The sun and the rain make the fruit. This is magic.
The bees make the honey. This is alchemy.
The Petersons make the wine. This is Winehaven.
“Grandpa Ellsworth started producing raspberries, strawberries, rhubarb, and honey here back during the ‘60s,” spoke Kyle Peterson, motioning to his family’s 50-acre emerald farmland, which the Creator surrounded with Chisago Lakes’ eponymous feature, and where every flower wiggles with determined insect behavior.
“The apiary side of grandpa’s business really took off after my father Kevin joined it later that decade. They grew their operation into one of the largest honey-producing farms in Minnesota, managing 3,000 hives at its peak. If a Twin Cities bakery used honey back then, there was a good chance they were buying ours.”
And then Queen Elizabeth came along and changed the trajectory of everything. One of the Petersons discovered her mead recipe (honey, rosemary, thyme, bay leaf, briar, acid blend, yeast, water) and determined to perform his own form of alchemy.
“Meadmaking started out as a hobby between them,” Kyle explained. “A fun little science experiment they could enjoy doing together, which just so happened to have the added benefit of giving them a buzz. If they made a few mistakes here and there, then it was all smoothed out by the considerable quality of our honey, which the bees make from a sharp, almost citrusy blend of clover, wildflower and basswood nectar.”
Kyle encourages you to stand beneath any basswood tree in the Chisago Lakes area around the Fourth of July. Listen to the contented hum-bumbling of countless bees gorging, ceaselessly rifling through little white flowers; becoming ridiculous yellow pom-poms that can barely take flight. Take a deep whiff. The faint twang of orange peel cast onto hot iron.
“We lost grandpa in ‘92,” said Kyle. “Dad, my mom Cheri, my brother Troy and I would cut the ribbon on Winehaven Winery in his memory three years later.”
At first Winehaven exclusively produced honey wines, but Kyle had grander designs. He studied winemaking at Cornell, and returned home to plant the finest grapes for Minnesota’s climate that contemporary viticulture had to offer. Said grapes would have required years to establish themselves, but turned out to need considerably less time to die miserably.
“Minnesota’s climate revealed itself to be much harsher than contemporary viticulture could handle,” recounted Kyle. “We needed a hardier grape: one that would thumb its nose at temperatures as low as 40 below, and short growing seasons, and disease. With help from then-retired U of M botanist Elmer Swenson, we were able to develop not just one but three reds plus a white: Chisago (patented 2008), which has faint cherry overtones; Nokomis (2013), an oaky-dry Bordeaux-style grape which takes notes from cab sauv; Franconia (2019), which has a delicate touch of blackberry; and Nicollet (ditto), which brings tropical fruits to mind and makes a killer pinot gris-style wine.
“We’ve grown from producing three flavors of wine to more than 30. That makes us one of the largest wineries in Minnesota that grows its own grapes. And we’re now poised to grow even larger thanks to the quarter-million-dollar grape-picking machine we recently imported from France, which does the job of 40 people, and saves our backs from a whole lot of strain.
“Bottling Minnesotan sunshine using sustainable practices: It’s been the Peterson family tradition for over half a century, and will remain so for what I hope will be a very long time.”
Experience Winehaven in Person
It’s only one hour’s drive to Winehaven. Go to 10020 Deer Garden Lane in Chisago City to drink wine on their 2,700-square-foot patio and see what life, the universe and everything are all about. Better yet, host a party for up to 300 people there. You won’t run out of wine. Winehaven.com
Experience Winehaven in a Lesser-Yet-Still-Very-Pleasing Capacity
Winehaven proudly supports PROP: Eden Prairie’s food shelf, and the grateful recipient of two dozen bottles of Winehaven’s award-winning vinos. Go sample the pride of the Petersons and meet their rep at PROP’s Happy Hour 4 Hunger wine tasting to be held at Eden Prairie Liquor (16508 W 78th Street) on Thursday, November 20th from 6 to 8pm. Sample over 50 different wines by Winehaven and many others, and purchase your favorites at exclusive discounted prices. Reserve your ticket with a $10 donation or bring five personal care items with you! PROPFood.org
Visit any Eden Prairie Liquor location to purchase fine reds, whites, fruit wines and meads by Winehaven Winery!