Roots

A Village to Plant a Vineyard

One weekend in early May of 2008, Old Folsom Vineyard was planted with the help of many hands. Kelsye drove back from college with a couple of friends. Mike and Marnie’s nephew flew in from Minneapolis. Friends, family, neighbors, and wine enthusiasts alike all showed up to turn this crazy dream into a reality.

The first grapes planted were mostly French-American hybrids: Frontenac, Marquette, Frontenac Gris, and Brianna. However, Mike also decided to plant a test row of European vines—Nebbiolo, Malbec, and Petit Verdot—to see if they might survive in the South Dakota climate.

None of the Petit Verdot and only one of the Malbec survived the first winter with temperatures dipping down to -23 degrees Fahrenheit. But—miracle of miracles—most of the Nebbiolo survived. “At least my homage to our Italian roots survived,” Mike says with a smile.

In the spring of 2009, the Gould family, again with the help of many hands, planted several hundred more vines, including a hybrid called LaCrescent.

“I can’t imagine that without the help of these many people, planting, stringing wire for trellis, digging the water lines, and tamping posts, that any of this would have been possible,” Mike confesses gratefully. “I think when things are done by people together with a unified vision and labor is performed by people simply because they want to help, that the end result shows through. It all adds up to what I like to call ‘the miracle on the prairie.’”