Page 38 Stories of the Heartland • Sunday, April 19, 2026 hometownsource. com / heartland /
Rustic directional signs point visitors toward wine, hard cider and Brookview Farm Winery at 6772 90th St., Milaca, where the weathered barn, upright silo and country setting give the entrance a relaxed, rural feel.
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320.256.3680 yearslong timelines. It is still tied to the land. It still demands hard work, patience, a tolerance for risk and a willingness to let the season have the final say.
Arlyn and Katie had an idea. Arlyn had a south-facing field. He also had the agricultural instinct to know that whatever this became, it would have to be built from the soil up.
Brookview is a reminder that farming does not look just one way anymore. In Minnesota, agriculture can still mean dairy barns, soybean fields and beef cattle. But it can also mean grapes, cider apples, fruit wines, direct sales and a business that depends not just on growing a crop, but on turning that crop into something people will drive out and pay to experience.
The Walls are not simply growing grapes and shipping them away. They are growing a crop, making wine, producing cider from apples they source from growers, and then serving those finished products right where the work behind them began.
That value-added piece is not just a side note. It is what makes the whole thing go.
“ We couldn’ t just operate a vineyard on our grounds and sell the grapes for winemaking,” Arlyn said.“ We have to turn them into wine, and we have to turn our apples into cider.”
For Brookview, the vineyard alone would not be enough. The business works because the crop is transformed into something people will come out to buy and enjoy. The long patience of grapes If someone wants to understand why Brookview belongs in a conversation about agriculture, they do not need to start in the tasting room. They need to start with the vines.
Grapes are patient plants. They ask for patience from the people growing them, too.
“ A grape takes about five years, six years to become somewhat fruitful,” Arlyn said.
That kind of timeline changes everything. A bad decision in corn shows up fast. A bad decision in grapes may take years to fully reveal itself. That means every planting choice carries weight. Variety matters. Placement matters. Winter survival matters. Flavor matters. Market demand matters.
Early on, the Walls planted King of the North, a variety that grows aggressively but, looking back, was not the wine grape they would have chosen if they knew then what they know now. That kind of lesson is part of the business.
Minnesota wine grapes live in a world of their own. They are not Napa grapes borrowed from a softer climate. They are hybrids, bred to survive cold winters and short growing seasons. Some came out of the University of Minnesota’ s breeding work. Others trace to cold-hardy grape pioneer Elmer Swenson of Wisconsin.
But surviving winter is only part of the story. A grape can be hardy and still make an unremarkable wine.
That is why the Walls have become deliberate about what they plant. They are not just filling rows. They are trying to decide what belongs there.
They have leaned toward varieties, such as La Crescent and Brianna, white grapes that make wines with vivid, appealing flavors. They have learned that in Minnesota, white wines often move faster than heavier reds. They have learned, too, that not every new release deserves space in a vineyard just because it can survive here.
Over time, that kind of knowledge becomes as important as the crop itself. What can go wrong in a season Like every farmer, the Walls work under terms they do not get to set. Weather comes first. It always does. Winter can damage older vines. Wind can interfere with pollination. A humid summer can bring trouble. A dry, balanced season can make for happy grapes. Every year, the weather writes part of the story whether growers like it or not.
Then come the birds, the insects and the other hungry things.
Birds want the grapes when the grapes are finally reaching the point when people want them, too. Turkeys, deer, rabbits and groundhogs are not above helping themselves either. Asian lady beetles can create real trouble in the winemaking process if they get into harvested fruit. Wasps can damage grapes and open the door to more problems.
The work follows the calendar, but the calendar never really lets go. Pruning begins in late winter and pushes into spring. Vineyard management fills the growing season. Harvest lands in early fall, often at the same time the tasting room is busiest with people wanting to squeeze one more good Minnesota weekend out of the year.
Then comes the next phase: processing, fermenting, aging, bottling and waiting.