Cuthills Vineyard: a winery in Pierce, Nebraska

When I graduated from (high school, I jumped on my cycle and went to Arizona before deciding what I wanted to do," relates Nebraska native Ed Swanson, owner with his wife Holly, of Cuthills Vineyard in Pierce, Neb. "A friend who had gone to Arizona earlier had a job with a wine distributorship and he would bring home what I now know were pretty good wines, but we didn't like them so we dumped them down the sink. Eventually we acquired a taste for good wine, and when I got back to Nebraska, I couldn't find anything like the wines we had been drinking. That led me to start making wines on my own."

Cuthills Vineyards was still a decade down the road, but Ed made a start. Along with running some cattle, and farming corn and soybeans on his mother's land near Battle Greek, he put in an experimental plot of grapes. He always knew someday he would grow grapes and own a winery in Nebraska. Historically, it had been done. In the 1800s there were a number of Nebraska wineries operating, principally around Omaha, and Nebraska City in Cass and Sarby counties. One vineyard, owned by Julius Pitts, near Plattsmouth, Nemaha County, was still producing grapes into the 1970s.

By 1985, Ed had found a 151/2 acre site in the rolling hills three miles west of Pierce, and had started planting French hybrids and some experimental varieties, even though the University of Nebraska advised him not to plant a vineyard. The first vines at Cuthills--Marechal Foch, de Chaunac, Leon Millot and LaCrosse were planted on their own roots with a 6' x 8' spacing. Ed trained the red cultivars to a top wire cordon, cane-pruned. The LaCrosse is cane-pruned with a bottom wire hi-lateral vertical shoot positioning, with two sets of catch wires.

"One thing that sets us apart in maintaining a vineyard in Nebraska is that we need a replacement trunk on every vine every three or four years, so every year we have to train another trunk," Ed explains. "The growing season in Nebraska can be quite short. Bud break can start as early as mid-April, and there can be a killing frost in September."

Ed does all the vineyard work, except for the harvest. He has a regular crew of 12 Hispanic men who came to him when the plant where they bad been working closed down. Pickers are paid 10[cent] a pound, and an experienced picker can make good money. The fastest crew he has ever had, he says, was a group of workers who appeared mysteriously from South America, but stayed for just one harvest.

Production varies depending on the harvest, which is highly unpredictable due to Nebraska's often unfriendly weather patterns. "The French-American hybrids are winter-hardy," comments Ed, "and my favorite grape is the LaCrosse because it can make it through a hard winter. In 1995 and 1996 the Marechal Foch and de Chaunac froze to the ground. There were 50 mph winds, and it was 30 below. Winters like that are what make it impossible to grow vinifera.

"We have seven acres of grapes, now," Ed says. "In the reds, we grow Mare chal Foch, de Chaunac, Leon Millot, St. Croix and, just one white, LaCrosse. We crush about six tons of the LaCrosse; about enough to make 400 cases. We do a semi-dry and a Reserve white, which is barrel-fermented, and undergoes complete malolactic fermentation." For the Millennium, Ed created a methode champenoise Cuthills La Crosse sparkling wine, which has been on the yeast for four years.

The Cuthills Marechal Foch, Ed describes as an off-dry wine with 1% residual sugar, and a lot of fruit, and flavors that hint at cherries. The St. Croix, he says, is a nice grape that has a good stable color and no pH problems. "Because in summer our nights stay hot, the grapes don't get a chance to rest, so can end up with a high pH," he explains. "We did grow a little Chancellor, but are pulling it out because it is so susceptible to downy mildew and crown gall. In a bad spring, we can get rain every week."

In addition to the grape wines, Cuthills makes between 600-700 gallons of mead from Nebraska honey, and some delightful fruit wines. "We get our apples from an orchard near Norfolk, Neb. and blueberries and raspberries from Oregon, flash-frozen, in small quantities," says Ed. "We can, by law, only buy 25% out-of-state fruit, based on the previous year's production, so production varies year to year." The Swansons also have three Baco noir vines, grown only for their leaves, which are 12" across and ideal for stuffing and wraps.

