Round Lake Vineyards and Winery - Round Lake Minnesota
On our cross country roadtrip getaway, we stopped at Round Lake Vineyards and Winery
in Round Lake, Minnesota, a further exploration and discovery of
Midwestern Wines. Round Lake Vineyards is the family owned and operated
enterprise of Scott Ellenbecker and Jenny Ellenbecker, and their two
sons, Logan who serves as winemaker, and Mason who manages events and
marketing.
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Scott Ellenbecker, CEO, and Logan Ellenbecker,
Winemaker
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We started our trip with a visit to Galena Cellars Vineyards and Winery in
northwestern most Galena, Illinois. I wrote in an earlier blogpost about Galena Cellars' efforts to determine the ideal grapes for the unique terroir
of their Northern Illinois site - the exposure, soils, drainage, climate and elevation -
all the elements that contribute to and manifest themselves in the wines
produced from grapes grown on the property. For our visit to Round Lake, we met and were hosted by founder
proprietor Scott Ellenbecker who took us on an extensive tour of the vineyards and the
production facilities.
Round
Lake has taken great care
and put much attention to the careful selection of grape varietals that
are best suited to their unique site. They have twenty-two acres planted
to vineyards on the thirty acre estate on the shore of Round Lake,
which provides some micro-climate moderation in extreme weather.
The
Round Lake Vineyards were first planted in the spring of 2007 in three
grape varieties: La Crescent, Frontenac Gris and Marquette which are
some of their most treasured vines producing some of their best
and most award-winning wines.
In 2008, they planted two more blocks in the grape varietals St. Pepin and Brianna, which source two of
the most distinct wines produced by the winery. They also added to their Marquette plantings.
Since then, they have added Petite Pearl, Sabrevois, King of the North, Petite
Amie, Frontenac Blanc and Louise Swenson grape varietals.
Most recently,
they also planted the Itasca grape developed by Peter
Hemstedt who at the time was at the University of Minnesota.
The Marquette grape has proven to be especially
well suited to the distinctive terror of the site and produces strong
canes and beautiful bunches.
Round Lake's south-facing slope runs
from the crest of the hill north of the winery towards the south and has
sandy loam soil with great drainage for both water and air and rich
topsoil that holds great nutrients - an ideal vineyard location to
grow grapes.
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Marquette grapes due
to be picked in a couple of weeks
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Round Lake has had the most success with the
Marquette grape of which they have three different blocks, each
producing fruit with distinctive characteristics - one lighter and
fruity
while the others are richer and more complex. The Round Lake
property has rich black soils that are
streaked with fractions of sand and gravel that provide good drainage
and also gives the wines great mineral character. The well water on the
property
reflects the strong odor of iron and minerals, which also translates to
the
wines we grow.
Today Round Lake grow over
19,000 vines across four vineyards in seven blocks. They also source
grapes from contract growers across the region as well as sources as far
away as California.
Wines produced by Round Lake are branded
and labeled according to their source and are attributed to Estate
wines, Minnesota Wines and American Wines for grapes sourced from
outside the state and region.
During our visit they were amidst the
crush of several ton of Brianna grapes that had just arrived from their
source in Iowa and we were able to witness them 'crushing' and
de-stemming the grapes and pumping the juice into the stainless steel
tanks for fermentation - overseen by winemaker and production manager
Logan.
We also toured the bottling and labeling line and the
barrel storage cellar. Scott shared the challenges they have faced in
the past year with their supply chain - experiencing severe difficulties
in sourcing barrels, bottles, corks and supplies. 
Scott showed
us the barrel storage facility which is being readied for filling, that includes barrels sourced from leading French
cooperages that used to operate out of Napa Valley, but have since closed,
forcing them to ship barrels from France through the port of Norfolk.
He also sources new American Missouri oak barrels from the Oak Cooperage in Higbee,
Missouri.
We toured and wrote about the Cooper's Oak Winery and OAK Cooperage facilities during our Missouri Wine
Experience a few years ago, when we got the chance to watch them cut and shape the wood,
assemble and toast, then trim the barrels. Oak produces barrels for some
of the top producers and brands in the United States, France and beyond,
including, most notably, the cult Napa Cabernet producer Silver Oak, who have since acquired the business to ensure an ongoing supply of their specified optimal barrels for their wines.
Round
Lake do a great deal of marketing and promotion of their venue which
sits on the shore of Round Lake, as a site for special events including
weddings. Scott talked at length about his culinary preparations and the
many dishes he created for wine dinner special events at the winery.
Round Lake have a Bistro restaurant and host live music at events
and on weekends. They also host many wine dinners paired with Round Lake Wines. Scott shared with Linda many of his culinary creations that he has crafted for such events.
We dined at the Round Lake Bistro restaurant and did a wine flight tasting outside on the veranda adjacent a small pond and fountain.
Round Lake produce a broad portfolio of wines - Red, White, Sweet and Sparkling.
We tasted a Red Flight of the following labels:
- Round Lake Vineyards Sangiovese 2019 - This is actually sourced from the Sierra Foothills, Amador County California
- Round Lake Vineyards Heron Red Blend
- Round Lake Vineyards Gander Red Blend
- Round Lake VIneyards Petite Pearl 2019
We also tasted Round Lake Brianna - one of their most popular white wines. It is a grape that is most consistent and natural in reflecting the source fruit. The restaurant and adjacent grounds with live musicians performing on the lawn.
https://www.roundlakevineyards.com/
