A summer in the vineyard (at Painted Prairie Vineyard and Winery)




Surrounded by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources land sits a small one-and-a-half-acre vineyard just outside of Currie, Minnesota, Painted Prairie Vineyard.

Ben and Kim Hause originally planted the vineyard in 2006. In 2011 the Hauses opened a winery, on site.

Two years ago Andy and Krista Kopperud moved onto the property that holds the vineyard. The on-site winery reopened under their ownership in July of 2015.

While the Kopperuds had been to Napa and visited other vineyards and wineries, running one wasn’t a part of their plans.

“We joke with people it wasn’t on our bucket list,” Krista Kopperud said.

“We both grew up on farms, so we have that agricultural background,” Andy Kopperud said. “It’s just a different type of crop.”

The Kopperuds run the winery as a side business, as they both have full time jobs. Andy works as a physician and Krista works for Southwest Health and Human Services. They live in a house on the vineyard property with their three children, Annika, age 6, Elysa, age 4 and Britta, 15 months.

“So this is our hobby,” Krista Kopperud said. “I say that loosely because this is almost a full time job too.”

By taking up the hobby, Krista and Andy had to learn how to care for the grapes, make wine and run a winery open to the public.

The winery is open most weekends from June through October and by appointment.

“If we know a larger group that’s interested we will try to accommodate them,” Krista Kopperud said.

People can stop out to do a wine tasting or host an event there, such as a class reunion. The Kopperuds are also open to allowing people to rent the location for weddings.

Painted Prairie Vineyard is a family friendly property that can currently have up to 50 people on site at one time.

“Our space is small and we are definitely limited by that,” Krista Kopperud said.

However, a birthday party held on site a few weeks ago took place over several hours where people came and went enabling more than 50 people to stop by throughout the day.

In addition to people renting the property for events, this year Krista has created special nights and events for guests to attend. A yoga and wine class is available one Saturday a month this summer. Upcoming events include a s’mores and wine night in August and a pumpkin decorating and wine event in mid-October.

There’s a lot more work than just planning and coordinating events, though, with the Kopperuds describing the vineyard as labor intensive with lots of hand trimming and pruning.

Pruning starts in February and is done throughout the year. Harvest takes place in late September or early October.

All of the harvesting is done by hand as well. A call out for volunteers to assist brings 25 to 30 people to the vineyard.

After the harvesting, the vineyard is left alone to winterize and the wine making begins.

The grapes are crushed and pressed on site.

“Last year we harvested probably 3,000 pounds of grapes and then crushed and pressed most of that that day,” Andy Kopperud said. “That was our biggest day.”

There is a month of intensive work with the wine making in the fall. The wine is moved, stirred and ingredients are added. After that it’s a lot more hands off. Then the bottling begins in the spring.

There are four different kinds of wine made from the grapes growing in the vineyard. The vineyard contains Frontenac, Marquette and La Crescent grapes. The Frontenac grapes are made into a red wine and a Frontenac ros, the Marquette is a red wine and the La Crescent is a white wine. These wines are all available for purchase on site.

Painted Prairie Vineyard just received a full liquor license and will be selling beer from local breweries very soon.

With coming changes under state regulations and inspections, Painted Prairie Vineyard will likely be expanding in the next couple of years. A new building for production and a small meeting room are two possible outcomes of the expansion. The couple also hopes to add some fruit wines like plum and apple in the next year or so.

The future addition will require the hiring of a couple employees to help.

“It’s a pretty steep learning curve, but it’s awesome,” Krista Kopperud said.

The Kopperuds deal with each situation as it comes, like the late frost that took place in May. The couple made fires throughout the night and did whatever they could to prevent the frost from taking hold. This prevented them from having a damaged crop this summer.

While they continue to learn as they go, they love the adventure of owning Painted Prairie Vineyard.

“It’s something new and why not that’s the beauty of this why not,” Krista Kopperud said. “And no matter what, we still have this gorgeous view.”