• PRAIRIE BERRY WINERY | ABOUT US •
OUR WINES
From unique fruit wines made from local ingredients to dry, European-style wines, we offer something for every palate
Our wines are truly our wines. We embrace our heritage, but aren’t afraid to venture into the unknown.
We make our wines by hand, starting with raw ingredients, at our winery in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Sandi Vojta is our winemaker and the fifth generation of her family to make wines from the “prairie berries” of South Dakota.
The Vojta tradition of winemaking extends to long before Sandi’s great-great grandparents sailed to America and settled in Dakota Territory. Sandi’s family originated in Moravia (now a part of the Czech Republic), which has a rich winemaking tradition that continues today.
The Vojtas developed the skills to make great wine in this centuries-old atmosphere, then — in true pioneer spirit — adapted those skills to the fruits of the Great Plains.
Our values and approach to winemaking reflect that pioneer spirit. We work hard. We try to be a good neighbor. And we strive to make our corner of the world better.
FRUIT WINES
These are the wines made from fruit (not grapes) and “prairie berries,” as Sandi’s great-great-grandmother dubbed them–chokecherries, buffaloberries, wild plums.
They’re some of our favorites because they’re so uniquely South Dakotan.
Many of our wines are made from fruit that grows wild in South Dakota, in canyons, road ditches, and creek banks.
We get some of our fruits from small, family farms, or from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. We know the names of all of our fruit providers. And the names of their kids.
Nearly all of the fruit we use is hand-picked. We couldn’t do what we do without a lot of hard-working South Dakotans.
GRAPE WINES
From Cabernet to Zinfandel, Frontenac to LaCrescent, these are the wines that traditional wine-lovers love.
Our favorite grapes are the ones that have been developed to withstand the frigid temperatures, the drought, the heat and the unpredictability of South Dakota’s climate.
Our partner at family-owned Lewis & Clark Vineyard, near Yankton, S.D., grows Frontenac, Brianna, St. Pepin, LaCrescent, and Frontenac Gris grapes for us.
More traditional varieties — Merlot, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Cabernet, Concord — don’t like our South Dakota summers or winters, so we have to bring them in from friendlier climates.
Whether the grapes are from Yankton or California, every drop of wine is made right here near Hill City, by our fifth-generation South Dakota winemaker.
WINE FUSIONS
In the simplest of terms, a wine with “Fusion” in its name means all the fruit in the wine was co-fermented. Prairie Berry has released many Fusion wines over the years.
Just as layers of paint influence each other on a canvas to create a final painted picture, different fruits in fusion wines co-ferment to create new flavors and textures.
When setting out to make a Fusion wine, Sandi, lets her senses guide the process. For example, she says the smell and taste of Merlot grapes fermenting has always reminded her of black raspberries.
Co-fermenting black raspberries with Merlot grapes made this feeling stick and from that experiment our Black Raspberry Fusion wine was born.
The fun of fusions is that they allow our winemaker to experiment with new flavors and textures. But the best part, of course, is sharing the final creations with you!