BUSH— You don’t have to travel far for a vineyard getaway. Wild Bush Farm + Vineyard is bringing a taste of wine country to Louisiana, giving visitors a chance to explore the winemaking process, sample local wines and experience the charm of a vineyard close to home.

The 33-acre property in Bush includes 13 acres dedicated to fruit. Owners Monica Bourgeois and Neil Gernon spent about 15 years making wine in Napa Valley while living in Louisiana before taking on a vineyard of their own.

For Bourgeois, winemaking is a process that requires patience and precision because each harvest brings only one opportunity to work with that year's grapes.

“I mean, wine's so special right? You get like one shot to make wine well.. beer you can mess up a batch you can start a new batch. Wine, you get one chance. You get one set of grapes every year, every chance,” Bourgeois said.

Gernon describes the process as an art, with much of the work done by hand from the vineyard to the finished bottle.

“It’s art to us you know.. when you are hand picking. Everything we do is by hand, it’s very artisanal in that sense.When you are starting out there in the fields, handpicking your grapes, and from there all the way to getting it bottled, and then you get to taste it and it’s just oh my gosh.. it’s just really special,” Gernon said.

The vineyard also incorporates traditional winemaking methods, including foot stomping.

“And we do some old world wine making styles, you know, really getting back to sort of the beginning of when wine was being produced.. we do foot stomping, and things like that,” Bourgeois said.

Wild Bush Farm + Vineyard offers tastings and tours that allow visitors to walk the property, learn about different varieties of vines and see the winery's operations.

The experience gives visitors an opportunity to learn about winemaking without having to travel to established wine regions such as California or Europe.

“You know, we love having people out here to be able to see people who wouldn’t otherwise go to California or Europe to go to a vineyard, they can come over here and really kind of walk the vineyards and see the process and learn about the process of wine making,” Bourgeois said.

During a tour of the winery, visitors can also learn about tools used to monitor wine as it ages. One example is a barrel thief, a device used to draw a sample directly from a barrel.

The tool works much like a straw, allowing winemakers to sample wine before it is ready to be bottled. During the tour, a sample was drawn from a barrel containing wine made from Mourvèdre grapes.

Visitors can enjoy changing wine flights, meaning the selection of wines offered to sample varies between visits. Assorted cheese boards are also available to pair with the wines.

Beyond the tasting room, the vineyard offers a family-friendly atmosphere that combines Louisiana hospitality with the traditional feel of wine country. A hand-painted mural lines the interior walls, adding a personal touch to the space.

That attention to detail extends to the bottles themselves. Gernon draws the wine labels, and the names are inspired by wild song lyrics.

The name Wild Bush is a nod to the vineyard's location in Bush, Louisiana, with a play on the word “wild.”

From the vines to the wine, the property offers visitors a chance to learn the story behind each pour while experiencing a taste of wine country in Louisiana.

For more information about tastings and tours, visitors can look for Wild Bush Farm + Vineyard online.