John Marshall with Great River Vineyard/Lake Pepin Winery is passionate about fruit. Minnesota's climate is tough on fruit trees and grape vines, he'll be the first to tell you, but through a combination of dedicated research, trial-and-error, and sheer luck, he's built a huge variety of cold-hardy fruits.
When we visited, tart cherries and black raspberries were just coming in, and the grapes were just getting started.
Of course, after exploring the orchard and vineyard, we had to stop in to sample some Minnesota wines!!
You can visit the winery most days of the week, and John also sells at the Lake City Market by the Lake.
