Welcome and thanks for reading the inaugural issue of the Blue Door Vineyard newsletter!
May 1, 2003

Newsletter Contents
While there may be many reasons for writing and distributing a newsletter, our main intent is to use it as a way to share information about our experiences growing grapes in the cool climate of Minnesota and western Wisconsin. We have planted a small vineyard in our backyard in Lake Elmo, Minnesota. The vineyard consists of 36 plants with the following varieties being represented:

 

So besides relating what’s going on here at the vineyard, we also plan to include our experiences covering a variety of topics including:

We will also include information on additional topics as those items come up. We are a couple years away from making wine, but look for that to become more of a topic over time.

Latest News
It’s May 1st and we are right in the middle of bud break. The Valiants have pushed first and are nearing the end of the ‘cotton-tip’ stage. They will be leafed out in the next few days. The Frontenacs and Prairie Stars have cracked their bud scales. Otherwise, the rest of the vines are not doing much yet. We have been spending time amongst the vines removing weeds and prepping planting spaces for 2 replacement Bluebells, 3 more St. Pepins (cuttings) and 6 Sabrevois vines.

On Mother’s Day weekend we will be picking up the Sabrevois and Bluebell vines from Great River Vineyard in Lake City, Minnesota. These folks specialize in cold-hardy grapes and have been extremely helpful as we have worked to establish our vines. In addition to selling bareroot and nursery-grown vines, they also offer grape-growing classes and sell a wide array of grape-related products.

We are in the process of evaluating some organic fertilizers and pest controls. We had a significant amount of deer traffic last summer and are looking to deter the deer without building a fence in our yard. Check back to find out about our progress.

Thanks again for taking the time to read this inaugural issues of our newsletter. If you would like to receive future newsletters via e-mail, simply sign up using the box on the right-hand side of the screen.

Don - Vineyard Manager
Blue Door Vineyard
http://www.bluedoorvineyard.com/