about us

Our Mission

Viticulture and Grape Varieties- The cold hardy grape varietals developed by the University of Minnesota are notable in many aspects, but the two biggest are disease resistance and ability to survive to temperatures as cold as -35. Vinifera grapes can’t survive at these temperatures and generally are more disease susceptible. We wanted to push the disease resistance of these cold hardy grapes to see the bare minimum needed. Over the years I saw very little difference in most of the grape varieties without spraying copper sulfate… with proper viticulture. For Us making wine with no chemical intervention is reliant upon vineyard management. Traditionally, hybrid grapes have been grown on a top wire, but my experience has been that this can harbor disease and trigger the need for sprays. With a vertical shoot positioning system, air flow is much better managed and disease is minimal. We will continue to adapt our techniques to this new and exciting location with an eye on no spray viticulture. 

We have planted
Reds
1. Marquette
2. Petite Pearl
3. Crimson Pearl
4. St Croix


Whites
1. Frontenac Blanc
2. Frontenac Gris
3. La Crescent
4. Adalmina
5. Itasca
6. Prairie Star

The wines –  while it’s too early to say what exact wines will be produced, our wines will always be wines of minimal intervention where the work done in the vineyard creates the wines style. Our cool climate produces wines of moderate alcohol with vibrant aromatics and fresh acidity. Our stylistic focus will be on dry, white and red wine as well as sparkling wine. In general, we favor long aging times, low to no oak, and minimal movement of wines to keep sulfur levels as low as possible. How the various varieties fit together into that puzzle is an adventure that awaits.