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Nelson Winery

As long as people love wine, there will always be a need for more vineyards. Ben and Lisa Nelson are wine lovers; and, since they wanted to have a home-based business on the property where they lived, they decided becoming vignerons would be ideal. Three years ago, they found the perfect place for such a venture ó Black Forest.The 10-acre property is old horse and cattle land, Ben Nelson said. It hadnít been used for several years, so when they first moved there, the grass in the back where the vines are, were 3 to 4 feet tall. The grass needed to be cut down, the soil needed to be tilled and lime had to be added to raise the PH level. Otherwise, Nelson said, ìThe soil was in pretty good shape, especially since there was natural fertilizer from manure for years. It is sandy, rocky soil, but vines produce better quality grapes when grown in poorer conditions. You want soil that drains well, though, and is not too acidic.î Last year, the Nelsons planted 50 Landot Noir red grape vines and 50 Cayuga white grape vines. They chose cold-hearty grapes that are late bud breakers and early ripeners ó all-important factors to consider with the Black Forest climate. Nelson said, ìThese type of grapes are hybrid; they have been trained to take on certain qualities. Some of these particular grapes werenít available that many years ago. The University of Minnesota has done a lot to produce hybrid grapes that will thrive in colder conditions, which is why vineyards are popping up all over in states like Minnesota in particular and New York.îVines generally take up to three years to produce a crop, he said. Last year, they focused on root growth; this year the vines will grow to be about 5 feet tall, he said. They will grow 1 to 2 inches a day, once the bud breaks. When the grapes are ready to be made into wine, they will start with used and new American oak barrels to store the wine, Nelson said. They will source in grapes from Palisades and Grand Junction, Colorado, along with the West Coast, once the winery is up and ready to run. They will add their grapes to the stock once they are ready ó probably in March 2020, Nelson said. He estimated that the crop should produce 500 cases of wine the first year; doubling to 1,000 cases the second year.Plans for the future include adding 200 more vines, renovating the horse barn to function as a winery; getting their winery license and opening a tasting room.

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