Beautiful quiet place to spend the morning at Landry Vineyards

We have had many types of campsites on our trips–and many more to come–RV resorts, parks, casino parking lots, state parks, backcountry dry-camping, national forests, etc.  We had a unique camping experience at Landry Vineyards in W. Monroe, Louisiana, courtesy of an organization called Harvest Hosts.  Kevin and I paid $44 for a year’s membership to the organization.

Harvest Host’s host-members –vintners, brewers, farmers, museums, etc.–invite self-contained RV owners to visit their vineyards, farms, orchards, museums, etc. to stay free of charge for 24 hours.

Morning view from our window at Landry Vineyards

Most, if not all, Harvest Hosts have a tasting room or a farm market or some other business.  There is no requirement that you purchase from them, but it is good form to buy something from your host in return for their hospitality.

Many Harvest Host members bemoan the fact that their lack of self-control makes the Harvest Host membership less economical than they had hoped, as they spend more money at the hosts’ businesses than they would have on a campsite for the night.  Since Kevin and I visited a winery as our first Harvest Host stay, we understand that, but we’re more than happy with the trade-off!

Libby Landry helped us with a tasting of their wines

There is a code of conduct and general rules you are expected to observe as a Harvest Host member. Among them, your rig must be self-contained which means that it must have built-in holding tanks.  You are expected to arrive during the hosts’ business hours, be a considerate guest, and stay only one night unless the host invites you to stay longer.

Our stay at Landry Vineyards was peaceful and we appreciated Libby’s hospitality.  Since we arrived after dark, we parked along the road next to the vineyards.  We had the option of driving through an opening in the fence to camp on the hill closer to the vineyard but chose the safer, more level site since it was dark.  We awoke to a beautiful view and the sounds of the breeze and leaves falling from the trees.

Bottles and Corks at Landry Vineyards

We enjoyed our coffee and breakfast in this peaceful setting on a cool morning and then went up to the tasting room and gift shop, where Libby Landry, a life-long Louisianan, helped us with a tasting of their wines.  We learned a lot about Louisiana wines and some varieties of grapes we were not familiar with.

They have wine jellies made from many of their wines!

We tried almost all of their wines!  Many are sweet and, although we prefer dry wines, we enjoyed the sweet wines! (I won’t tell you how many bottles we bought!)  The tasting room also has a gift shop, where many local items are sold, as well as jellies made from their own wines.

Their wines had some cute names, like a Meritage called “Bayoutage Red” and a red mix called “Redneck Red.”  “Sweet Dixie” is named after the family’s Labrador Retriever.

Tasting Room and Gift Shop decked out for Christmas

Our first Harvest Host experience was thoroughly enjoyable.  The Harvest Host website has a map of locations, but details are only available to members.  (So please don’t go calling the Landry Vineyards to ask if you can spend the night until after you join Harvest Hosts!)   We look forward to stopping again at a Harvest Host site.  Many are somewhat off the beaten path and require a bit of a detour.  We have not had many along our path through Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana.  There are more in central Texas, but we have been staying longer than 24 hours in most places so we haven’t stopped at another Harvest Host yet.  We have no doubt we will be visiting more!

If you have a self-contained RV and would like to join Harvest Hosts, tell them Kevin & Kate sent you and give them our member number: #15045.  You and we will each get a free month of membership!  Also, if you know of a place that would make a great Harvest Host stop, let us or Harvest Hosts know and they will contact them to invite them to participate. They ask that members do not approach potential hosts directly.

We think Harvest Hosts is a very cool way to see places that we otherwise would not have seen. We love to visit wineries and breweries, and I am looking forward to finding some goat and alpaca farms also!

Blessings!