Osceola Sentinel Tribune, IA
10-12-07
Grapes, wine flourish here, around state
By GWEN TIETGEN, S-T Managing Editor
Dennis Loghry cannot help but think he’s raising children again.
“Every one’s different,” he said, instead referring to his 3 acres of grape vines.
“You separate ‘em. You train ‘em. You feed ‘em, you nurture ‘em and hope. And
at the end of the day, you find out it’s experimental at best,” he said.
Loghry has an about 10-acre farm in Liberty township. He planted his first 700
vines at “Wineberry Vista” in 2001 and has planted more in years since.
And like children, the grape vines require a lot of attention, and money.
People in the industry, like Mike White, viticulture specialist with Iowa State
University Extension in Warren County, call it “labor and capital intensive.”
He estimates about 150 to 200 hours of labor per acre of grapes.
Spraying fungicides and herbicides, mowing, testing and fertilizing are just part of
the job.
Another part: keeping animals, including birds and deer, from feasting on the
fruit.
The cheapest way Loghry has found: an alarm, or chirping sound, that sounds
like a truck backing up.
“There’s all sorts of tricks in this business you have to employ,” he said.
It’s not easy.
During harvest, Loghry found a bird’s nest. Inside, one flock’s trove: a pile of
grape seeds.
Norm and Sandy Wilson helped Loghry harvest this year’s crop. They planted
their vineyard, reportedly Clarke County’s first, in 2000. They now have six acres,
also in the Liberty township.
Their crop, now in its seventh year, has gotten larger and larger each year, as is
expected with grapes. Wilson sells his grapes to Iowa wineries, including
Summerset Winery in Indianola and Whispering Hills in Carson.
“You’ll get better wine from a more mature vine, but it all depends on the
winemaker,” Norm Wilson said, of the wine quality.
Clarke County has 16 acres of grapes in five vineyards, according to White.
Because there’s no mandatory reporting for vineyards in the state, White hears of
expansion or start up of vineyards by word of mouth.
He has witnessed the surge in the state’s grape and wine industry, which he said
started in the winter of 1999-2000 with a series of meetings across the state
trying to get people to grow grapes. Growers plant a hybrid grape variety that can
thrive in Iowa’s climate, he said.
Those behind the meetings were Dr. Bill Brown of the former Timberhill Winery in
Leon, Ron Mark of Summerset Winery in Indianola and Paul Tabor of Tabor
Home Winery near Baldwin.
Prior to those meetings, White said, Iowa had 13 wineries, 11 of which were in
the Amana Colonies.
Now, Iowa has roughly 380 vineyards, totaling more than 850 acres, and 66
licensed wineries. The average vineyard size is about 2.5 acres.
White said average vineyard owners in Iowa are people like the Wilsons and the
Loghrys.
“Most of these people are in their mid-50s, they’ve made a little money from a
vocation to an ag vocation. Many aren’t doing it for the income. They’re a pretty
independent group. They’re hard to get a handle on,” he said.
Loghry said grape growers have formed their own community. He and his wife,
Nancy, have traveled all over the state and country to learn more about the crop
and its product, wine.
“I started the vineyard as a change of venue from conventional farming, but I
have expanded for other reasons,” Loghry said. “There is a satisfaction of
knowing the soil and water will not be polluted by extensive use of herbicides and
fertilizers. The grape vine is planted once and can produce for decades without
being replaced.”
Adding, “This venture has brought us into contact with some the greatest people
one could ever ask to meet. Our list of friends in the industry is endless. The
camaraderie amongst growers, whether during harvest or just swapping
information, is fantastic.”
Loghry said anyone wanting to get into the grape growing business needs to do a
lot of research. He urges those interested to work a summer in a vineyard first.
“Because by the end of the summer, you’re either in love or don’t want anything
to do with it,” he said.
White said to start, the investment is $5,000 to $7,000 an acre and could cost up
to $10,000 an acre.
Vines don’t reach full production until the third year and should produce 3 to 4
tons per acre around the fifth year, depending on the grape variety, he said.
A ton of grapes sells for about $1,000 to $1,400, depending on the quality and
variety of grape, White said.
“A good grape grower can make money,” he said.
Norm and Sandy Wilson said that while growing grapes is a lot of work, they
enjoy the ambiance of the industry.
“It’s exciting. We’ve met a lot of great people,” Norm Wilson said.