In this region a vineyard costs about $15,000 an acre to develop (exclusive of land costs) since vines must be planted, cared for over three years, and then finally will produce fruit. In addition, equipment must be purchased and labor paid during that time as well as after. Of course it can start out smaller with just a few acres producing about 2000 gallons of wine then increasing as time permits. The major obstacle is obtaining sufficient land to start any vineyard with additional land unused initially.

This business is different from many other forms of agriculture. It is a year round task since even winter brings no rest. During the cold winter period, the vines must be pruned to leave a specific number of buds that will produce the needed number of fruiting shoots in the next year. This pruning depends on the previous year’s growth patterns usually determined by the weight of the wood produced the previous year.

Making wine is another complex process. Years ago one would crush grapes and let them ferment with whatever wild yeast were present. At times it resulted in an acceptable wine, other times the wine was barely drinkable or worse!

Picking Vidal in winter under the net for ice wine. The grapes are left on the vine until the night temperature drops to about 15 degrees and freezes the berries. We get up really early and pick immediately, even before sunrise before the sun has a chance to thaw the fruit. The combination of dehydration from leaving the fruit on so long and the freezing create an intensely flavored and sweet as a desert wine. The process is not easy and yields little. On a good year a 600 foot row of about 90 vines produced enough for about 40 gallons of wine. This is about 1/3 the yield one would obtain from an in-season harvest of the same fruit.

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