep fried spinach and sends my taste buds into the stratosphere.
Press play!
Join us next week when we will put winter behind us (I know, seems impossible in Alaska, don't it?) and take on the Great Alaska Summer!
Until we rub noses again!
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