Mark Lunde 1882 Winery & Vineyard

Tyler Bertsch: Let’s start with a little bit about your story and how you got into growing grapes.

Mark Lunde: Okay. I was kind of always interested in making wine, I suppose, back when I was in my 20s. I had some interest, bought some stuff, some ingredients, etc., to get started. And I got too busy working, kids, that type of thing. So then it got put on hold for many, many years. So in 2006, we went to a place where you could make wine with them. They’ll make the wine for you; you participate. So that was the first part. And that was for our daughter’s wedding. And so we participated in making that wine for my daughter's wedding.

Tyler Bertsch: Oh, that’s really cool.

Mark Lunde: Yeah. So then we got the wine bug there. And then my wife had heard about somebody else growing grapes, probably about 50 miles away from us. And she thought, "Well, we could do that too." And I guess I agreed. And then I looked up to see if there was a Grape and Wine Association, if there were more people doing this. And then, actually, Greg Krieger was the president at that time. And this was around 2006 or ’08 or something like that. So I sat on the phone with him for probably a couple of hours and talked grapes and wine and got the grape bug. In 2010 we planted ten Marquette, ten Frontenac Gris, and then some miscellaneous Baltica and Valiant that I think I got cuttings from Greg. And some Frontenac Blanc. Probably about 40 altogether. And then two years later, we expanded. We’re only up to about 175 vines right now. And then we get grapes from three other small vineyards. And then an Aronia farm too. And do Haskap too.

Tyler Bertsch: Oh, yep.

Mark Lunde: Yeah, so we do have Aronia and Haskap here too.

Tyler Bertsch: Nice. What were your first grapes? You said Frontenac Gris, Baltica...

Mark Lunde: Baltica, Marquette, and Frontenac Blanc. And let’s see what else. You said Valiant. Valiant, yes. That would be it.

Tyler Bertsch: Okay. And then which ones do you have left? Or that you have now?

Mark Lunde: The Frontenac Gris, all ten of those have survived. The Marquette, all of those survived from 2010. Some of the Baltica I didn’t like, so I’m actually replacing them with Crimson Pearl now. And let’s see, the Frontenac Blanc are still there too.

Tyler Bertsch: So Valiant’s the only one you ripped out? Or died?

Mark Lunde: I’ve got two plants left. And I took all the Baltica out because I didn’t like the Baltica. Valiant, we’ve had people who like it, and I like it; my daughter likes it, so... and it grows very well. It’s got that Concord grapeiness to it.

Tyler Bertsch: Yeah, it’s a monster.

Mark Lunde: Yeah.

Tyler Bertsch: So who taught you how to grow grapes, or did you just plant them and see what happens?

Mark Lunde: Pretty much, Greg, yeah. So we went over and viewed their vineyard. And he gave us a quick course on what to do and trellising, do what you want, and just played it by ear.

Tyler Bertsch: Yeah. So, what was your land used for before? So before you planted it, what—was it corn, pasture?

Mark Lunde: It’s kind of part of our farmstead. And that part, actually, we were using it as horse pasture. It used to be a cattle farm way back when. So I think there are a few... I did soil testing and it’s pretty fertile. A little bit too much nitrogen, but you get a little bit too much vegetation, which some years, is a problem.

Tyler Bertsch: Is it loam or clay or clay loam, or is it sandy loam? Or what kind...

Mark Lunde: It’s a loam, I would say maybe a little more like a clay loam.

Tyler Bertsch: Okay. But mostly loam, you had to guess?

Mark Lunde: Absolutely. Yep.

Tyler Bertsch: Okay. I’ll say loam a little bit of clay. It’ll be pertinent to later on. I don’t mean to nag you with it.

Mark Lunde: Yeah. Very productive as far as farmland.

Tyler Bertsch: Well, it’s interesting you say that because when I talk to a lot of growers, loam seems to be probably the biggest challenge for most people. Which you would think wouldn’t be that way, but it kind of is because our soils can be very fertile, and it can lead to all kinds of problems which we’ll talk about. So right now you said you have about a quarter-acre-ish or half-acre, something. 160, you said, I think?

Mark Lunde: Probably. That sounds reasonable.

Tyler Bertsch: Yeah. Were there any mistakes you made early on that you’d warn others about?

Mark Lunde: I guess the first mistake was not getting the trellising posts in soon enough. We were a little too rushed with that. And it’s standing up fairly well, but posts should have been a little deeper. It was dry back then, digging by hand.