Elmer Swenson, who has been breeding grapes for more than half a century in his vineyards in Wisconsin, is responsible for many of the grapes grown in the Midwest. Ed has been following his advice for 16 years, but the two men only met face-to-face in 1997. Some of Swenson's wine grapes growing at Cuthills are LaCrosse, Edelweiss, Kay Gray, St. Croix, St. Pepin and many numbered varieties. Two seedless grapes, Trollhaugen and Petit Jewel are also grown.

Two years ago, Ed started a breeding program of his own, going back to the species level. A lot of the hybrids have labrusca in the cross, and he has discovered it can pop up unexpectedly and influence the grape flavor adversely. Using a riparia female seed from his own vineyard, Ed now has 1,200 seedlings of seven different clones using pollen from Tempranillo, Sangiovese and Cabernet franc.

He was surprised and pleased that the young vines made it through a spell of 24 below zero temperatures in 1998. "We had beautiful fall weather that year, with 90[degrees] days and 70[degrees] nights," he says, "and that gave the young vines a long enough growing season to harden off." He expects to have enough fruit from about 20 vines, in the 1999 harvest, to be able to evaluate the cross. "There may not be enough fruit to make wine, but I should be able to taste the quality of the grapes," he says.

Just as the vines from the first planting were reaching full maturity, Ed proposed to Holly and they were married July 31, 1993 on the hillside overlooking the vineyards. Together, they remodeled a 1920s-style barn, with a high gambrel roof, and a 16' x 30' lean-to on one end to use for making their wines. Ed and Holly were both employed, full-time; she as director of the Norfolk Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, and he as manager of Marathon Press in Norfolk, but by harvest time, 1994, Ed had left his day job to devote himself to growing grapes and making wines. The Swanson's first release, a dry LaCrosse, from the vintage of 1994, made its appearance the following spring.

"When we started the winery, we needed equipment, and got a lucky break when I found some guys who had bought a lot of good equipment, then never got around to making wine." On choosing a name for the winery, he was not quite so lucky. "I had always planned to use the family name for my winery, but by the time I was up and running, there was already a Swanson Winery in the Napa Valley, so I decided to look to nature for a name. Around my mother's land, south of Battle Creek, the hills were formed by the movement of glaciers, and were known as 'cut hills.' Over the centuries they have been left untouched and are now filled with oak forests, wildflowers and cactus. I have always loved that scenery, so chose Cuthills, instead."

Holly had always liked wine, although her interests didn't lie in the direction of winemaking, but more in areas of promotion and sales. In the fall of 1998, she left her job with the Visitors Bureau to spend full time at the winery. By that time, it had also become apparent that production was growing and the winery needed to expand. The young couple worked with general contractor, Michael Wichman and designed a complete renovation and modernization. On April 24, 1999, the 3,100 sq. ft. addition was dedicated. The old lean-to had been torn off and replaced with a new 630 sq. ft. cave-like barrel room. Nebraska artist Michael Fluent designed and crafted metal wall scones in a grape motif, and three chandeliers to hang from the 14' arched ceiling of the room, lending it a romantic aura.

The 2,440 sq. ft. fermentation room houses the crusher, press tanks and provides space for case goods storage. Above the working area, the barn's hayloft, which had remained empty for years, was converted into a gracious wine enjoyment center, with knotty pine walls, and light pine tables and chairs. The room is available for corporate retreats, meetings, special events, wedding rehearsal dinners, weddings and receptions. There is also a brand-new commercial kitchen for caterers, and the patio has been enlarged to 16' x 80'.

85% of Cuthills wine is sold at the winery, from the tasting room, through the Cuthills Vineyards Case Wine Club, or by direct shipment. The wines may be shipped to consumers in the 14 states with reciprocal shipping agreements, with the majority of sales outside Nebraska in California and Iowa.

