BLUEBERRY WINE

A NEW BAYFIED FRUIT WINERY...

...MADE FROM LOCAL BLUEBERRIES, BLACKBERRIES AND RASPBERRIES...

...THE PARENT COMPANY IS HIGHLAND VALLEY FARM, A MULTI-GENERATIONAL LOCAL BJUSINESS...

... AN ORIGINAL AND INTRIGUING LABEL

Sunday, 7:45 AM,  75 degrees F at the ferry dock, 71 on the back porch.  Wind variable, with light to moderate gusts.  The sky is partly cloudy, the humidity 86%.  Highs today and tomorrow will be in the mid-80's, then cooling to the 60's and 70's with mostly clear or partly cloudy skies through the week, with a chance of rain next Sunday.  It is a very quiet, breezy, pleasant summer morning.
   The first of the Bayfield blueberry crop is now being harvested,  We stopped by Highland Valley Farm yesterday to check it out, and it will be bountiful.
   Highland Valley Farm is a multi-generational family business, as are a number of the Bayfield orchards and berry farms, and the younger generations often come up with new and innovative business ideas and models that give new life to their enterprise.
   One such innovation is Pike's Creek Winery, just opened at the Dale Family's Highland Valley Farm. The berry farm is just a short distance from the North Branch of Pike's Creek, which originates in the valley. The wine produced is not from grapes, but from their own blueberries, blackberries and raspberries.  Each wine has a  logo with a different color berry in a black bird's beak; blue for blueberry wine, red for raspberry and black for "black and blue," (blueberry and blackberry mix),  The wines are naturally fermented  to 13.5% alcohol without fortification, a pretty potent beverage, and sell for $16.50 a bottle, or $45 for one of each.  One dollar tasting samples are available at the winery.
   Highland Valley is the largest blueberry grower in Wisconsin and a bumper crop begs to be made into wine, so the winery goes hand in hand with the parent operation.
   I did not sample or buy wine yesterday but shall very soon, and  will report on the taste and quality, which is bound to be good.