July 1, 2022
In our camp store we are licensed to sell SD wines and beers. We have 1 cooler for kid-friendly drinks and a second one for adult beverages. Nancy is not a big wine drinker and one of the most popular questions is “How are the wines?” She has been saying that she wanted to go to the winery for a tasting so she could be more educated on what we sell. Today was the day. It just sounded good and we hadn’t been out for a while. The winery is just up the road in Hill City. It’s Prairie Berry Winery and Miner Brewing Company. The best of both worlds for me. They also serve food. We found out once we got there that they are pet friendly and animals are welcome on the patio.
The do reservations for tastings or walk-ins. We had a 2:40 PM reservation at Bar 1. They have 3 bars. Carol was our server. Her and her husband are also work campers and full-timers. Most people that work the winery are work campers. They built a campground for their work campers on the hill behind the tasting rooms. Really cool set-up. I decided to taste also.
After explaining the reason for the tasting, we also got a couple of extra free samples. We tasted about 6 different wines. Nancy trying the ones we sold and I branched out to a few others that we didn’t. Two of the most popular wines are Red Ass and Rosy Ass. Red Ass wine is 90% rhubarb and 10% raspberry. It wasn’t bad but a bit tart for our tastes. Rosy Ass is 90% rhubarb and 10% strawberry. Less tart and good flavor. We both decided that we enjoyed the Gold Digger the best. 100% pear. Yes, Nancy prefers the sweeter wines. I even tried their new Lighten Up Peach which is less alcohol, less sugar. It was okay but I didn’t taste the peach. We also sampled their new wine aritas. Margaritas made with wind instead of tequila. Not bad but not something I would normally order.
We did buy a bottle of Gold Digger. After the wine tasting, we went down the hill to the Miner Brewing Company. We decided to order some food and I got a flight of 6 - 4 ounce beers. My choice. I tried their Mango Cream Ale, Scarlet Red Ale, Watermelon Wheat, Kellerbier, Crispy Blond Lager, and Chokeberry Brown Ale. Of the 6 I preferred the Kellerbier (a German lager) and Blond Lager. I wasn’t motivated to purchase any but they weren’t too bad.
As for the food. It was great to have something to eat while you were consuming alcohol. We ordered a Chef’s Plate and Nancy wanted a Hawaiian Grilled Cheese sandwich. The grilled cheese was smoked ham, gouda cheese, and pineapple. She ate half there and ate the other half for supper. The Chef’s Plate was 3 meats (andouille sausage, salami, and prosciutto) and 3 cheeses (Brie, Goat cheese, and Monteray) as well as assorted vegetables, olives, crackers, bread, nuts, fruit and some very delicious Prairie Berry made jam. Both the winery and brewery are family owned and family run businesses.
After we left Miner’s we stopped at Hill City Harley Davidson. Had to look around. Next month for the 82nd Sturgis Rally, there are several dealers in the area and the Rally is just not in Sturgis. It will be Custer, Wall, Hill City, Deadwood, Keystone, and of course Sturgis and Rapid City. It’s going to be an experience.
After the day we got home and relaxed. About 8:00PM Nancy decided that ice cream sundae was in order to finish the day. Who am I to argue?? I checked Google. Dairy Queen closed at 8. Another place we heard was really good was Horatio’s. They actually make their ice cream on site as well as waffle cones. They closed at 9. So off we went to Horatio’s. Great decision. The sundaes and ice creams are fabulous. We’ll definitely be back.