Tyler Bertsch: How deep did you go?

Mark Lunde: I think it was the eight-foot post. I think we tried to get at least three feet down.

Tyler Bertsch: Oh, that’s pretty good. Yeah. And you still have problems with wind on them? Even that deep?

Mark Lunde: When we really had a heck of a canopy, when we had a really bad windstorm. And as I said, there were many years that were really wet, too. And I think we’re getting to the point now where it’s more rot on the older ones that have been... a couple of them have been snapping.

Tyler Bertsch: So they lasted about 20-ish years?

Mark Lunde: Yeah. That seems about right.

Tyler Bertsch: So what are some of the biggest surprises you’ve thought happened since you’ve been growing grapes, or did it kind of go how you thought?

Mark Lunde: I didn’t have really big expectations at all. It was always meant to be a hobby, make wine as a hobby. I guess one of the surprises would have been actually how much time it takes to keep up even the small amount that we have. Pruning, keeping weeds at bay. I’ve been retired or mostly retired for the last five years, so that’s made it a lot easier. But being older now too, that presents its own issues too.

Tyler Bertsch: Right. So how do you deal with winter kill? I’m assuming you get a little bit of winter kill, and if so, what varieties do you get it on?

Mark Lunde: Let’s see here. The Marquette has been wonderful. The Valiant has been pretty good too. Frontenac Blanc and Gris have been very good. I put in a bunch of Petite Pearl shortly after it came out. And actually that’s the biggest, I think I probably have 40 or 50 of those. But they were not doing very well. Would get winter kill on those, dieback where they would come back from the ground or down on the trunk. And so then started thinking about if the site just wasn't well for them. I started planting some other things in between, thinking I’d replace the Petite Pearl. And then all of a sudden, it started producing much better. Why? I don't know.

Tyler Bertsch: They have been known to be slow out the gate. I don't know. Mine—I have an acre and the first half-acre I put in like a lightning bolt. They went to the wire and they’re spectacular. Then I have a little bit that I planted probably four years ago and they’ve just been not doing well. I don't know if it’s just the amount of moisture they need when they’re planted compared to other varieties. But that’s interesting you say that. Down here our Marquette seems to die in the heat. It does not do very well or people kind of complain about it, but the Petite Pearl does fantastic. Everyone down here loves it. Or, that I’m talking to, I guess.

Mark Lunde: Yeah.

Tyler Bertsch: So would you replant Petite Pearl or would you not replant that, had you known kind of how it’s gone?

Mark Lunde: No I would not.

Tyler Bertsch: Okay.

Mark Lunde: Yeah. I’m happy with it now, but I’m just slowly weeding out when I get dieback or when it slows down as far as production. And pretty much replacing with Crimson Pearl.

Tyler Bertsch: Yeah. Are all these raised on the same trellis type? Like high cordon, VSP, or do you mix it up?

Mark Lunde: It’s pretty much: I’ll have a catch wire at three feet or something, and then a high wire at five, somewhere in that area.

Tyler Bertsch: Yeah. So you run like four cordons?

Mark Lunde: Correct. Not always, but yeah, whatever it’ll give me.

Tyler Bertsch: Do you ever have any problems with overcropping from doing that? Like, did any of these ever get exhausted where they would overcrop and then have winter damage? Or do you think they all handle it pretty well?

Mark Lunde: Early on, yeah, I tended to leave too much out there, and overcropping, I think, was an issue. So yeah, I think it stressed some of the plants, and they did not come back for a year or two. So yeah, I’ve been trying to lean more towards the high wire only and only have something lower if it’s necessary.

Tyler Bertsch: Was there any variety that suffered from the overcropping more than others, do you think?

Mark Lunde: I would say probably maybe the Petite Pearl. Crimson does okay. Marquette does pretty good, but I think I overcropped them two years ago, and it did cut back the Marquette production quite a bit last year. And now I’ve got a bumper crop of it this year. So, I’ve been trying to cut back. Not to have so many clusters, etc.

Tyler Bertsch: Did you see any winter damage from it, you think, or were they just not as productive the following year?

Mark Lunde: No winter damage. Just didn’t perform well. Or I did a very poor job of pruning or something that year, too, possibly.

Tyler Bertsch: Yeah. So, do you have a strategy when you prune? Do you leave two buds, three buds? Do you change it per variety?

