Site search
sponsored by
Home
News
ENLARGE
Kayla Buckmaster, 5, of Fallon presses grapes the old fashion way, between her toes, just to experience the process. Photo courtesy of Siri Frey
The grapes have been crushed. The juice is fermenting.
After three years of pruning vines and preening leaf canopies, Churchill County farmer Charley Frey harvested enough grapes from his fledgling vineyard to produce small batches of wine with six varieties of grapes this year.
With the aid of a retired vineyard owner from northern California, the grapes will go through a "textbook" wine making process. There will be virtually no tweaking of sugars and acids, so the unadulterated taste of Fallon-area grapes can be evaluated in the form of grape juice-plus.
"We know grapes will grow here," said wine maker Dick Tijsseling. "Will those grapes make a decent wine? We don't know."
After three years of pruning vines and preening leaf canopies, Churchill County farmer Charley Frey harvested enough grapes from his fledgling vineyard to produce small batches of wine with six varieties of grapes this year.
With the aid of a retired vineyard owner from northern California, the grapes will go through a "textbook" wine making process. There will be virtually no tweaking of sugars and acids, so the unadulterated taste of Fallon-area grapes can be evaluated in the form of grape juice-plus.
"We know grapes will grow here," said wine maker Dick Tijsseling. "Will those grapes make a decent wine? We don't know."
Frey began his experimental vineyard three years ago with the help of University of Nevada, Reno Cooperative Extension researcher Jay Davison. Both were searching for crops that can keep agriculture alive here, as more and more interests clamor for the water that now goes mostly toward alfalfa and corn.
Frey's grapes took about 90 percent less water than did the alfalfa he grows on similar land this year. The savings amounted to hundreds of thousands of gallons per acre. By converting just three acres to vines, Frey saved more than a million gallons of water this year alone.
"It really pencils out well for water savings," Frey said. "But it's not going to help if we're not financially successful."
The idea of commercial success is where Tijsseling comes in. He planted his own vines for a trial run in California's Mendocino County back in the 1970s. By the time he sold Tijsseling Vineyards in the 1990s and retired in Yerington, he was producing about 50,000 cases of wine per year under three different labels.
"Good wine makers are few and far between," said Frey. "I feel very fortunate to have him."
Frey's grapes took about 90 percent less water than did the alfalfa he grows on similar land this year. The savings amounted to hundreds of thousands of gallons per acre. By converting just three acres to vines, Frey saved more than a million gallons of water this year alone.
"It really pencils out well for water savings," Frey said. "But it's not going to help if we're not financially successful."
The idea of commercial success is where Tijsseling comes in. He planted his own vines for a trial run in California's Mendocino County back in the 1970s. By the time he sold Tijsseling Vineyards in the 1990s and retired in Yerington, he was producing about 50,000 cases of wine per year under three different labels.
"Good wine makers are few and far between," said Frey. "I feel very fortunate to have him."
Tijsseling was lured out of his semi-retirement by the chance to help pioneer an entirely new wine industry, here in northern Nevada.
"It's kind of fun," he said. "It's really harder to make small lots of wine than it is to make big batches."
The wine is being made right where the grapes were grown, at Frey's home south of Fallon. He has already acquired just about everything he needs to become a fully operational commercial wine maker. His crusher can process up to nine tons of fruit per hour. It's probably more than he needs, Frey conceded.
Some of the white wines will be ready to taste in as soon as four to six weeks. They won't be good enough to consume, Tijsseling said, just good enough to judge what kind of nuances are in the grapes.
Most of the varieties should be ready to drink "before Christmas," Tijsseling said.
"It's kind of fun," he said. "It's really harder to make small lots of wine than it is to make big batches."
The wine is being made right where the grapes were grown, at Frey's home south of Fallon. He has already acquired just about everything he needs to become a fully operational commercial wine maker. His crusher can process up to nine tons of fruit per hour. It's probably more than he needs, Frey conceded.
Some of the white wines will be ready to taste in as soon as four to six weeks. They won't be good enough to consume, Tijsseling said, just good enough to judge what kind of nuances are in the grapes.
Most of the varieties should be ready to drink "before Christmas," Tijsseling said.
The Fallon grape experimenters hope the little fruits will produce tasty enough wine to bottle and sell in the premium market. The grapes have high enough sugar to create a premium wine and some varieties even turned out better than the industry standard. But only time and Tijsseling's taste buds will tell if the flavor of Fallon's dirt will be pleasant in the form of wine.
Frey, and his co-experimenters aren't the only ones waiting with baited breath. A handful of other Churchill County residents are nursing vines of their own and more than 50 people have formed the Churchill County Grape Growers Association, which Frey hopes will one day lead to a cooperative and a small winery, nestled off the Reno Highway on the west side of Fallon.
Other wine industry folks are also watching Frey's vineyard and hoping for success, including Western Nevada Supply and Jim's Supply out of Southern California, both of which donated thousands of dollars of equipment and supplies. Grape and wine supply companies stand to gain if the Churchill County farmers start heading toward grapes.
No one has tasted the first batch of wine yet, and Frey said a future winery is probably 10 years down the road - if the wine turns out a little more than decent. If it turns out worse than what can be bought in a box in a grocery store's cooking aisle, at least Frey and the others got to be adventurous for a while.
Cory McConnell can be contacted at cmcconnell@lahontanvalleynews.com
Frey, and his co-experimenters aren't the only ones waiting with baited breath. A handful of other Churchill County residents are nursing vines of their own and more than 50 people have formed the Churchill County Grape Growers Association, which Frey hopes will one day lead to a cooperative and a small winery, nestled off the Reno Highway on the west side of Fallon.
Other wine industry folks are also watching Frey's vineyard and hoping for success, including Western Nevada Supply and Jim's Supply out of Southern California, both of which donated thousands of dollars of equipment and supplies. Grape and wine supply companies stand to gain if the Churchill County farmers start heading toward grapes.
No one has tasted the first batch of wine yet, and Frey said a future winery is probably 10 years down the road - if the wine turns out a little more than decent. If it turns out worse than what can be bought in a box in a grocery store's cooking aisle, at least Frey and the others got to be adventurous for a while.
Cory McConnell can be contacted at cmcconnell@lahontanvalleynews.com
