2012 Fargo Marathon Recap

Another tremendous Fargo Marathon in the books.  We enjoyed visiting with runners from various states this past weekend.  Everyone of them mentioned how wonderful our area is.  I agree!  Our 10 and 7 year old each ran the mile marathon on Thursday night.  My wife and 10 year old each ran the 5k on Friday.  None of us ran the 10k, half or full marathon, but wow, the respect for those that train and run over 26 miles that we have.  I was fortunate to be in the Fargodome when the male and female marathon winners arrived.  The electricity was unbelievable.  Congrats to everyone who competed.  You are all winners!

Now as we get ready for Memorial Day, the official kickoff to our summer, the hours turn hectic!  Besides having wonderful visitors drop by from all over the world, fruit continues to come in.  This weekend we will have lilacs fermenting so you might have to stop by and check that out.  Lilac harvest should wrap up this week, but rhubarb harvest will continue to grow.  We might even have a tank or two of rhubarb fermenting.  This weekend we will be open Friday, Saturday and Monday 9am to 5pm.  Sunday, by appointment, but we should be there noon to 5pm.  Give a jingle to 701-347-5900 and lets see what North Dakota fruit tastes like in award winning wines here in historic downtown Casselton, North Dakota.

2012 Fargo Marathon

The crew at the Maple River Winery and Distillery are always excited for the annual Fargo Marathon.  We see visitors from all over the world drop by to check out locally made Pride of Dakota products.  Everyone has to bring something back with them whether it is Dandelion Wine or Strawberry Rhubarb Wine or Chokecherry Jelly.  One trend we have noticed is that many of our visitors are in the 50 state club.  Runners trying to run a marathon in all 50 states.  I can't imagine running one marathon.....

Each runner brings new stories about fun, Fargo, and hospitality.  We enjoy doing our part by showcasing locally made products.  Their checked luggage always weighs heavier than when they arrived.   When that happens, it is a job well done for our staff.  As the Fargo Marathon continues to grow, we look forward to spending time with even more people from all corners of the world and all walks of life. 

Rhubarb Harvest is Close

Tuesday will be the start of Maple River Winery's 2012 Rhubarb Harvest Campaign.  This year, our goal is to bring in 100,000 pounds of North Dakota Rhubarb.  If my math is correct, that would be 50 tons of rhubarb.  We need a lot of rhubarb for our Rhubarb Wine, Strawberry Rhubarb Wine, Rhubarb Cordial and Rhubarb Vodka.  When we started 11 years ago, if someone would say to me that we would purchase 100,000 pounds of rhubarb, I would have laughed.  Well, you make a great product, people enjoy it, they come back for more.  We have the best customers in the world.  On behalf of the crew at Maple River Winery and Maple River Distillery, thank you for your purchases.  We appreciate your business.  Now time to get busy with rhubarb!

Bottling Bumble Bee Red Wine Today

Our Bumble Bee Red Wine from our Maple River Winery is one of a kind.  We wanted to incorporate wild North Dakota grapes into a wine but couldn't find the right combination.  We tried blending North Dakota honey and came up with a wonderful sweet red wine.  North Dakota usually ranks #1 in honey production in the United States.  Our honey that we use in our various honey wines is definitely considered local.  The honey is extracted about a mile from our winery.  The beekeeper has hives throughout our area...about a 40 mile radius.  This wonderful partnership has provided many pounds of honey going into many bottles of wine.  Whether it is our Bumble Bee Red Wine, Honeycomb Plum Wine, or our Honey Apple Wine, there is always one open in our refrigerator at home.

Simple Saturday Supper

After wrapping up at the Maple River Winery and Distillery tonight, decided to head home for supper.  Saturday we like to have pretty simple suppers. Tonight, since it is grilling season in North Dakota, we decided to have cheeseburgers and strawberry jello.  Of course, we decided to enjoy our Maple River Winery Dakota Cherry Wine to celebrate another wonderful week in the books.  Now that this note is written, time to curl up outside and listen to the birds sing.