Volunteer Harvesters Rewards!

Tom Sawyer - Sogn Valley Style 

It’s a fairy tale setting... the rolling hills of the Sogn Valley just a few miles south of Cannon Falls. 

But the scenario taking place each weekend reminds you more of Mark Twain’s story of Tom Sawyer... the mischievous boy who persuades his friends to whitewash the fence so he wouldn’t have to do the job.  

Today, hundreds of people have volunteered to harvest the grapes at the Cannon River Vineyard owned by John and Maureen Maloney.

But unlike Twain’s story, these folks look like they’re having a great time and are rewarded at the end of their approximately two hour shifts with a lunch catered by the Old Market Deli, the opportunity to taste a variety of wines and then just relaxing and enjoying the beautiful views of the surrounding hills and vineyards.

According to Bergit Nerheim of the Cannon River Winery, many come back every year.

John explained that they had originally hired a crew to do the harvesting.  But after three years of hearing folks asking to do it, they opened the vineyard for one day for this project.

The next year they had more days.

And this year Bergit said they will likely have 10 days available for morning and afternoon harvesting. They have 30-60 people on a shift and they come from all around Minnesota.  I met Joan and Dennis Benson, he’s from Cannon Falls originally and Linda Perry from Randolph.  

Pretty much all of the grapes are harvested in this manner.

All ages came out on a recent Saturday afternoon.  The grapes are cut from the vine by slicing their stem with a bladed Harvest Fork and then gently laid in the containers which are collected into larger vats.  

The sweet fruity fragrance of these Edelweiss grapes spread across the rows.  It was so delicious you didn’t want to exhale!

And the harvester can eat as many of the grapes as they want to!

         (About an hour into doing my story I couldn’t resist any more and I asked to join the crew!)

John also explained that the south facing hillsides are ideal for growing the cold hardy grapes of Minnesota hybrid varieties that survive the sometimes harsh winters and add a unique and delicious flavor to the wines. 

The Edelweiss grapes being picked that day are a white seeded table, wine and juice grape.  They are hardy to -30 F.  It takes about four to five years after planting before you collect the fruit.  The vines harvested at this session were nine years old.  

 Some interesting data found on the internet may explain why we’re seeing more and more vineyards locally.

One acre of Minnesota grown grapes may produce about 2,800 bottles of wine.

The Minnesota Wine Industry is growing at a rate of 28% annually.

The Minnesota Wineries are projected to produce more than $11,250,000 of wine a year by 2014.

 So here’s a “toast” to the volunteer harvesters at the Cannon River Vineyard!

(For video program go to www.paulrosie.com)