Grape growers and winemakers meet in Emporia
By Bobbi Mlynar
Originally published 01:22 p.m., January 7, 2008
Updated 01:22 p.m., January 7, 2008
Kansas wines are becoming a trendy option for wine drinkers and for gifting — and as grapes become a more popular crop, they may be showing up at farmers’ markets around the state.
“We’re getting a lot more people that are buying Kansas wines because they’re proud of it, and they’re sending them out of the state, out of the country,” said Becky Campbell of Campbell Vineyard and Winery in Holton.
Campbell was in Emporia this weekend to attend the 22nd annual conference of the Kansas Grape Growers & Winemakers Association. Members exchanged information and experiences and attended a series of workshops that included information on marketing and business plans, in addition to grape-growing.
They are intent on getting out the word that Kansas produces wines that are unique and well worth sampling. The state currently has 12 licensed wineries that produce and sell to the public and 6 more that are licensed and preparing to open. Most of the 12 are open to the public, and sales often are made on-premise, although vintners expect more retail stores to begin carrying Kansas products.
The state had an early history of wine-producing.
Before Prohibition went into effect in 1920, Kansas had been third in the nation in grape-production and fifth in wine production. The industry had stagnated since that time. Kansas was the next-to-the-last state to revoke Prohibition and it was not until 1985 that farm wineries became legal in Kansas.
The relatively late re-entry into the industry bears no relationship to the state’s ability to grow grapes and produce fermented products, members say.
It’s the wind and sunshine that make Kansas good for growing grapes, said Terry Turner of Emporia’s Hummingbird Vineyards. Turner, a wine-producer for seven years, is co-director of research and development for the association.
But, Turner said, the Kansas climate isn’t ideal for some grapes, and he advised people interested in growing them to plan before planting.
“We encourage, as an organization, that the first thing you do is research it,” Turner said.
Conferences, workshops, and the Internet are good sources to study the topic before investing money and effort. Some grapes, such as Chardonnays and Vini-feras, don’t fare well in Kansas soil and weather.
“You don’t just go out and put a variety of grape in the ground; that’s a no-no,” he said. “ ... If you’re going into commercial production for grapes, make a relationship with a winery to see what they want.”
Then, after planting, plan to be patient — and to spend about $9,000 a year until harvesting can be done without damaging the vines.
“It’ll be five years before you produce a grape,” Turner said. “You’ve got costs every year before you go into production.”
Producing wineries, though, are evolving into a viable industry.
Turner and Campbell said that more and more people are discovering the unique taste of Kansas wines, and many buy them to send out-of-state or internationally as gifts. The sales bring revenues into the state, though grape-growing and wine-making have not yet gained a foothold as an agricultural crop or an industry.
“Our state has just not yet taken advantage of it, full advantage,” Campbell said. “ ... Kansas creates its own varieties and distinctiveness. They will never be California wines. They’re Kansas wines.”
The growers would like for their grapes to be considered in the same way other crops are.
Grapes, like those other crops, suffer from aberrant weather. Lyon County grape production had looked promising the first few months of 2007.
“That’s before the Easter massacre freeze that we had this year,” Turner said. “Then you don’t have anything.”
Campbell said that grape production at her vineyard had dropped about 60 percent because of the freeze.
“Some people it wiped out entirely,” Campbell said.
“That’s farming, though,” Turner said. “There was tremendous loss of vines.”
Traditional farmers could be compensated by crop insurance in such instances; grape-growers don’t quite have that luxury, although they do buy insurance. Grape-growers have found, however, that most insurance companies do not reimburse the grape farmers in the same way they do farmers whose traditional crops have been destroyed by weather.
“They get reimbursed; we don’t,” Campbell said. “I have trouble understanding that.”
Grapes, however, were not included in the federal farm bill and consequently do not have the advantages given the other crops, Turner said. Getting that status is a goal of the association.
In the interim, members are working on producing wines that show off the flavors of Kansas grapes.
Members gathered Friday evening at the Best Western conference center for dinner and a judging of wines produced by amateurs from across the state.
Entries ranged from dry reds to sweet whites, and everything in-between, including 14 non-grape sweet fruit entries.
Area residents among the 10 judges were Emporia State University President Mike Lane, State Rep. Don Hill, radio personality Ron Thomas, Gazette columnist Regina Murphy, and grape-grower JoAnn Kuhlmann of Eagle Creek Winery, Olpe. Kuhlmann, along with Turner, was co-organizer of the conference.
After receiving instructions on how to mark wines on their sensory appeal, the judges worked their way through 42 entries, sniffing and swishing each entry, but never swallowing. Instead, they discreetly deposited each sample in a Styrofoam cup after tasting and moved on to the next entry.
By the end of the evening, judges had decided the few wines that would win gold, silver, and bronze awards that would be presented during a ceremony Saturday evening at ESU. Several local wines received recognition.
Turner received a gold and a silver for his sweet white wines. Tim and Kecia Frevert received three silver awards for non-grape sweet fruit entries and three bronze awards in the same category.
Next year’s conference will feature a competition between producers representing ESU and Washburn University.
The challenge came from Susie Pryor of Washburn, who presented a marketing workshop during the conference, Turner said.