All ready for winter!

November 14, 2011
 
All the grapes, with the exception of the Ice Wine grapes, have been harvested and the juice is in cold storage until after the first of the year when it will be delivered to the winery.  But, we did start a small batch of Petite Pearl. This will be a very limited red wine and is from some of our early plantings in 2005 and 2007.  In 2008 we planted 75 cuttings and next year I will start training them on a new trellis system.  Petite Pearl was first planted in 2005 as an experiment for plant breeder Tom Plocher from Hugo, Minnesota.  At that time it was a numbered variety and later named when it survived our cold winters and made a good wine.

Our crop was very short this year because of the hail storm on July 18th, but we will still have some new wines for sale in 2013 or 2014. We still have a small supply left of a few varieties from 2009. It certainly has changed as it has aged for two years and we hope to continue in the future to provide wine that has aged for a least a couple of years.

Last week Mike was out to help put all the patio furniture in storage and clean up the vines and trellises. Next week the tasting room will be winterized and closed until next spring. If you would like to purchase some wine for the holidays it will be available at Uncorked on Broadway in Fargo and Packers Package in West Fargo. Red Trail Wine is also now available at the Old Ten Saloon in Buffalo.   

NEXT WEEK we will bottle the remaining Ice Wine......only 30 bottles.  We will let you know where and how you can purchase some before Christmas.


 

2011 Grape Stomp - Thank You!

August 31, 2011
"Wow!"   "What a good time!"  "We'll be back next year!"

These were the words we heard many times during the Sixth Annual North Dakota Grape Harvest Festival that was held on Saturday, August 20th.  We had many new guests along with guests who have attended our Festival every year from six states and Canada. Many were surprised at the quality of the entertainment and the neat and tidy vineyard.   

We would like to thank you all for attending and hope to see you at next years Festival that...

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2011 Grape Stomp Tickets Now On Sale!

August 5, 2011
Quick note to let ya all know tickets are now on sale!!

Save $5 now and buy in advance.

Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the gate.

For more info & to purchase tickets go here:

http://www.redtrailvineyards.com/grape-stomp.php

Also, your advance tickets will be held at the gate for you.

Thanks!

Michael



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Winter Wine, Hail & A Grape Stomp...

July 28, 2011
It's beginning to look a lot like a vineyard........Yes!  With all the rain and warm temperatures the grape vines are growing fast and the grapes are larger than the size of a pea. But the bad news is we had a hail storm a week ago and it will reduce the size of the crop by 50% or more.  From my experience from the hail storm in 2007 the damage grapes turned brown and became hard and it didn't seem to affect the wine.  Our wine in 2007 was very good, but the production was low.  So I gu...

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News from the RT Vineyard

July 11, 2011
The grapes flowered a little later this year and need some sunshine and heat.  The last trip through the vineyard showed a lot of clusters and some of the grapes are now the size of peas and growing fast with the good moisture and warm temperatures.   I have been busy this week spraying the rows for weeds.  I use a product called Rely, which is a burn down chemical and it doesn't hurt the vines, only the weeds.

This past week we have been busy with groups that we provided food and wine ...

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Latest from the Red Trail Vineyard

June 11, 2011
Greetings Friends,

All the vines are healthy and looking great.  We had a light frost last week but it didn't seem to hurt the vines, so now they are happy and growing fast.  We still have a lot of work to do and all the mowing will began this next week along with our fertilization program and it's time to start spraying Rely herbicide in the rows for weed control.
     
Still busy with the production of our 2010 wines and also working on new bottles and labels.  We will soon start produc...
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Farm & Ranch Guide Story

June 4, 2011
Check out this great write up from Dale Hildebrant of the Farm & Ranch Guide:

Farm & Ranch Guide Article

Dale will be writing more stories throughout the grape growing season. So be sure to check back!

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Wine Sale at Packers Package!

May 28, 2011
Huge sale going on NOW at Packers Package in West Fargo!  Save nearly $4 a bottle on our Alpha Rose, Marquette and Frontenac Gris.  Sale prices good through June 1st.

Packers Package is located next to Sunmart Foods in West Fargo.  Address: 9th St East & 13th Avenue, West Fargo, ND.





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Finally, Spring is Here!

May 16, 2011
OK, did I miss spring ?    It seems that way with the many cold rainy days!   The good news is the forecast for a week for sunshine with temperatures in the 60's and 70's.
 
Our vines will be budding a little later this year but sometimes that not bad because the chance of a  frost is less as we start the end of May.  The vineyard is now all pruned and buds are starting to swell and soon will open. 

I finished spraying Roundup in the rows and spraying around the Tasting Room with 2-4-D f...

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"Pruners Always Welcome"

May 3, 2011
It's spring and the pruning has begun!  Last week my son Darin and I spent a couple of days pruning and we are about half done.  All of the Frontenac Gris are pruned and only a few of the Marquette's are left.  Both varieties survived another winter in good shape and we lost less than 1%.  Darin and I also pruned the Frontenac Gris in the gofer vineyard and also started on the King of the North.   

Darin who has lived in the Wine Country of Oregon for the past 14 years was a fast learn...
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About Me

Red Trail Vineyard
Buffalo, Nd
Red Trail Vineyard