CARMAN, Man. – Thomas and Ulrich Menold grew up producing grapes and
wine in their native Germany and are now trying to continue the family
tradition on their farm near Carman.
The brothers are experimenting with grape varieties, trying to find
ones that can weather the Prairies’ harsh climate and short-growing
season and still taste good.
In 1999, Thomas received $17,000 from the federal-provincial Agri-Food
and Development Initiative, or ARDI, to launch a three-year grape
growing trial.
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He extensively researched grape growing, joined the Minnesota Grape
Growers Association and received practical advice from his parents, who
were longtime orchardists and winemakers in Germany.
Thomas and Ulrich hope grapes will further diversify their 1,900-acre
pedigreed seed, grain and cattle farm, named for the nearby Tobacco
Creek. An initial desire to find a good-tasting grape for themselves
has spawned their plan to provide wine, juices and fruit to local
consumers as early as this fall.
“We’ve always been in grain,” Ulrich said.
“We’re trying to have another sideline, an operation to fall back on.”
They started experimenting with grape growing in the mid-1980s, but the
ARDI grant allowed them to devote more acreage, add varieties and
experiment with growing techniques.
“We would have done it anyways, but not as big,” said Ulrich’s wife
Monika, who brought out a bottle of dry red wine made from their
grapes. It featured the family crest, also displayed on wine made by
the Menolds in Germany.
Their first year proved difficult, with cutworm infestations and late
planting.
The growing tubes stayed on the plants too long, preventing the vines
from hardening off.
They replanted in 2000 and added more plants. More were added last year
and again this spring. Some are planted in sheltered areas, and some on
the bald prairie.
“The fun is dealing with varieties and making them work,” Monika said.
Noting challenges with delicate varieties like Chardonnay, Ulrich said,
“It’s a challenge to see how to get it to bear fruit.”
The vines are prone to mildew and are labour intensive. Eighty percent
of the vines must be pruned each year, and hoeing is required between
the plants.
Trellises must be built, and winter covers of flax applied to the more
sensitive varieties when laid down for the winter.
The Manitoba climate, with its short summer and 120 frost-free growing
days, mean other challenges when trying to get grapes to break their
dormancy. The Menolds use tricks such as pruning regularly, trimming
them back in the summer and in early August, and encouraging maturity
by thinning them out.
The biggest trial is the long wait before their labours bear fruit. It
takes three years before the plants produce fruit and five years until
full production.
“It’s a three-year wait to open your Christmas present,” Monika said.
But it’s a labour of love, said Ulrich, who laughed while recalling his
boys’ mouths coloured by the grapes they ate while picking.
The family pools its resources on this project, as they do in the grain
operation.
Thomas and Ulrich’s parents, who help with seeding and harvest, divide
their time between Germany and Canada, where they established a grain
farm in the 1970s.
The brothers are used to “funny looks” from passers-by who puzzle over
vineyards growing next to wheat fields. They have welcomed numerous
visitors and tours.
“People are surprised to hear there are grapes in Manitoba,” Monika
said.
Campbell Davidson, manager of Agriculture Canada’s research centre in
Morden, Man., said people have grown grapes in their prairie gardens
for the last century.
He said riverbank grapes are native to the Prairies and grow along
southern Manitoba waterways.
While there are many varieties that could survive the Manitoba weather,
he said the question remains whether they will ripen or have sufficient
sugar content and yields.
“We don’t have the heat,” he said.
Prairie grapes cannot compete commercially with Ontario and Okanagan
stocks, but can fill a cottage industry, especially to make jams and
jellies.
“That’s where the biggest potential is,” Davidson said.
While only a few varieties are suggested for Manitoba gardens, such as
Valiant and Beta, ARDI program officer Sheri Grift said the Menolds
have already grown more than 37 types.
ARDI’s involvement in the project wrapped up this year, but she said
the Menolds’ enthusiasm and determination to find a good grape continue.
“They have a can-do attitude and are very gung-ho about it.”
Their research can be found on ARDI’s website. Follow the links at
www.producer.com.
Grift said farmers and gardeners have noticed the project.
“It goes beyond agriculture and touches the average person,” she said.
