a young woman skilled in enology
and viticulture in addition to
several part-time workers and
volunteers who assist on weekends
with events and wine tasting.
“Up until last fall, we were
the wine makers, we were the
viticulture, we were the vineyard
managers,” Jason explained. “We
managed all that and did the
labor.”
“The hardest part is done in
the fall; that’s all done by volunteer
labor,” Colleen explained.
“Customers will pick from eight
until noon. Then, we’ll do a big
lunch and hang out afterwards.
Then after everybody goes home,
we’ll start crushing the grapes.”
The activity is actually one
borrowed from another vineyard
that mentored the Gerkes early on
Colleen Gerke and her husband Jason didn’t know a lot about viticulture when they
bought their acreage in Platte County. Today, the couple operates a seven acre vineyard
with the help of one additional employee. Customer volunteers can often be found
helping out at harvest.
The addition has brought
both expertise and energy to their
operation.
Today’s operation includes
grapes grown in the Gerke’s
vineyard as well as those purchased
from other growers. In a season,
the winery will produce more than
43,000 bottles of wine.
Through creative marketing
techniques the Gerkes involve
customers in various vineyard wine
making activities.
10 HEARTBEAT | SUMMER 2017
in their business. “We always joke
it’s our Tom Sawyer method of
harvesting,” Jason said. “Convince
everybody how much fun it is to
come and work in the vineyard
like he whitewashed the fence, you
know.”
The Gerkes make the event
a social gathering, with couples
turning out to work together.
Conversations run rampant while
customers grab clusters, snip and
drop grapes in a box.
“It’s not hard physical labor,
and people spend the morning,
enjoy the outdoors, enjoy the
countryside,” Jason said. “I feel
grateful for their work, and we
couldn’t do it without them.”
Going Green
With limited knowledge of grape
production going into their
venture, pest management became
a huge learning curve for the
Gerkes, Jason said.
“There’s a reason why a lot
of people don’t grow them,”
Colleen said. From insect pests to
mold and mildew, managing the
production side of the equation is
a different ballgame compared to
that in California where she was
raised.
Still, the Gerkes plowed
through the barrier and
have cornered the market on
sustainability in their own little
piece of Missouri agriculture.
From solar energy production
to composting to eco-based
integrated pest management to
recycling, the Gerkes are proud of
their designation as Missouri’s first
green winery.
“We need to be economically
sustainable,” Jason explained.
“From a social perspective, we
want to make sure that we’re good
neighbors and use sound practices
to support our community. We
really try to be sustainable in all
our practices.”
Both conventional and new
technologies are key elements in
the Gerke’s quest to “go green.”