Minnesota has long been known as the "Land of 10,000 Lakes." Now grape growers are turning some of that water into wine.

The Minnesota Grape Growers Association estimates that the state has more than 100 acres of commercial vineyards and roughly 25 commercial growers, perhaps small potatoes compared to California, but a healthy start. And while only a handful of wineries are operating at present, enthusiasm for the industry is strong.

In the tasting room at Alexis Bailly Vineyard, it's hard to miss the awards that decorate an alcove. Many of them are for the winery's signature red, Marechal Foch. Surrounding the winery are 12 acres of vineyards planted in that hybrid and in Seyval Blanc, Leon Millot and Frontenac, a grape developed at the University of Minnesota especially to withstand the region's harsh winters.

The winery first opened the doors of its limestone and knotty pine tasting room in 1978. It's located about 35 miles southeast of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul in the countryside near Hastings, a picturesque town at the convergence of three waterways, the Mississippi, St. Croix and Vermillion Rivers.

"The winery was founded by David A. Bailly, a Minneapolis attorney and amateur oenologist," says Joan Wynia, the tasting room manager. "In 1973, he bought a 20-acre field of winter rye and planted part of it with French grapes in honor of his French ancestors."

Of course, those grape varieties were not ideally suited to Minnesota's climate. In order for them to survive the sub-zero winters, each vine had to be laid down and literally buried in autumn. The laborious field work paid off, though, as the vines produced quality grapes and Bailly produced premium wines.

"David A. Bailly died in 1990, and his daughter Nan is now the winemaker," says Wynia.

During an Alexis Bailly Winemaker Dinner at the Rosewood Inn, a charming bed and breakfast in Hastings, Wynia poured a 1999 Frontenac to accompany a braised lamb shoulder in grape and garlic sauce with buttermilk chive mashed potatoes. The deeply colored wine exhibited blackberry flavor and a spicy finish.

Ratafia accompanied a warm chocolate truffle cake with caramelized strawberries and cream. The wine showed a pronounced orange palate with undertones of coffee and spice.

Other courses featured: 1997 Leon Millot, a dry full-bodied red; 1998 Marachel Foch, a rich velvety red; and 1999 Seyval Blanc, a crisp citrusy white.

The signature Marachel Foch has become the center of an Alexis Bailly tradition. When the winery releases its "Nouveau Marachel Foch" on the second weekend of each November, hundreds of people stop by the tasting room and stock up.

"In 10 years, you'll find a string of wineries along the Minnesota River, and this area will be known as the Napa of the North," predicts Georg Marti, proprietor of Morgan Creek Vineyards. The winery, opened in 1998, is built into a hillside, which maintains the interior temperature at about 51 F year-round.

Although Morgan Creek Vineyards produces Riesling and Gewurztraminer wines in recognition of the German heritage of the nearby town of New Ulm, its specialties are wines made from Minnesota hybrids such as the white St. Pepin and the red St. Croix and Frontenac. The 10-acre property is named for the tributary to the Minnesota River that runs alongside it.

Marti and his wife Paula got caught up in it quite by accident. In 1992, they came across an ad for 10 acres of idle pastureland, went to view the property, fell in love with it, and made an offer that very day. A friend suggested growing grapes.

"It sounded very romantic, but it turned out to be a hell of a lot of work," says Marti. The entire family — Georg, Paula and their four children — has been involved in the physically demanding work, building trellises, pruning, weeding and harvesting.

During a stroll through the vineyard, Marti pointed out that it sits on a south-facing hillside, providing maximum sunlight and warmth. Stopping to inspect his Frontenac vines he said: "Frontenac was introduced to wine growers around 1996. It's high in acid, and has a sweet cherry nose and an intense flavor. It has good potential for fruit character and body, but I don't think it'll produce an identifiable wine style for 10 to 20 years."

At present, the young Morgan Creek vineyard is yielding only small crops, which Marti is supplementing with grapes from other Minnesota growers and from out of state.

Back in the tasting room, Marti offered samples of his German style whites, made with juices from New York and the West Coast. The semi-sweet 1999 Riesling had a delicate apricot flavor, while the interesting 1999 Gewurztraminer leaned toward lychee.

Reds poured included the 1999 Bacchanal, a blend of Minnesota grown Marachel Foch and St. Croix grapes, displaying cherry and blackberry aromas laced with toasted oak and a softly rich flavor, and the 1999 Marachel Foch, made from New York grapes, showing a decided strawberry character.

Also on the menu were: Morgan Creek Myst, a sweet white made from Delaware Labrusca grapes; Black Ice, a Muscat dessert wine; and Redtail Ridge, a medium-bodied red blend of French hybrids.

Each October, Morgan Creek Vineyards hosts the Cambria Crush, named for another local community. The event features music, dancing, food and, of course, grape stomping. "About 700 people attended the first Cambria Crush in 1999, despite a very Minnesota start," says Marti. "There were six inches of snow on the ground, but we persevered."

"Deer like to over-prune our vines," laments Bob Johnson, owner of Carlos Creek Winery, about the unwelcome visitors that roam his 30-acre vineyard, the largest in the state. Johnson grows European vinifera, including Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, all of which must be buried for protection during the winter months.

The winery, located on the outskirts of Alexandria, 120 miles northwest of the Twin Cities, opened in 1999 as part of a 200-acre farm already operated by Johnson. In addition to grapes, he grows apples for making cider and wine, and he raises Arabian horses. Visitors may view the stables and paddocks before sampling wines in the tasting room.

Johnson is justifiably proud of his wine growing operation, stating: "We produce 40 to 50 per cent of our own juice. We hope to get to about 80 per cent and hold there." He has hired Argentinean winemaker Santiago Martinez, who formerly worked at Ironstone Vineyards in California, to convert that juice into high quality product. Martinez has a Ph.D. in oenology and has studied in France.
 

Not surprisingly, Martinez finds winemaking in Minnesota more challenging than winemaking in California. "In California, everybody can make wine," he says. "Here, you get to fight with everything. You are challenged by the weather, by finding the right product for the right people, and be setting new standards for Minnesota."

After explaining much of the shiny still-almost-new equipment, including a bottling machine with a vacuum corking feature that forces carbon dioxide into the bottle to instantly flush oxygen away from the wine, Johnson led a tractor-pulled-wagon inspection of the orchard and vineyard.

Back in the tasting room, Martinez poured a 1999 Special Reserve Merlot that had spent a judicious amount of time in oak. Hints of cedar, vanilla and plum could be detected within its rich black cherry flavor.

For information to help plan a tour of Minnesota wineries, contact the Minnesota Office of Tourism, 500 Metro Square, 121 Seventh Place East, Saint Paul MN 55101-2146, phone 1-800-657-3700 or 1-651-296-5029, e-mail explore@state.mn.us, web site http://www.exploreminnesota.com .