Alternative Senior Care( ASC) is a Locally Owned and Operated Homecare Company Serving Central Minnesota Since 2005
hometownsource. com / heartland / Stories of the Heartland • Sunday, April 19, 2026 Page 39
Beer drinkers can brew and drink in relatively short order. Wine does not move that way. White wines may go from harvest to bottle in eight or nine months. Reds may need a year or two.
“ The grapes tell you when they’ re ready,” Katie said.
That line says a lot about the business. For all the science involved, there is still a measure of listening in this work. The Walls can guide the process, but they cannot bully it. Stewardship in everyday choices For all the romance people sometimes attach to wine, much of what happens at Brookview comes down to practical decisions made carefully and over time.
That includes the way the Walls think about stewardship.
They do not irrigate their vineyard. Their clay soils hold moisture well enough that irrigation has not been necessary, and grapes, Arlyn noted, generally prefer drier conditions anyway.
They also do not till vineyard ground the way annual row-crop farmers do. Grapes are perennial. The vines come back year after year, which means less disturbance to the soil than a system built on constant replanting.
“ We don’ t till the ground,” Arlyn said.
“ It’ s a perennial crop.”
That matters in a time when more people, in agriculture and beyond it, are thinking hard about soil health and long-term land care.
The same way of thinking shows up in the cellar. Arlyn uses high-density plastic barrels rather than traditional oak barrels for aging some wines. Part of that is practical. A damaged or leaking barrel can mean a painful financial loss. But part of it also has to do with resources, waste and control.
Like much of what happens at Brookview, the decision is rooted in both necessity and intention. Nothing about the place feels careless. The cider surprise Brookview started with wine as its center. The grapevines were the original dream. The winery was what made it all work.
Then the tasting room opened, and the Walls started noticing the same thing over and over again.
One person in a couple might drink wine, and the other might not. Some visitors wanted something lighter or simply different. Some came along with a wine drinker and stood on the edge of the experience.
Grapes harvested in the fall go on to be made into wine – a process that for some wines can take up to as long as two years, says Arlyn Wall.
Alternative Senior Care( ASC) is a Locally Owned and Operated Homecare Company Serving Central Minnesota Since 2005
ASC specializes in providing individualized care from homemaking, transportation, companionship, care-giving to skilled nursing. We send caring & compassionate personal assistants or nurses to wherever you call home.
ASC billing options are through Private Pay, Veteran Services, County Assistance or Long-Term Care Insurance, for those who qualify.
Here is what our clients are saying about our services:
“ If I didn’ t have the help I needed, I could not have stayed in my home as long as I have.”
E. D. Melrose
“ Our nurse is caring and compassionate! She takes wonderful notes so we can stay informed. She went above and beyond when dad had to go to the ER. Thank you!”
C. W. Alexandria
“ Punctual, communicates well with our family about our moms needs and gives us such peace of mind.”
C. H. Long Prairie
Call us today for a free, no obligation assessment 866.352.3350 www. alternativeseniorcare. net
ASC is a proud member of The Senior Choice, Home Care Association of America and Minnesota Care Providers.
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