WHEN VISITING A WINERY, it’s as much about the setting and experience as about the wine.
Rows of grape vines grow alongside the barn at Next Chapter Winery, 16945 320th Street, rural New Prague.
On Sunday, my husband and I discovered yet another delightful southern Minnesota winery, Next Chapter Winery, just southwest of New Prague.
This inviting canopied gravel driveway leads wine lovers to Next Chapter Winery. The house is a private residence, not the tasting room as I initially thought.
Randy parked our car to the right out of this photo, next to the house. There’s plenty of parking behind the shed and barn.
The barn quilt adds an artistic touch to the vintage barn.
Even the barn doors hold rustic charm.
From the time we turned onto the rural tree-lined driveway that tunnels toward a lovely home in a subtle buttery hue, parked our car in the shade of the yard near an aged red barn adorned with a barn quilt and entered the pole shed style winery, I felt comfortably at home. It was as if I had arrived at the farm of a favorite aunt and uncle for a Sunday summer afternoon visit. And wine.
A sign directs visitors to the tasting room.
The tasting room.
Love the ambiance the chandeliers create in the tasting room.
Inside a rather non-descript white metal shed, where chandeliers add unexpected elegance and stacked wooden wine barrels line walls, Randy and I settled in at the bar to sample eight wines ranging from a fruity/black cherry Merlot to the semi-sweet white Muzungu to the refreshing fruity MN Blushing Bride to the winery’s specialty Cranberry Burst, sweet and tart with a burst of fizz and crafted from Wisconsin cranberries.
Sampling Next Chapter wine.
For $6 you can sample six of eight wines. The fee is waived with each bottle purchased. We shared two of the wines so we could each try all eight.
The wine is aged only in wooden barrels.
There wasn’t a single wine on the sampling list that I didn’t enjoy. That’s unusual since I typically find at least a wine or two I don’t like upon tasting at a winery. Maybe it’s the time-honored, authentic aging of wine in wooden barrels (no plastic used here) or the land or the grapes or the crafters or even the comfortableness of this place that resulted in my appreciating every wine.
The grapes are still small and growing.
The attentive and friendly service of Laura, who poured the wines and also offered a brief history of Next Chapter, certainly added to a truly wonderful personalized experience. The winery, she said, is the dream of Timothy and Therese Tulloch, who met in the early 1980s when Therese served with the Peace Corps in the Congo and met Timothy, a native of South Africa. They fell in love, became engaged and planned then to someday own a vineyard.
Rows of grape vines stretch along the property.
Last July, Next Chapter Winery, with eight varieties of grapes growing on 3,700 vines on six acres, opened to the public.
Musicians perform Sunday afternoons in the tasting room.
A piano inside the reception tent.
To the left of the barn is a tasting tent.
But this winery is about more than just the wine. It’s about a sense of place, an embracing of rural Minnesota, of creating an experience, of celebrating life and good wine and special occasions and summer Sunday afternoons. Couples can marry here. From 3 p.m. – 5 p.m. Sundays, musicians perform. Tours are offered from noon to 1 p.m. Saturdays. On Wednesday evenings you can paint and sip wine. In the winter, you can catch the occasional theatrical performance.
Across the pond is the tasting room deck. To the left is the tent permanently set up during the warm months for wedding and other celebrations.
For couples like us, Next Chapter offers a brief respite, a place to snug up to the bar for some great Minnesota wines while chatting with new friends, Gary and Cindy from Prior Lake. Or, if we had been so inclined, we could have kicked back in Adirondack chairs or sipped wine on the deck overlooking a small pond spraying a fountain of water.
At home with a bottle of Cranberry Burst.
While Randy purchased bottles of Muzungu and Cranberry Burst, I headed outdoors with my camera, following the rows of grapes, stopping to photograph, extraordinarily pleased that we found this lovely rural Minnesota winery between New Prague and Montgomery.
Our second purchase, Muzungu, Swahili for “white guy.”
FYI: Wine tasting hours are from 1 p.m. – 7 p.m. Wednesday – Sunday. Be aware that, on weekends, the winery may host the occasional wedding and thus be closed to the public. I’d advise calling ahead at 612.756.3012 if you are driving from a distance. Click here to reach the Next Chapter Wintery website.
© Copyright 2015 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
I recall long ago, reading an article about a crazy guy in Hastings who had nurtured a variety of wine grapes, tough enough to survive Minnesota winters. Who would have thought?
Exactly. And look at all the Minnesota wineries now.
Your son and his business partner at Loon Liquors are on the cutting edge of craft distilleries in Minnesota, especially now with their cocktail bar opening in Northfield: http://loonliquors.com/
Mark thanks you for the plug. 🙂
Always happy to let my readers know about creative new businesses. Eventually I hope to connect w/ Mark/Loon Liquors.
I canNOT leave w/o saying a big “Thank you” for another ‘jewel’ of a post. You are my “window” into all those hidden treasures nestled in our gorgeous countryside! Such a beautiful place….love the barn quilt (I really do have to get busy on ours!!!! sigh…………). Our little wine cellar pales in comparison!
I delight in finding places like Next Chapter and sharing my discoveries with readers.
Will have to check this one out. I haven’t found winery that I didn’t enjoy yet 🙂
Glad to tip you off to Next Chapter.
What a nice afternoon that was for you. I have found that most of the Iowa wines are a little sweet for my liking but maybe these would be more pleasing to my palate. The grounds look so serene and the addition of musical guests makes it a perfect afternoon away. Thanks for sharing.
Our afternoon escape to Next Chapter was much-needed and greatly enjoyed. You would definitely find wines on the list here that are “not too sweet.”
What a lovely place!! Once again your photojournalism shines like a bright diamond! I love these great barn “quilts” that are very visible from a distance. I see them in Nebraska a lot when we go back to visit family. I’m not sure when they became popular, but I love the splash of color and design on a beautiful weathered structure in the agricultural community!
Thank you and I totally agree with you about the barn quilts. They are big in Iowa also and parts of southern Minnesota.
Your photo’s are lovely Audrey, you have made this very alluring to me. I have never been to a winery. If I did I would have to go with girl friends as Rick can not stand the taste of any kind of alcohol. He has really tried and for that I give him credit for being a good sport! The surrounding alone are enough for me to want to go.
Oh, Jackie, you would love the setting of Next Chapter. Rick could drink a non-alcoholic beverage.
I’ve never been much of a drinker of any type of alcohol but I thought that cranberry wine sounded good. We will have to do some traveling and wine tasting when our kids are older. It looked like a great place to sit and relax at.
Yes, the Cranberry Burst wine is exceptional. We never did these types of things when the kids were at home either. Your time will come. Enjoy your beautiful children while they are still at home.
Well, now I know where I’m going to encourage Mick to go on a Sunday afternoon sometime later this summer! That looks like a great place. We drink a lot of wine at our house but I am terrible at remembering a lot of labels.
This would be a great little trip for you into the country from Roseville.
I so agree that visiting a winery is so much more than just looking at bottles of wine. I find that wineries are always in the most serene and picturesque settings. I love the look of the gorgeous tasting room. I bet you found the visit very therapeutic xx
Next Chapter was a wonderful place to relax on a Sunday afternoon.
a new winery recently opened out our way, in Round Lake. I was assigned to do a story on it for a bridal insert for the paper – it was the most fun I ever had in an interview! It’s a lovely spot. I’m not really a wine person, but I think I could be converted at least to a winery person!
Well, if we ever make it back to your area, we’ll have to check out that winery. Thanks for the tip.
Great lead on what looks to be a very beautiful place, thanks again!
Yes, Next Chapter is a lovely winery with wonderful folks.