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. 

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.

Very busy Saturday at the Maple River Winery

We went to Cool Beans today to get the California Burger special for everyone working today. Someone made the comment it was fairly quiet so far on Saturday morning. It didn't last. Before we could finish our burgers several groups came into the winery's tasting room/Pride of Dakota gift shop. Chokecherry Jelly and Lilac Wine were the big winners today. It is surprising how each day of the week a different wine is the most popular. This is fun because we have been guessing each morning as to which will be the most popular wine of the day.

On a side note, strawberries have started coming in. They smell sooooo good and they taste even better. You can't beat locally grown strawberries.

Up next, nanking cherries and apricots. yum.

2009 Penny Sale in the record books

Our annual penny sale wrapped up last week. It was by far the busiest penny sale promotion we have ever had. We always look forward to the penny sale because after the sale we will be spending many hours outside. This year we have many projects. We have some rhubarb growers adding more plants to their farms. We have new fruits being planted in and around Casselton. This fall will be very, very exciting if mother nature cooperates. We have more pears, plums, strawberries, and chokecherries lined up than ever before. Here's to a great 2009 growing season!!

Dandelion Harvest underway

With our gorgeous sunshine comes bright yellow flowers all over the area. These dandelions are what we pick to make our popular dandelion wine. A wonderful unique wine is a great entertaining wine. To get there however, we need thousands of dandelion flowers. We just use the little yellow flower when we produce the wine so you can see how labor intensive production is. We estimate close to 100 yellow flowers in each half bottles of wine. What does the wine taste like? I like to describe our dandelion wine as a semi-sweet white wine that tastes like a cross between a light chardonnay and corn on the cob. We expect this wine to be our top seller on our website again this year. The novelty is growing. It is the perfect conversation piece when entertaining friends, family, and business acquaintances.