Vines, grapes, wine, fun
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POLSON — One thing was obvious at last weekend’s third annual Montana Grape and Winery Association Conference: those in the burgeoning industry enjoy it.
“There is something mystical about it,” said Polson resident and winemaker Larry Robertson. “There’s a satisfaction in providing a product to folks that heightens their experiences.”
The conference, which was held at KwaTaqNuk Resort, featured seminars, taste testings of various wines and a prime-rib dinner on Friday night.
Bozeman residents Alyssa and Ben Griffith got hooked on grape growing and winemaking while “woofing,” or volunteering for room and board at a New Zealand vineyard for five weeks while on their honeymoon in 2015. The medical professionals, who are expecting a child in May, plan to plant their first vines on land near Dixon in May.
The couple joined the association in 2015 after a visit by member Pat McGlynn, who works at Montana State University’s cooperative extension in Kalispell.
“Getting to know these people has been amazing,” Alyssa said, describing the group as “so supportive and cohesive.”
Thompson Falls resident Tom Eggensperger, who owns and operates the Sanders County Ledger newspaper with his wife Bina, was elected the association’s new president at this year’s conference.
The Eggenspergers got hooked on winemaking when a Canadian friend brought them a winemaking kit on Thanksgiving one year. They planted 25 vines in 2010.
“They grew really well so we planted 75 more,” Tom said. “This is the first year (2016) that we planted a wine that’s pretty good.”
Their Gut Craic Vineyard grows only Marquette grapes. It produced the Silcox Marquette, which was runner-up for the best red wine at this year’s conference. Tom, whose ancestors were German and Irish, explained that Gut means good in German, while Craic means fun in Irish.
“It’s a lot of fun,” he said. “We have a harvest party every year. Friends come to town and stay with us while we harvest and crush grapes.” That process takes about four hours for the six to eight people involved, he said.
Unlike some Montana growers, the Eggenspergers don’t sell their wine. They make it for themselves, friends and family.
Chris Ulatowski, who makes labels for wine bottles, came to the association’s first conference, which was held Kalispell in 2015. He returned this year from the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York.
Ulatowski said there’s a psychology to wine labels. “If you pick it up, you’ll buy it,” he said, referring to the impact a label can have. Ulatowski makes labels for four Montana winemakers, including Woods Bay-area resident Don Goodspeed.
Goodspeed has been making wine for 23 years. He started when he lived in Rye, N.Y., which is located on the Atlantic Ocean northeast of New York City near Connecticut.
The Goodspeed Vineyard, located 1 ½ miles south of the Beardance Trail off Montana 35, grows eight grape varieties from 500 vines that Goodspeed uses to produce Beardance wines.
The Beardance Riesling, a French Vinifera varietal, was named the association’s best white wine at this year’s conference.
Not many Flathead Lake-area vineyards grow Riesling grapes, said Robertson, a soil conservationist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service in Ronan. The French varietal is not a cold-hardy grape, but Goodspeed can grow it because his vineyard is close to the lake where temperatures don’t get below zero, Robertson said.
Goodspeed plans to begin offering winemaking classes in a couple of months. “My strategy is do it,” he said.
For more information about the association, go online at montanagrapeandwine.com.
Results
The following winners were announced on Friday night:
Best red wine: Petite Pearl, North Slope Vineyard, Sam Bergman of Billings: runner-up: Silcox Marquette, Gut Craic Vineyard, Tom and Bina Eggensperger
Best white wine: Beardance Riesling, Goodspeed Vineyard, Don Goodspeed; runner- up: Somerset, Allen Ranch Vineyard, Rod and Linda Allen of Hamilton
Best label: Dana Berardinis, Woods Bay; runner-up: Watch Dog Winery, Alyssa and Ben Griffith
