All Things Minnesota Agriculture
Day 25 of my 30 Days of Ag “All Things Minnesota Agriculture” is a winery. Wild Mountain Winery, to be exact. Wild Mountain Winery is located in Taylors Falls, MN on a 5.7 acre vineyard where they grow cold hardy grapes and make farm winery. They planted the first vines in 1994 and the winery opened in August, 2010. Recently, Minnesota has become a hotbed for wineries and breweries. Now, personally, I am not a wine fan but I would be remiss to ignore this growing industry. And I love to see these farm-based businesses in Minnesota. Not only do they sell wine, but they are also part of agri-tourism. I would encourage you to check them out, visit their website, visit their home-grown business and enjoy a little wine!
Still not sure? Check out these comments left in TripAdvisor about Wild Mountain Winery:
“I say surprise because this is Minnesota wine, but we found out this wine is excellent. They offered a wide variety of wines to taste, music, and wine stomping. Fun stop and great pouring hosts. We enjoyed Mountain Sweet Red and LaCrescent.”
“My girlfriends and I went on a little wine tasting mission around this area of Minnesota – when we arrived at the winery we were immediately greeted with happy smiles and felt very welcome. The place itself is very nice and nicely decorated. They have a pretty good selection of wines and also make hard apple cider — that was really, really good – one of my friends bought a bottle – she got to cork it herself. The wines were very good and you get to keep the glass. If we are in that area again this is a definite “we’ll be back” winery.”
Social Media Sites:
Facebook: Wild Mountain Winery
Where do you sell or provide services to? Who is your end consumer?
“We sell to 14 liquor stores as well as having a wine tasting room to sell wine by the glass to visitors to our winery. We also sell bottles of wine at the winery.”
What makes your farm/business unique or special? What are you proud of?
“Making award winning wine with cold hardy grapes.”
Why do you grow/raise/produce? What went into your decision to do what you do?
“Growing grapes is very interesting and challenging.”
Wild Mountain Vineyard
What is one interesting fact about your farm/crops/livestock/your business you would like to share.
“The process of breeding cold hardy grapes from the indigenous Vitis Riparia Grape especially by Elmer Swenson.”
What do you love most about farming/business?
It is always amazing to see the results of different growing techniques from year to year and how they affect the resulting quality of the grapes, and ultimately the quality of the wine.
What is one thing you wish consumers knew about what you do or your farm/business?
“99% of all wine is made from Vitis Vinifera L. subsp. Vinifera while our wine is made from Vitis L. subsp Riparia which is a wild grape indigenous to the northern tier of the US and Canada, and wins Double Gold awards when competing with the Vinifera grapes.”
What is one interesting thing no one probably knows about your farm/business/product that you would like to share?
“Grape growing and wine making dates back to the Paleolithic period.”
Who are your customers? Do you sell direct to consumers? If not, where do you sell your crops/livestock/services?
“We sell wine at our winery to persons who come to taste and buy as well as to a limited number of Liquor Stores within a 50 mile radius of our winery.”
What makes Minnesota the place to farm/grow/raise/produce/provide a service?
“A good growing climate as well as an excellent business climate.”
Picking Grapes
What is one thing about Minnesota that people from other areas do not know about or are missing because they don’t live here?
“The changing seasons.”
What is your favorite Minnesota location or a fun thing to do in Minnesota?
“Fishing and camping.”
What is one ag related place in Minnesota that others need to know about. What is one non-ag related place in Minnesota that others need to know about and why?
“The emerging grape/fruit growing and winery industry in virtually all areas of Minnesota. The many scenic and historic areas.”
What makes Minnesota unique?
“The diversity of its people, history, industry, landscapes, education, recreational variety, and opportunities to live a healthy productive life.”
Is there anything else you would like to add?
“I have lived in California’s west coast, Georgia, and Florida and would not like to live anywhere else than Minnesota.”
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