SALT CREEK VALLEY, Kan. (RFD News) — Brian and Jessica Smith are reviving the legacy of her five-times-great-grandfather’s vineyard operation from the 1890s.
They planted their first vines in 2021 across the road from the original vineyard and handle everything from harvest to bottling on their farm.
Jessica says grapes are making a return to land her family has farmed for decades.
“We found that my great-great times five grandfather actually had the biggest vineyard in the state at one point and grew grapes. My dad has been involved in farming this land probably since the 1960s, maybe even earlier, but it’s always been row crops, corn and soybeans. So I really never pictured grapes being here, but here we are.”
Like any crop, this year’s grape-growing season brought challenges. Brian says late rains and high humidity made conditions difficult.
“Not a great one for us, like probably a lot of folks around here. The late rains and the high humidity made it a little bit challenging this year. Fruit was definitely ripened a little bit earlier than I think a lot of people expected it to be.”
Brian says white grapes tend to be easier to grow in Kansas, with the state’s wet springs and hot early summers providing favorable conditions for those varieties.
LEARN MORE: https://www.wendelinvines.com/
