vineyards

All four vineyards have very different personalities drawn by their soils, microclimates and the varieties growing there: clay, limestone, schist, loam. Hot days, cool nights. Lake or mountain breezes. We have planted a selection of red and white cold-hardy vines that suit our terrain: La Crescent, Marquette, Frontenac Gris, Frontenac Blanc, and Frontenac Noir, as well as Brianna and St. Croix. In the homefarm vineyard we have a bit of Riesling and Blaufrankisch as well. Each of these varieties tells the stories of the season and turn into sparkling and still wines steeped in an alpine spirit.

We are a practicing biodynamic farm focused on regenerative agriculture. The word practicing is not used lightly here as it takes a lifetime to learn and understand a plot of land and the plants that grow there. Good farming takes time, and it takes awhile to strengthen roots and resistance to pathogens and pests who have no local predators. While our vineyards are not certified, our ground level philosophy centers on classic naturalistic farming practices building on the health of the soil and the vines’ relationship to the landscape and environment. We use composts, cover crops, and plant teas in addition to minerals to help manage the balance of the ecology in each of the vineyards, responding to the needs of each parcel, each vineyard creating its own world. And while our approach is naturalistic, our vineyards are a bit Fauvist in nature, a bit wild with a variety of native flowers, bees, and fauna.