Tailing Loop Winery [June 2020]

Hello from Kalispel, Montana!! As I mentioned in last week’s blog, we are visiting my #pilotwife friend Deb, and her family… also known as the Flying Flanagans in the ballooning community!! This was our first year to visit and it has now become an annual tradition. It actually works out pretty great since Shawn and Kevin [Deb’s hubby] are both hot air balloon pilots. They like to hang out and they have a lot to talk about. This pretty much gives Deb and I free reign to do whatever we want!! Haha!!

I believe this was one of our first stops. If memory serves me correctly, we went out somewhere to grab a bite to eat, then we stopped by this place on the way back to our campground. The Flanagans are humoring me since they know about my love for wine and tasting wine!! [true friendship] We stayed at the same campground as Deb and Kevin. It made it easy to hang out and it sits right along the river so it's a beautiful spot!! Deb and I have been known to take our lawn chairs along with a glass [or bottle.. haha] of wine and just sit along the river enjoying our own company!!

Meredith Hanson is the owner and winemaker of Tailing Loop Winery. She held an official ribbon-cutting ceremony when she opened the doors to the public in February of 2018. I love this flamboyant gesture of holding a ceremony with a ribbon-cutting. [It is also totally like something I would do!! Haha!!] The Winery is located in Kalispel, in a well-known building, a local landmark that use to house the Glacier Art Gallery. Meredith has tried to keep the artistic, rustic atmosphere of the gallery in tact, and is keeping a large wall space to be decorated with art by local Montana artists.

Meredith grew up in Harve, MT and went to college in Bozeman. She was studying Pre-med and decided to take a year of to work at a winery in Billings. Well, one year turned into two, and then it turned into three... turns out she loved winemaking more than medical school. LOL!! She ended up going to Denver for some formal training as a sommelier and took classes in winemaking. After settling in Kalispell Montana, it was Meredith’s goal to cater more to the people who lived in the beautiful Flathead Valley year round. This included trying to use local grapes for her wine, even though this could possibly limit her options. The climate in this area can be difficult for growing grapes.

You can [kinda] see from the photo above the regions for grape growing in this area. Meredith wanted her winery to be a “space that nurtures both the body and the spirit.” She says that even though it may not be as much of a “hands on” approach as her former path of medicine would have been, she still feels like she has created a place to help ease your weariness. A much-needed respite from the demands of work and the world, a place to let the stress just slip away with a glass of wine.

Whether it’s a class to learn more about winemaking, wine and food pairings, or discovering the differences between grape varieties, you can find it all at Tailing Loop Winery. Live music, art exhibits, and yoga classes bring people in from all walks of life… coworkers, couples, old friends, and strangers that have become new friends. I did take a bottle of wine with me, [that Deb and I are Vanna White-ing in the first photo.. Haha!!] and I ordered a hand crafted, personalized wooden wine chalice made by a local artist. Deb was more than happy to pick it up for me and bring it back to Phoenix!!

Unfortunately, Tailing Loop Winery closed permanently after their big 2021 New Years Eve Bash. However, they went out with a bang… Casino Royale theme, two live bands, and all the party favors!! After thanking everyone for their support, Meredith stated that the pandemic changed her. Her heart was leading her in another direction, and she had to follow it to the next adventure.

Do I have any Goonies fans out there!? Well then, you won't want to miss next weeks installment as Wine with Wixy journeys to a winery at the beach!! Cannon Beach, Oregon... home to Haystack Rock!!

Cheers to you my wine loving friends, and TTFN!!