New test vineyard planned in Post Falls

POST FALLS — Where alfalfa once grew on the prairie, Keelan and Cara Dickson and Jim Beck are hoping to cultivate rows of grape vines.  

Both families have deep roots in Post Falls farming, but they’re hoping to find varietals that can grow well within the prairie soil to start a new agricultural chapter.

“There were a lot of people with doubts when we said we were going to plant vines, but that kind of fires me up more,” Keelan said.   

Rosemary Manor has been cultivating two test vineyards in the last few years, producing a cabernet sauvignon in 2020 rated 92 out of 100 by the Beverage Tasting Institute. 

The grape vines were ordered last February from Yakima Valley. The Dicksons and Beck are hoping that of some of the five varietals they're planting on the southern-facing slopes, enough prove fruitful to ignite the launch of the wine-making venture.  

“It’s so exciting pioneering something new,” Cara said. 

Her husband, Keelan, spent the morning Wednesday alongside Jim Beck and contractor Max Chekota measuring out where the plants and trellis frames will go this spring.

Beck said after being an engineer for 12 years, he realized two years ago he needed a change and sought out ways to come back to the farm and make it profitable in the modern agricultural industry.   

“I’m looking for projects to take the farm into the future,” Beck said.

If the varietals work well in the prairie soil, Keelan estimates the test vineyard could produce between 3 to 5 tons of grapes, made up of 22 vines in a row and 55 rows of varietals.  

Keelan and Beck were in 4-H together when they were younger, so when Beck left his work as an engineer to return to the family’s roots in agriculture, they began talking and eventually, the idea of a test vineyard came up.  

“My family has made wine from fruit as long as I remember,” Keelan said.   

He said they are relishing the opportunity to try out the vineyard soil as a way to build a future blueprint for varietals that work in North Idaho. 

“This is a great place to try it. If it survives here, it’ll survive anywhere,” Keelan said. 

It will take two or three years to be able to tell if the vines produce wine good enough to pursue for further cultivation. 

Cara said it takes three to five years to develop a stronger root system in the ground and they’re always looking for “little pieces of progress.”

“The longer you can wait, the better it is,” Cara said. “There’s a lot of patience you have to have in this process.” 

Keelan said they’re excited to unite the Dicksons and Beck, one multi-generational farming family to another to try out something new in Post Falls. 

“This is where my family’s from, this is where I’m going to be,” Keelan said. “You want to create a generational legacy for your family.” 

    Keelan Dickson Max Chekota and Jim Beck begin placing posts for a test vineyard on an acre of land on Beck's property to expand their agricultural experiment to grow grapes for wine on the prairie.
  

    Cara Dickson, Keelan Dickson, Jim Beck and Max Chekota stand on the acre of land to plot out measurements for a vineyard. Beck and the Dicksons are experimenting to see if any of the varietals they plant will make viable and delicious wine.
  

    Max Chekota measures out the distance of a row of wine varietals to be planted in the spring on the prairie in post Falls.