South Dakota Wine - Denise DePaolo

A young commercial wine industry notwithstanding, winemaking traditions run deep in the Mount Rushmore State. Sodbusting pioneers like Anna Pesa and Jon Vojta defied South Dakota's harsh terrain and paved the way for Prairie Berry Winery. University biologists, including Dr. Ronald Peterson, cultivated the unique grapes needed for the climate, like the Valiant, Marquette, Brianna and Frontenac grapes. Despite subzero winters and torrid summers, strawberries, buffaloberries and rhubarb have grown..