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Round Lake Vineyards expanding; hosted summer picnic Sunday


		August 1, 2012

Scott, Logan and Jenny Ellenbecker are pictured above near their new ‘north’ vineyard. The Round Lake Vineyards are expanding, and the Ellenbeckers hosted the Minnesota Grape Growers Association annual picnic on Sunday.	The Round Lake Vineyard hosted the Minnesota Grape Growers Association annual picnic on Sunday, July 29. Scott and Jenny Ellenbecker welcomed grape growers from around the state and shared information about their vineyard.

The Round Lake Vineyard hosted the Minnesota Grape Growers Association annual picnic on Sunday, July 29. Scott and Jenny Ellenbecker welcomed grape growers from around the state and shared information about their vineyard. Over the past five years, the Round Lake Vineyards have grown and changed. The Ellenbeckers planted their first plot of grapes in 2007, and have added more varieties and more plots over the past five years. “We’ve added a north vineyard,” they explained. The couple had a four acre plot south of their driveway, and this spring began planting a four and a half acre plot to the north side of the driveway. 4,148 vines are planned for the north vineyard, which will include Petite Amie, Prairie Star, Sabervois and King of the North. Next year, they will be adding Petite Pearl vines. The south vineyard consists of 6,150 vines. The Ellenbeckers began in 2007 with Marquette, La Crescent and Frontenac Gris vines. Additional La Crescents and Frontenac Gris, along with St. Pepin and Brianna vines were planted in 2008. This year, they added Edelweiss vines to the south vineyard. The Ellenbeckers showed both their vineyards to the grape growers, and shared information about their deer fencing. “They really like La Crescents,” Scott said of the deer, who would bed down on either side of the row of vines. The Ellenbeckers have an eight foot fence around the south vineyard and are installing a ten foot fence around the north vineyard. “We had to show damage of deer destroying the crop,” the Ellenbeckers indicated in applying for the deer fence. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) worked with the Ellenbeckers to install the fencing. Presently, the Ellenbeckers are going through a permitting process with the DNR. They would like to be able to pump water from Round Lake for irrigation purposes in extreme cases. The water would come from the lake, not the city, and there is already a pumphouse in place on the property. “Kenny Sather built the pumphouse in 1962, “ Scott explained. Several ponds were dug at that time on the Sather property along the west side of Round Lake to help with the re-introduction of geese to the area. Scott explained that large flocks of geese still return to the ponds and lake every year. The Ellenbeckers are working with John Deere Landscapes of Harrisburg, South Dakota, on plans for the irrigation system, which would be customized to the distances needed for the two vineyards. “The permit would be for severe cases,” Scott explained, and indicated those would be in the case of a late spring frost or severe drought. The Ellenbeckers had a loss of about thirty percent of their crop with this year’s late spring frost. For the remainder of the story, please see our print edition or check out our electronic edition website at http://eedition.tricountynewsmn.net. Call 507-793-2327 or email tcnews@roundlk.net for more information.