Weather Watchers Reap The Sweet Rewards Of Retirement
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- When it's time to retire, we generally think about slowing down, more down time to relax, but we have a couple of Weather Watchers who did just the opposite.
They started a whole new chapter in their lives when they moved out of the cities and bought 11 acres in Lake City to start a vineyard.
Watching them work, you might think Connie and Michael Witteck have been pruning vines their whole life, but all the hard work is what retirement looks like.
"We're newbies at all of this kind of," Connie Witteck said. "We've had two harvests so far."
So five years ago they found a piece a land on a hill in Lake City, built a home and gathered friends and family to make Bluff Stone Vineyard a reality.
"We said we have to do something we feel passionately about. A vineyard was one of those things that popped into our heads, maybe my head first," Michael Witteck said. "I think some people thought were absolutely certifiable. There was a lot to do but it was also exciting to do."
Always curious about the weather, watching it closely soon became a part of daily life.
"What's most important right now is watching for frost," Michael Witteck said.
Because come rain or shine, or even snow, the couple has work to do.
"I remember we were wearing snow shoes and pulled all the trimmings in a big sled," Connie Witteck said. "It's so relaxing, I kind of feel like it's prayer time almost, like meditating."
Five springs and two harvests later, retirement is starting to taste pretty sweet.
"We like drinking wine, but it's even more special to drink wine from grapes that were grown here," Michael Witteck said.
They grow several different varieties of grapes -- including Sabrevois, Louise Swenson, St. Croix, Somerset, and La Crescent -- most of which are destined for Negret Wine Company in Hudson, Wisconsin.
You can find their grapes in Go Go Red wine at liquor stores across Minnesota.
