Wolf Creek Winery is a small North Dakota winery located in a bay of Lake Sakakawea near Coleharbor. What started as a dream for proprietor Randy Albrecht, grew into a 10-year hobby, and in 2014 evolved into a licensed bonded winery where it produces about 2,000 gallons of wine annually.

Its objective is not to grow into a large winery but to craft limited amount of quality ND wine.

“The fact that we make smaller quantities allows us to provide special detail in our wine-making process,” said Albrecht.

The winery currently offers three series of wines:

Its Wolf Creek series uses 100 percent cold climate grapes, most of which are grown here in the state. They currently have five varieties available Frontenac, Marquette, Sabrevois, Valiant, and Frontenac Gris. Coming soon they will offer a Wolf Creek Trinity Red, and a Trinity White.

The winery has a few grape vines but they work with local vineyards to obtain the majority of the grapes. The majority of the grapes in this year’s release were grown by Rodney Hogen from Red Trail Vineyard in Buffalo. They also produce several varieties of wine that are sold at his vineyard under the Red Trail vineyard label.

Its Creekside wines are made from fruits and berries grown in the rich North Dakota soil. They offer a Backyard Apple, an Aronia Berry, Chokecherry, Strawberry Rhubarb, and Strawberry wine.

In addition to its ND series, Wolf Creek Winery is proud to present its World Series. In this series, they offer a Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Blackberry Breeze, White Cranberry Mist and a Moscato.

Its Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc are the dry red and white wine. The Blackberry Breeze and Moscato represent its sweet wines, while most of the other grape and fruit wines are crafted as a semi-sweet.

The crafting of wine begins with the fruit, berry or grape, and the process may need to be adjusted based on growing season and harvest factors.

“When you’re making good wine, it starts with good grapes and fruit,” said Albrecht.

As one ferments the juice, it becomes a balance of the science behind wine making and the art of the winemaker in crafting a consistent quality wine.

“We pride ourselves in producing quality wine and all of our wines are taste tested before it leaves the winery to be sure that it meets our quality standards so they can be enjoyed by our customers,” said Albrecht.

The winery recently received awards on its Marquette, Frontenac Gris, Aronia Berry from Finger Lakes International Wine contest, and earlier received a people’s choice award and a silver medal on its Backyard Apple.

Wold Creek Winery is an active member of the ND Wine Makers and Grape Growers Association, where Albrecht currently serves as a member of the board of directors. The quality of the wines produced in North Dakota have improved significantly over the years and most wines offered are quality wines.

“We try to do events and tastings to allow people to taste our wines, so they can experience both the quality of our wine and also learn the flavors of the North Dakota grape and berry varieties,” said Albrecht.

Most everyone knows what a Moscato or Cabernet is, but very few people are familiar with the names and flavors of many of the ND grape and berry varieties. Most of the cold, hardy grapes make a semi sweet wine.

Its wines are available for purchase from the website, and through retailers in Underwood, Garrison, Totten Trail, Turtle Lake, Washburn and Bismarck. Its greatest challenge the past two years has been to manage the growth and to be able to produce enough wine to meet the local demand. The goal is to produce enough wine to be able to offer wines in Minot retail outlets in the near future.