Despite weather, wine harvest complete

Dean Riesen, owner of Whispering Vines Vineyards and Winery, says despite a wet spring and summer, this year's harvest is crushed, pressed, and going through fermentation.

Anyone who has ever tried to grow any type of crop, including grapes, knows Oklahoma weather, especially rainfall, is unpredictable. 
 
"This year it rained from the first part of April to the Fourth of July weekend," said Dean Riesen, owner of Whipering Wines Vineyard & Winery on West 51st Street. "It never stopped. If it wasn't raining, it was cloudy; no sun to dry the grapes out."

Riesen estimates he was only able to harvest about 30 percent of his potential crop.
"However, we still harvested a lot," he said. "It's (this year's crop) crushed and pressed and going through the fermentation steps now."

Riesen estimates he will fill about 2,500 bottles.

The 2007 harvest was hit by a late freeze in the spring and limited production to 2,500.

"My first year (2006) was my best year," he said. "I had 5,000 bottles."

Riesen has 24 rows of vines at the winery at 7374 W. 51st St. and 51 rows at his home in the Lake Keystone area off of Coyote Trail.

"I actually got better production at Keystone because we had a little less rain out there," he said.

Now it's not rain, but the lack of rain that has Riesen worried.

"If it doesn't rain soon, I'm going to have to start watering," said Riesen, who attended Oklahoma State University's Vintners School Perkins Extension and worked at an Okmulgee winery before starting Whispering Vines.

During hot weather, the vines need about an inch of water a week, he said.
Even during winter if it's dry, the vines need water, he said.

"They (the vines) don't go dormant in winter like trees," he said. "One winter I didn't water and I lost 300 vines."

Riesen said the last three years have been an agricultural learning experience.
"We (area wine growers) don't have the history to tell us anything like the farmers do," he said.

Despite the fickle weather, Riesen says he enjoys growing grapes and making wine.
"I thought the hard part would be making the wine, not growing the grapes," he said. "I've been very successful making the wine. People like it and we are starting to get a good reputation."

Riesen and his wife, Doreen, have a booth, along with other northeastern Oklahoma wine growers, in the Expo Center at the Tulsa State Fair this year.

The winery also is available for reception, social events, parties and other gatherings.
"If you don't want to hire a cater, we can arrange to it catered for you," he said.

Jim Fields of Molly's Landing in Tulsa will stage a Halloween murder mystery dinner theater production Nov. 1 at the winery.

"He (Fields) plays a Columbo-type detective," Riesen said. "Everyone's a suspect. You don't know who did it until the end."

The winery is open from 4:45 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday is by appointment. The telephone is (918)231-7928. The website is www.whisperingvines.net