Minnesota vineyard reshapes perceptions with fine wines from local grapes

Old world style wine is getting a Minnesotan refresh, all thanks to a local vineyard. These dry wines are made exclusively from Minnesota. Great variations. We have Sigourney and Kevin Wares joining us now. I ran into you guys at the Food and Wine Show last month, and I have known of you because you were in a sorority with my sister. And as soon as you told me your story, I thought, I'm like, oh my gosh, this is such a fascinating way you guys got into the business. So let's hit on that first, because your Wooden Link is relatively new, but you guys are up near Alexandria, and you started actually, you moved back home from Europe. Yes. So Kevin and I were lucky enough to live in Europe for about 13 years while he was pursuing his professional hockey career. A former gopher, by the way, Sky U Ma. Yep, go gophers. Yes, go gophers. And during the off season, we would come back and work at the vineyard and really got to know the grapes, got to know the land. And in 2022, we took over, and instead of being just grape growers, we decided to make wine. Yeah, and you're using all grapes in Minnesota, but bringing in some of that European flair that you picked up on. I mean, how lucky you guys got to have some of the best wine in the world in Europe. We did a lot of research in Europe, and it was a ton of fun. But yeah, we definitely used what we learned in Europe, the beautiful wines we drank there, and tried to transfer it into what we're doing here. Wow, if I had a job where my research could be tasting beautiful wine all day, sign me up. What do we got going on here? Some of these are award-winning too. We have to talk about that. But you got three for us ready to sample. Yes, so here we have a little nice flight for you. Our first one that we're going to be trying is our Blanc Cuvée. Okay. And this is a blend of Frontenac Blanc and Itasca. You're going to get notes of white peach, some mango, pineapple comes through. This is the one that I loved. Yes, it's here for you. Yes, this one is delicious. Bill, you'll have to try a sip of this one too. We've got one. Come on over. We've got one for you right there, Bill. We have a flight for you. This is their award winner. And cheers. So we were super excited. This one just got silver out in California in the white wine category. So we were excited to go up against some of the big dogs out on the West Coast. And it's really nice. Yeah, I think it's kind of like a summer day in a glass. And I think the grapes in Minnesota, I did a bunch of stories in this, they were so, so sweet for so long, but they've really come a long way. The hybridization of what the University of Minnesota has done is remarkable. And so it really does taste like a Chardonnay that you would get in Europe. And again, what is this one? The second one. So the next one, this is our Rosé and this is a blend of Marquette and Itasca. So the beautiful, yeah, that beautiful color comes from the Marquette grape because the flesh is actually pigmented, which is really cool. I like that it's dry because so many Rosés I have, I'm like, oh, it's too sweet, you know? This is so nice that it's got that actual full body. Yep, you get that fresh strawberry, it's beautiful. And the third one? Third is our Estate Red. And this is 100% Frontenac, handpicked from our oldest grapes. All of these are actually estate grown. And this one drinks similar to Pinot Noir. It has some minerality, plums, some dried cherry. It's really beautiful. We have to invite people to come and see this gorgeous vineyard, just from the pictures. Yes. I mean, when you're in northern Minnesota, up by Alex, right? Yes, yes. And it's beautiful country up there. We love being there. We are hoping to get something open right now. We're working on a tasting room because we kind of went backwards with our approach. We went wine first because we took over in 2022 after my stepdad died unexpectedly from a brain tumor. And so it's been a bootstrap situation. We had our first vintage in 2023 and started selling in bottle in November, 2024. So we're the new kids on the block. Yeah, but we've racked up 17 awards since then and we're feeling really good about what we're bringing to the Minnesota wine scene. Well, cheers to that. Yeah, you guys, I mean, getting that the second place out in California, that's a really big deal for people at home. I mean, competing against California wines is tough. Yes, yes. So we're always just happy to be there and really we're trying to make a difference in the Minnesota wine community and we're really happy to be a part of it. And all the girls I know have loved going up to see you. Have had maybe a little too much fun at times going up there. Yes, we have a pie pie special. Yeah. If you're interested in learning more about Wooden Link Vineyard, they are about two and a half, is that two and a half hours northwest of Minneapolis? Yeah. Near Barrett. So more information will be on their website if you wanna go and check that out right now. And also, hey, don't forget, they got Summer Sip Off coming up. That's gonna be May 16th in Park Rapids and then Grow Fest, May 30th and 31st in St. Paul. Thanks so much for joining us, you guys. Thank you for having us.