Mark Lunde: Well, I...

Tyler Bertsch: Do you just look and see what made it and go from there?

Mark Lunde: Yeah, pretty much start and go through everything once, and if it looks- if I’m pretty certain it’s dead, I’ll clean it up. And then wait a little while and give it another chance. And probably a total of 20 buds. Two probably the most per spur. So it’s kind of a mixture of everything, but try to leave it 20, 25 maximum buds per plant.

Tyler Bertsch: Oh, okay. So you generally have, let’s say, like ten-ish spurs on each side and then two buds per spur, roughly.

Mark Lunde: Yep.

Tyler Bertsch: Okay. You don’t change based upon what variety it is?

Mark Lunde: I do not at this point.

Tyler Bertsch: Were there any varieties that really surprised you? Maybe that was publicized, you thought they were going to be great, and then you plant them and not so much? Or did they all kind of go how you expected? I know you said Petite Pearl was a little bit of a struggle, but...

Mark Lunde: Yeah, that would be the main one. Crimson Pearl started a little bit slow too, but I would say after the—by the fourth year, it seems like it was a completely different plant. Whether that’s my site or if it’s typical for that, I don't know. The Frontenac Blanc and Frontenac Gris, I’ve got some Brianna, some Louise, Prairie Star. I think all of those started well from the get-go. And as long as I don’t overcrop, they’re pretty consistent. Marquette’s pretty consistent if I don’t overcrop that.

Tyler Bertsch: Yeah. Did you ever have a drought year, real bad?

Mark Lunde: We haven't had a drought, but we’ve had maybe two years, probably since 2010 that definitely were on the dry side.

Tyler Bertsch: Did you irrigate at all?

Mark Lunde: I didn't.

Tyler Bertsch: Yeah. Which is a good test. Were there any varieties you felt like performed, like just handled it just fine? Or was there some you thought kind of struggled with it?

Mark Lunde: I would say the Marquette and the Valiant did okay. The Frontenacs, the Blanc and Gris—I don’t have Red Frontenac—they did pretty well also.

Tyler Bertsch: Okay. Did you have Petite Pearl, Crimson Pearl at that time?

Mark Lunde: Not Crimson, Petite maybe. That was about the time I started planting them.

Tyler Bertsch: What about Brianna? Or Prairie Star?

Mark Lunde: I don’t have much Brianna—well, either one I don’t have much. I was just adding them in just to see how they would do. The Frontenac Blanc and Gris, there’s so much acid there that I needed to think of something to blend with, and I thought those would be options.

Tyler Bertsch: Did they struggle in the drought, you think, or do you remember by chance?

Mark Lunde: Those I really don’t remember.

Tyler Bertsch: Yeah, I was curious to see if maybe you had remembered that. With the Brianna, did you ever get winter damage on that? And if so, is it consistent?

Mark Lunde: No, I think it’s been fairly consistent. Okay. Are others having that issue?

Tyler Bertsch: Not down here. I didn’t know because I think one of the challenges with it, if I remember right, is it doesn’t go into dormancy as fast as some of the other ones. But down here we haven’t had any of that, and I haven’t really heard any issues with other growers. Down here it’s a fantastic grape.

Mark Lunde: I’ve had more of a problem with Louise.

Tyler Bertsch: Oh, okay. Just with winter kill?

Mark Lunde: Yes. Yep.

Tyler Bertsch: Prairie Star’s been okay?

Mark Lunde: Prairie Star’s been okay.

Tyler Bertsch: Yeah, that one’s supposed to be hardy to like negative 40. So I would be kind of shocked. Did you ever notice any changes over time? So as the years went on, say like year 10 or year 15, once the grape was mature? Did you notice any changes? Like it would ripen sooner? It would go into dormancy and drop its leaves quicker? Or maybe it would shoot out earlier in the spring? Or was it always pretty consistent for you?

Mark Lunde: I guess I couldn’t pick anything out that stands out.

Tyler Bertsch: Okay. What about have you ever noticed your Marquette ripening sooner because of the age?

Mark Lunde: Oh, just because of the age?

Tyler Bertsch: Yeah. I’ve noticed down here that we’ve had a couple of growers say that.

Mark Lunde: I would say I have not.

Tyler Bertsch: Okay. What about spring? Have you had some really bad spring frosts where your shoots were out, four-five inches, and they got wiped out?

Mark Lunde: No, not that I recall. Nothing in there four inches out, though.

