The march toward completion of the restoration of the Tidal School building by Thanksgiving
continued. After a full year of planning and architectural work by Olsen-Coffey of Tulsa, work began in earnest at noon on Saturday, June 28, 2003.
The 75-year-old brick building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places,
underwent a complete transformation from schoolhouse to modern winery, while retaining its essential character.
Tidal School’s history mirrors that of our state and that history will be an integral part of each visitor’s experience when visiting the property and winery.
Skilled woodworkers are restored the original hardwood floor in the upper
level (upstairs
photo1) (photo2). This 4,000 sq. ft. area
is now a banquet facility, gift shop, and tasting room.
Where irreparable damage made restoration impossible a new hardwood floor area, with inlays matching the bell tower
was
added (floor
photo). It now includes a large new hand-crafted tasting bar, also with bell tower inlays.
The entire building system infrastructure ha been replaced including all new plumbing, lighting, electrical wiring, heat, air conditioning and ventilation.
The building is handicap-accessible with exterior ramps and interior lifts.
The lower level, which is also 4,000 sq. ft., houses Oklahoma’s largest winery operation. It
includes a laboratory, fully automated bottling line,
white and red wine fermentation tanks, storage tanks and an oak barrel aging
room (downstairs
photo1) (photo
2).
The oak barrel room also includes a tasting bar and a small banquet or meeting area.
Outside the building, two large decks overlook the Cabernet Franc wine grape vineyard that was planted
spring 2003 (vineyard
photos). A truck ramp
was dug on the East side to give access to the lower level of the building, which is 8 feet below ground level.
An external crush pad is also a part of this area. At harvest,
grapes are brought by truck to be de-stemmed and crushed and then pumped into the fermentation tanks in the lower winery
area (tank
photo).
The outside, lawns and gardens are beautifully maintained in order to provide a lush area for outdoor events and activities on the four-acre winery grounds.
Tidal School Winery is open daily for free tasting and tours of the building, grounds and vineyard.
Tidal School Vineyards 2005
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