Lexington, KY - The farming landscape throughout the state has changed over the past few years - and in some cases, changed drastically.
The number of tobacco farms has dwindled to a relative handful compared to what it once was, and the horse industry has seen a marked decrease in cash receipts since 2008.
Those two signature sectors of Kentucky's agriculture industry have given way to a very diverse network of farms growing a variety of crops, including grapes for an ever-increasing number of vineyards.
Kentucky is actually credited with being the birthplace of the country's commercial wine industry, beginning in 1798 in Jessamine County. It was Prohibition that brought an end to the wine industry here in the 1920s, as tobacco took over as king of the crops.
Times have changed again, however, and the state is now home to more than 113 grape growers and 60 small farm wineries, according to the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. Grimes Mill Winery, located in Fayette County, is one of those farm wineries that has made the transition from traditional crops to a variety of grapes for a variety of wines, including a recent award-winning Bianca. Philip and Lois DeSimone are the proprietors of the business and have seen their farm move from a horse and tobacco farm to a vineyard and winery.
"I sent my kids through college on this tobacco farm. One year, I grew 40,000 pounds," Philip DeSimone said. "I loved tending the land, and this has been the joy of my life."
The year he grew so much tobacco prompted DeSimone to build a "big black barn," which is significant in that the barn now houses his winery cellar.
Being a self-described Italian boy from New York, DeSimone was not raised on a farm, so he is unusual in that respect, coming to Kentucky and beginning a career growing tobacco at a time when tobacco production was at a peak. But it was the cash crop of the day. So, when he was in his 40s, with the help of a professor friend from Eastern Kentucky University who taught him how to raise the crop, DeSimone became a tobacco farmer.
Something else a little unusual about DeSimone is his first career. Having another job in itself is not all that unheard of for farmers, but he is a physician - an oncologist who has worked at the University of Kentucky's Chandler Medical Center for 40 years.
Having two demanding careers might seem a bit much for some people, but DeSimone laughs about needing his first career to pay for his second.
Tobacco ended for him when the buyout legislation passed, ending a 10-year career with it, but his desire to farm continued, and DeSimone set out to find something new.
This time he drew from his Italian roots, having seen his grandfather make wine in the basement of his Brooklyn home. It was that memory that inspired the family to make wine as he did and grow their own grapes.
The first vines were planted in 2003 and proved to be even more demanding than tobacco.
"Grapes are worse. With tobacco, the labor is at certain times, then it's over. With grapes, you're doing something all the time," DeSimone said.
But perseverance seems to have paid off. The winery produced about 2,200 bottles this year. In describing the process, DeSimone said almost none of it is automated, so bottling day becomes somewhat monotonous for his help. So in true Italian style, he serves a big Tuscan lunch, complete with glasses of the wine they have just bottled.
"It makes them feel good," he said.
DeSimone has operated his vineyard much the same way he did tobacco, enlisting the help of someone who knew the business and learning all he could from him. In this case, it was Tom Cottrell, a UK extension specialist for enology.
He has also developed a network of vineyard friends who have been helpful as well.
DeSimone said he never thought he would do all the things he has done, but one conversation with him and the passion he possesses for each is obvious.
"I never thought I would even be a doctor, much less anything else. I have been very lucky in my life," he said.
Strangely enough, DeSimone said the best thing that ever happened to him was serving in Vietnam. While there, he served as a flight surgeon.
"I learned a lot in Vietnam. The army taught me to do more than one thing at one time, so I learned to do three or four things at the same time and was able to do it successfully," he said. "After that, I was able to have a dream and make it happen."
Laughing again, DeSimone said he works to relax from making wine.
"It's enjoyable, but there's a lot of work involved," he said. "But it's a lot of fun."
DeSimone draws on his love of family to help make it fun. His two sons and their wives and their friends all pitch in at bottling time. That family atmosphere is something he notes many times on the business' website, which explains all about the winery.
To learn more, go to www.grimesmillwinery.com, or visit the winery at 6707 Grimes Mill Road in Fayette County, off old Richmond Road.