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.

Maple River Winery Expands

Maple River Distillery launched from historic downtown Casselton, North Dakota this holiday season by selling out of almost all of its production!! The Rhubarb Vodka, Rhubarb Cordial, and the Wild Plum Cordial have been the best sellers. I like mixing the Rhubarb Vodka with Lemonade. It goes great with the sunshine. My wife enjoys the Rhubarb Cordial chilled or poured over strawberries. Yum. I think the best would be chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream with Rhubarb Cordial or Wild Plum Cordial drizzled over it.

The Maple River Distillery has become another tourist destination in historic downtown Casselton, North Dakota. Casselton is 15 minutes west of Fargo on I-94. Tasting room hours for the Maple River Winery and the Maple River Distillery continue to be year around Monday-Saturday from 10am to 5pm. Drop by and say hi!!

Maple River Winery on the road!!!

We have a very busy road this holiday season. This weekend begins our travels outside of the winery showcasing our wines throughout the state.
This weekend we have booths at 2 different events in Fargo. Friday and Saturday will find us at the Big One Arts and Craft Show at the Fargo Civic Center. Saturday will find us at the Fargodome for the Women's Showcase. Many thanks to our crew covering both of these shows for us so we can focus on getting product ready for the Maple River Distillery which will be open early November. North Dakota fruit everywhere!!

We will post the rest of our schedule here as we get closer. This year we will be attending the most shows ever in our 7 year history. Excited? absolutely!