Inland Ocean Vineyards & Winery

Inland Ocean Vineyards & Winery is a winery in Hutchinson, Kansas. The vineyard was planted in April of 2018 and now holds 1,400 vines across two acres, a crop that yielded 12,000 pounds of grapes and roughly 3,400 bottles of wine. Visitors can schedule a tasting. The winery grows cold-hardy grape varietals rather than the traditional grapes of Kansas, a choice that carries through to the wines made from them.

The site's soil is central to how the vineyard describes itself. An inland ocean that covered the area millions of years ago left sand hundreds of feet deep, and the slow growth and decay of plant life over that time produced soil that is poor for most crops but well suited to grapes, the idea behind the vineyard's slogan about millions of years in the making.

The work behind each vintage is laid out in detail. Planting the vines and their support structures was a large undertaking on its own, followed by shaping and taping plants that start about three inches tall as they are trained to the trellis. Each year the vines are pruned back, with around 2,000 pounds of old vine removed and mulched into the soil, a task that takes roughly 200 hours and 50,000 pruning cuts and must be done in the cold of January and February. Shoot thinning in May adds about 40 hours, and micronutrient spraying is done twice a year based on lab results, alongside any needed fungus control. As grapes ripen in July, nets are placed to keep birds off the fruit and taken down in the fall. Harvest, when there is one, involves picking, hauling, destemming, crushing, and pressing within 6 to 9 days to keep the fruit cool, with help from friends, neighbors, and family. The grapes then go to the lab to be made into wine.

The winery sits on E 43rd Ave, about half a mile from Prairie Dunes, under a mile from Sand Hills State Park Campground, and roughly a mile from Sand Hills State Park. Prairie Hills Middle School is about 1.3 miles away, Hutchinson Fire Department Station 7 about 1.6 miles, and the Ken Kennedy Freeway about 1.7 miles.

Inland Ocean Vineyards & Winery holds a rating of 5.00 from 4,522 reviews, reflecting a strong local reputation and an established track record built on a large base of customer feedback.