Tyler Bertsch: Anything shorter at all?

Mark Lunde: I would say mostly the frost we’ve had is prior to bud break. And so there’s been limited damage. There might have been one year that we did get production cut back, that they had started to break, and I think it just thinned out the crop for that year. But that was many years ago now.

Tyler Bertsch: Yeah. The reason I ask is just how secondary fruitful they are. They are very different on their secondaries. So I was curious if you had had that. Well, good deal you haven’t had that so much.

Mark Lunde: Mm-hm.

Tyler Bertsch: Let’s start with Marquette. What do you think the biggest challenge with Marquette is?

Mark Lunde: I think it’s probably the best red grape that I have. I’m not sure why I didn’t plant more of them. I think it’s more as far as the wine goes, a little more complex than the pearls. Yield is usually pretty decent. And it’s been consistent for ten years. Or since 2010, excuse me.

Tyler Bertsch: And this you have on high wire with the catch wire at three feet?

Mark Lunde: Yep.

Tyler Bertsch: Interesting. What about disease? Do you have much fungal disease or do you ever feel like you got to fight diseases on it?

Mark Lunde: No, I don’t. I think the only thing I’ve got that will get some form of disease is the Valiant. If I overcrop it and it was wet here, I can’t remember what it is, some sort of mold.

Tyler Bertsch: Probably powdery mildew.

Mark Lunde: That probably was it, yeah.

Tyler Bertsch: Yeah, that’s the one; it’s pretty susceptible to. But the rest of them you think all do pretty well?

Mark Lunde: I would say pretty good. No black rot.

Tyler Bertsch: How much do you have to spray up there?

Mark Lunde: I have not been spraying for diseases at all.

Tyler Bertsch: Oh, man. That’s nice. And you don’t have many problems with that, huh?

Mark Lunde: Up until now, anyway. So what are your thoughts on Itasca?

Tyler Bertsch: So far I love it. It’s been pretty good. It’s pretty disease-resistant. More than tough enough for our temperatures down here. I haven’t talked to anybody who really grows it up there yet. Maybe I just haven’t talked to the right North Dakota grower yet, but did you ever try Itasca?

Mark Lunde: I haven't, but I’ve got one of a friend of mine that I do get grapes from; he’s had Itasca for quite a few years. I think 50 vines and it seems the yellow jackets get them early, they sweeten up a long time or something. And he doesn’t end up with a decent crop. Birds, too. He nets them. Still, they seem to get them. And so I’ve made a little bit of wine from it. I think I’ve probably got the biggest batch right now. It just seems the wine is a little bit bland, acidic though. Just not much aroma, not much flavor. I’ve heard that from others in the area too.

Tyler Bertsch: Huh. Interesting. What does your Frontenac taste like up there?

Mark Lunde: Pretty good. I don’t have access to any, but some of the wineries around here make a very nice red Frontenac.

Tyler Bertsch: Is there any kind of fruit flavors you notice with it at all, or what they say?

Mark Lunde: I would say more like on the cherry side.

Tyler Bertsch: Yeah. I—that’s what I was going to guess, so I wanted to hear that from you first. I feel like in colder climates, the grape responds with more of a cherry flavor. Down here, it can get like that too, but when it’s fully ripe down here, it gets chocolatey flavors with it too. Kind of interesting. I’m not a winemaker, so maybe it’s the way the winemaker’s doing it, but from what I understand, that’s a common thing. What about your Marquette? What kind of flavors does that have up there?

Mark Lunde: I would say probably cherry might be what I would say. Not as pronounced as Frontenac, though. Just a fruitiness to it. I tend to oak it also. And that sometimes I think masks maybe some of the fruitiness, but it adds... to me I like the oak condition to it.

Tyler Bertsch: Gotcha. Well, you don’t have to give your secrets away. I don’t want it to be a winery talk, but I’m interested in more so how the grape itself expresses itself naturally. I know winemakers can do a lot of different things, but your Frontenac Gris and your Frontenac Blanc, are you able to get their acidity down enough or do you feel like you’re constantly fighting that? Do you have enough time up there where you can really push it? Or do you just basically pick it right when you know the frost is coming?

Mark Lunde: Pretty close to when we know there’s a danger of a hard freeze. We’ll leave it as long as we can. The Frontenac Blanc does well on its own. The Gris also does, kind of ends up with some spicy notes to it, which are pleasant, but on their own, with the acidity, you almost have to sweeten it. Not to death, I should say, but add a lot more sugar than I really like to. So I’ve kind of been leaning more on those years to try to find blending partners. And like Louise and Brianna, I like it on its own.

