(Wines&Vines) - A small winery in rural northern Arkansas was swept away during a flood Aug. 7, washing away the building, almost all equipment and even its vine trellises, cordons and grapes. All that is left at 500-case Railway Winery are the trunks of the vines.

Named after an abandoned nearby railway, the winery sat on 15.5 acres, half of which was planted to hybrid vines with a bit of Cabernet Franc. This was to be the winery’s first real vintage from its own vines, which were planted in 2009.

Owners Greg and Vicki Schneider have made wine from peach, plum and berries on the property as well as grapes bought from vines growing within 40 miles of their Eureka Springs site.

The damage

The Schneiders had just received three new stainless steel fermentation tanks the week before, and they were destroyed along with their existing tanks. “We were going to increase production 50% this year,” Greg Schneider said.