Tim Kalb fills the bottles with Simply Chambourcin at his Wenwood Farm Winery as Tim Ley, M.D., on right, uses the automated corker to seal the bottles. Kalb produced the wine from grapes grown by Ley at his Gascony Vineyard using sustainable farming techniques. Ley’s son, Jimmy, partly visible behind his father, packed the bottles and stacked cases. The historic wine will be released on June 6 at the Winery’s annual Heritage Festival. Customers will be limited to two bottles each.

The poster that was used on the wine’s label was created by Ley’s cousin, Jim Buckles of Des Moines, Iowa. The poster which can be seen in the winery’s gift shop is shown behind a bottle of the finished product.

After being told repeatedly that grapes couldn’t be grown in this state without at least fungicides, they found some experts at Penn State who believed it was possible.

Ley and Hohn never doubted. “After all, a hundred years ago, all grapes grown here were grown organically,” Ley notes.

Three years ago, they planted 2,000 vines on four acres on their farm in southern Gasconade County on Highway 19. Thus, Gascony Vineyards was established.

Their son, Jimmy, became their chief vineyard worker, with daughters, Amelia and Anna and high school friends also helping.

Ley then began looking for a winery to produce a wine from his special grapes.

Eventually he found Tom Kalb, the Vintner at Wenwood Farm Winery near Mt. Sterling, to be eager to help make this historic wine. “I saw it as a chance to be on the wave of the future,” Kalb explained.

The two men have formed an exclusive partnership. Both are members of Earth’s Classroom and will donate $1 for each bottle sold that group. Each piece of the process, from vinyard to shelf, has been scrutinized to make sure everything is as earth-friendly as possible. The label is printed in soy ink, the corks are environmentally friendly composite.

Kalb and his wife Laura Neese own Wenwood Farm Winery. Laura’s family has owned the farm since the mid 1800’s.

Kalb usually produces blended wines, meaning he uses more than one type of grape from more than one grower or region.

In making Simply Chambourcin, the dry red wine made from Ley’s organic grapes, Kalb used minimalist techniques. “I didn’t do a lot to this wine,” he says.

Chambourcin is an American hybrid grape developed at Cornell University in the 1960’s.

While harvested from Ley’s vines at a young age, Kalb has pronounced the grapes to be, “of exceptional quality and taste.”

“The resveratrol content of our Simply Chambourcin should be very high. . .and we will measure it and provide that data once the wine is in the bottle,” Ley points out. Resveratrol is what provides the health benefits in red wine.

The wine was bottled last Friday, May 29.  “These results are beyond encouraging. With an increasing yield, evolving techniques, and a better understanding of the Missouri climates effects on organic, I envision ascending quality, increased production, and the realization that Missouri organics are here to stay,” declares Kalb.

From the ton of grapes harvested, around 400 bottles of wine were produced.

The wine will see a limited release on June 6, as part of the annual Heritage Festival at Wenwood Farms Winery.

In addition to gaining fame in the wine industry, Ley got world-wide attention last fall for his work in medical research. Ley’s “real job” is Professor of Medicine at Washington University.

Ley led a team that became the first in the world to sequence a  human cancer genome.

When asked which accomplishment was most exciting, he replied, “They were both huge challenges.”

For more information about Wenwood Farm Winery and a link to Gascony Vineyards web page, visit www.wenwoodfarmwinery.com.