Tyler Bertsch: Yeah. What flavors are you getting up there?

Mark Lunde: I might have to look at my notes. We don’t make enough of it.

Tyler Bertsch: Down here it’s very pineapple-y.

Mark Lunde: Yeah, I don’t think we get any of that.

Tyler Bertsch: You probably get more of a passion fruit, maybe? Down here it’s a pineapple bomb. Some people even in their vineyards when they walk through them, they could smell pineapple. So I was curious... You might have to look that up and let me know because it’d be interesting to see what your notes say on that.

Mark Lunde: Yeah.

Tyler Bertsch: So, was there anything you did over the years to help survival? Was there anything you had to do to help any of these survive, or do you feel like you just kind of hands-off approached it?

Mark Lunde: I don’t think I’ve really done anything special. The farmstead here is protected very well, except from the east. I guess I really couldn’t say that I’m doing anything.

Tyler Bertsch: What about managing the canopy? Are some of these kind of a nightmare?

Mark Lunde: I would say a lot of them are a nightmare, especially on my site.

Tyler Bertsch: Which one’s the worst? Of all these varieties you’ve said?

Mark Lunde: I would say the Frontenac Blanc really will go to town if conditions are right and you leave enough for it. Odd thing is the Frontenac Gris isn’t as vigorous. It’s more manageable. Marquette here can get out of hand. Petite Pearl does not; that’s manageable. Crimson, at times, can get too much vegetation. Valiant also.

Tyler Bertsch: Crimson’s not as bad as Blanc and Gris, though?

Mark Lunde: No. Brianna, Louise, Prairie Star not too bad.

Tyler Bertsch: Okay. Interesting. The Valiant I’m not surprised about. The Marquette one is kind of surprising. You’ve never had any problems in the heat with it cracking or anything like that? The trunks?

Mark Lunde: No. I was just out there the other day and I did notice some cracking on, but I don’t remember what variety that was now. It’s pretty limited.

Tyler Bertsch: What about berry splitting? Did you ever have issues with consistent berry splitting on these varieties?

Mark Lunde: I don’t recall any berry splitting, any significant amount of that.

Tyler Bertsch: Any trunk disease issues on any of them that you can tell?

Mark Lunde: No, not that I can tell.

Tyler Bertsch: Did you have anywhere the spurs went basically dead?

Mark Lunde: Not that I can recall.

Tyler Bertsch: So you think they’re all pretty consistent when you have a cordon, they all usually come back no problem over the years.

Mark Lunde: Oh, it depends on the year, I guess. But overall, yeah, pretty consistent.

Tyler Bertsch: Did you notice more damage on the east side of your vineyard being less protected?

Mark Lunde: It’s a pretty small area, so the soil is pretty consistent. I think the east, probably the two-three rows on the east, take a little longer in the spring to liven up. Just from the wind desiccation, probably.

Tyler Bertsch: Do you have problems with wildlife, like deer chewing on them?

Mark Lunde: We have a lot of deer, but they pretty much stay out of the yard. We have always had a dog, and that helps a lot. I know when we first planted, we’d have deer going through the yard, but I didn’t see any damage from them.

Tyler Bertsch: There must have been other things that they liked better. What about any kind of pests? Japanese beetles, apple twig borer, grape flea beetle, anything like that?

Mark Lunde: Not that I’m aware of.

Tyler Bertsch: Okay. The only reason I bring it up is Japanese beetles seem to prefer Marquette on some growers. I’m trying to figure out if there's a correlation between maybe the DNA or the thickness of the leaf. I have seen that in different vineyards.

Mark Lunde: We do have a problem with those. And this last year was probably the biggest problem that we’ve had for quite some time. I would say... Frontenac Blanc, they were ripening and the yellow jackets attacked them right away. And all of a sudden the flies came and the beetles came. And probably took half the crop. That’s our biggest problem there.

Tyler Bertsch: Did you do any kind of spray or do you have any tricks?

Mark Lunde: No. It pretty much happened—we harvested probably three-fourths of the crop. And by the next day, the yellow jackets just opened up half the berries and then the flies and beetles just attacked. It was overnight, pretty much.