Usually, the warm, hospitable tasting room and gift shop is presided over by Holly, who selects the quality wine accessories and logo wear. There is no charge for tasting, and all the wines are open and offered in a half-ounce pour. Visitors may also buy a glass of wine to enjoy on the patio or upstairs in the loft.

Among the gift suggestions is a unique personalized label program. There is almost nothing that can't be incorporated into a distinctive label to commemorate any special event, from a christening to retirement.

With the capability of scanning photos onto labels, Holly has created a fascinating array of celebratory remembrances. One with special meaning to the small winery was created for the Nebraska Press Association in honor of Governor Ben and Diane Nelson, for their public service to the citizens of Nebraska. The state's former Governor and First Lady also have participated in Cuthills Vineyard's annual "Wine & Wings Festival." The celebration, scheduled for August 26 and 27, 2000, is a merry mix of wine, food, educational seminars, hay rides, music by five blues bands, workshops by local chefs, and kite flying, with a group from Omaha showing off their stunt kites.

Always alert for new promotional ideas, Holly attended a program at a wine conference, which described the idea of "Passports" to draw visitors to area attractions. She took the idea home, and in 1999 northeast Nebraska staged its first "Passport to the Prairie" event. Ten visitor attractions were featured, and guests at each location were invited to have their passports stamped to become eligible for a prize drawing.

Expenses for producing the passport were covered by a grant from the Nebraska Department of Tourism, and a printing company donated the attractive, four-color cover. Included, along with the Cuthills Vineyards were the Ashfall Fossil Beds, the zoo, two state parks, museums and bed and breakfast inns.

Holly also produces a four-page, quarterly newsletter for the winery, and keeps the winery Web site: www.cuthills.com current with news, an events calendar and recipes.

To encourage others to grow grapes and produce wine, Ed, along with James Jeffers and Jim Ballard of James Arthur Vineyards, started the Nebraska Grape Growers and Wineries Association. "Last spring we held seminars at the winery," Ed mentions. "Bruce Bordelon, from Purdue University presented a session on 'How to Get Started,' and Tom Zabadal, of Michigan State, demonstrated pruning and training.

The 1,600-acre Willow Creek State Recreation Area, encompassing the 700-acre Willow Creek Reservoir, offering camping, fishing, boating and other water sports, is visible from the winery. The Swansons are hoping that the walking trail, which leads from town, around the lake and back, may be extended with a path to the winery.

Looking into the future, Ed and Holly's Cuthills Vineyards, which is billed as Nebraska's first winery, is adding "Nebraska's oldest" to its title. A second winery, owned by James Jeffers, is now operating near Lincoln, and the University of Nebraska, which sought to dissuade Ed from planting grapes a decade ago, has initiated a wine and grape program and is seeking funding for viticultural and enological research.

Visitors are welcome at Cuthills Vineyards Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. till 6 p.m. and between 1 and 6 p.m. Sunday, May through December. From January through April, hours are Friday through Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m. The winery is closed on all major holidays.

Specific instructions for reaching Pierce and Cuthills Vineyards are available at the winery's Internet site, or by calling (402) 329-6774, or e-mailing visitus@ cuthills.com. The address is Cuthills Vineyards, RR2, Box 210, Pierce, Neb. 68767-9518.

Mad As Hell? Write Your Congressman

If you feel the federal government either has gone too far to impede commerce in wine, or is about to, thoughtful correspondence should be addressed to:

The Honorable (name of Senator)

U.S. Senate

Washington, D.C. 20510

The Honorable (name of Representative)

House Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20515

President William Clinton

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington, D.C. 20500

As they say, gross-roots politicking is in! That means winemakers, growers, bottle and cork suppliers and everybody else concerned about wine's future should make themselves heard in Washington! Whether it's direct shipments, the effort to link wine with illegal drugs, fetal alcohol syndrome and honest labeling, your thoughts ore encouraged.

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