Tyler Bertsch: Oh, yeah. It does. I had that happen in 2023. That was a drought year, the driest my county in Nebraska had on record, and they were like swarms of wasps in August.

Mark Lunde: Yeah. So we end up, actually, pretty much every year we’ll submerge the clusters in water to get the asian beetles to float to the top and skim them. It’s a long process, but we’re small enough that we can do it.

Tyler Bertsch: On the Japanese beetles?

Mark Lunde: Yeah.

Tyler Bertsch: What about those—they look like ladybugs but they’re orange, like Asian spotted... they’re basically ladybugs but they’re orange. Do you guys get those up there much?

Mark Lunde: Right. Yeah. That’s the majority. And then the Asian ones, I just couldn’t tell you how many of those we get that impart that, if they get crushed, that peanut butter-type aroma.

Tyler Bertsch: When you’re saying dip it in water, are you talking the Japanese beetles or those ones that impart that nasty smell?

Mark Lunde: We’re just protecting ourselves in case they are both there. We know the ladybugs are there for sure every year.

Tyler Bertsch: I think we just harvest too quickly. Our stuff is all out of the field by mid-September at the latest. That’s interesting. I’ll have to ask more questions. I didn’t think to ask that. I know that’s a big problem. That’s a good setup you have. So after you harvest, they’re in the bucket and you pour water in them?

Mark Lunde: We’ll fill tubs with water. And then dump the clusters, the grapes into the tub. Just let it sit there. They’ll float to the top, you skim them off, stir them up, and keep doing that.

Tyler Bertsch: Interesting.

Mark Lunde: Supposedly, some say that you’re diluting your wine by doing that, but it’s better than having a peanut butter wine.

Tyler Bertsch: Yeah. I wouldn’t think so long as the berry isn’t massively damaged. Do you have to put them in the hopper right away to make wine or do you dry them off?

Mark Lunde: We let them drain as long as we can, but they’d be crushed and destemmed by the following morning, more than likely. So there’s moisture left. But my thought is, too, pretty much everything we have- the acid’s on the high side, flavors and aromas are very good on most of these varieties, but just adding a little water isn’t going to hurt anything at all. Nobody would notice. That’s my thought.

Tyler Bertsch: Do you fertilize at all?

Mark Lunde: No. I don’t have a need to, I don’t think.

Tyler Bertsch: What about weed control?

Mark Lunde: Yep. I try to keep maybe 12 inches, 18 inches black in the row.

Tyler Bertsch: Like geotextile or you spray it?

Mark Lunde: Spray.

Tyler Bertsch: What do you use for that?

Mark Lunde: Through the growing season I’ll use something similar to Rely, or that’s the active ingredient. Burn down.

Tyler Bertsch: Like Glufosinate? I use Liberty and that works pretty well.

Mark Lunde: Yeah, I’ve used that in the past too. It’s basically the same thing.

Tyler Bertsch: Yeah, same active. And I think for me it’s been the best because even though they say it doesn’t kill everything, it beats it back pretty good. At least for probably close to four weeks. When do you stop spraying or do you spray all the way through?

Mark Lunde: I pretty much, if there’s a need for it, I’ll go ahead and spray. I think probably I’m not hurting the yield, but the ugly factor out there too, I don’t like to see that. And I’m small enough that it doesn’t take that much time for me.

Tyler Bertsch: Yeah. The reason I ask is that sometimes letting the weeds grow back later in the season might help with winter protection and erosion. But if you’re on a flat area... What does your row spacing look like?

Mark Lunde: I think we’re like eight feet apart and probably six feet between vines. And some are down to four feet just because I’ve inserted a new one in between a couple I planned to take out. But then it always seems they start doing better. They must sense the competition, and they just don’t want to give up.

Tyler Bertsch: Yeah. It’s the only thing I can think of. Do you have any issues with raccoons?

Mark Lunde: No, we don’t.

Tyler Bertsch: Herbicide drift?

Mark Lunde: A little bit. Not too bad. Being sheltered on three sides helps. We’re along a river valley that’s probably a couple of miles wide, and we’re only a quarter mile from that river valley so there’s not much farmland on the east of us to drift in. But it always volatilizes and travels forever.

Tyler Bertsch: Yep, dicamba. Did you ever notice a difference in response to dicamba?

Mark Lunde: I guess I couldn’t pick a variety out. It seemed like it was always hit and miss here and there, no consistency to it.

Tyler Bertsch: Did you ever find anything that worked with your neighbors?

Mark Lunde: They’re pretty good and a couple of them rent the land from us.

Tyler Bertsch: Oh, okay. Well, that helps. Just got a couple more. I guess going through your list, just give me a yes or no on if you would plant it again from a strict growing standpoint, not winemaking. Just ease of growing and producing a quality grape. Marquette, would you replant?

Mark Lunde: Yes.

Tyler Bertsch: Frontenac Gris?

Mark Lunde: Yes.

Tyler Bertsch: Blanc?

Mark Lunde: Yes.

Tyler Bertsch: Valiant?

Mark Lunde: Yes.

Tyler Bertsch: Petite Pearl?

Mark Lunde: Maybe. I would say no, then, probably.

Tyler Bertsch: Crimson Pearl?

Mark Lunde: Yes.

Tyler Bertsch: Brianna?

Mark Lunde: Yes.

Tyler Bertsch: Prairie Star?

Mark Lunde: Yes.

Tyler Bertsch: How old’s your Prairie Star?

Mark Lunde: Maybe eight years.

Tyler Bertsch: Okay. I had a grower down here in Nebraska where it just all died out at like 11 or 12 years. So kind of interesting. What about phylloxera, the little bug that gets on the leaves or roots? Do you have any issues with that at all?

Mark Lunde: I don’t believe so. I don’t really know what it would look like exactly, but I really don’t see much leaf damage whatsoever.

Tyler Bertsch: All right. What do you think people misunderstand most about cold climate or prairie grapes? Do you think they just try to compare them to European grapes?

Mark Lunde: Yes. Yeah. I think most people, when they hear that we are growing, definitely don’t expect that we can make something that would compare with California or the West Coast. I think with many of these, we can make something that’s similar but unique enough that most people are very surprised.

Tyler Bertsch: So you think they can compete?

Mark Lunde: I feel so, yeah.

Tyler Bertsch: Which grapes do you think have the best shot of winning awards?

Mark Lunde: Well, I would have to say Marquette for sure. Crimson Pearl—the Petite Pearl- I pretty much blend those together. And sometimes there are some miscellaneous other ones that I get from Greg, such as St. Croix and a couple of others. I think we get a little Frontenac and oh, Foch, that I’ll add to the pearls, and it really makes quite a nice blend. Marquette, I typically keep 100%, Marquette.

Tyler Bertsch: Yeah. You know, Petite Pearl is definitely, I think, the champion for the blender. A lot of people really like it.. But even the winemakers I’ve talked to down here, the general consensus seems like Marquette just isn’t as good or as highly regarded. I did a wine tour up in Minnesota and I had the Marquette, and I just thought they were really good. I thought they were at the level of a lot of the vinifera-type wines. My wife, who is not big into this, was like, "Man, this is really good." But down here they are very overly earthy, like very soily. What about Sabrevois? Do you have any experience with that?

Mark Lunde: Yes. Greg has a fair amount of those. It’s a good blender, made some pretty nice wines on its own also, often will end up with a little bit of smokiness to it. So kind of unique.

Tyler Bertsch: Yeah. That’s one grape I really wish we could grow down here. When people have tried it, it literally is just like bacon, so we can’t grow it down here, or at least Ive never heard about it being grown. It’s a bummer because it seems like it’d be pretty cool.

Mark Lunde: Yeah. Get back to the Marquette, though, I do like it if it has had oak exposure. I like it much better than without. And the pearls too, I do like some oak. Just to give it a little bit of extra.

Tyler Bertsch: Last question, what are you most proud of in the years doing this, making wine, growing grapes?

Mark Lunde: Well, I guess I would say that we’re able to make some pretty amazing wines from most of these grapes that we are able to grow here in North Dakota. And we can compete with anybody here in North Dakota and surrounding areas. I guess that would be the part that makes me the most proud, that all this was worthwhile, that we’re doing very well.

Tyler Bertsch: Nice.

Mark Lunde: Yep. One thing I was going to say, too, you’re talking about earthiness. Have you ever had Aronia wine?

Tyler Bertsch: Uh-uh.

Mark Lunde: Okay. We make a very nice one. Some people would think it’s a red wine, but it really has an earthiness to it. It’s very interesting. So you’ll have to try some when you’re up in North Dakota here.

Tyler Bertsch: I will. For sure. Thanks for taking the time to talk with me.

Mark Lunde: No problem. Have a good evening.