Keeping Traditions Alive: The Beckmeyer Vineyard of Hartsburg

Laurie & Bill Dipietro and Danna & Ernie Wren at Laurie’s family vineyard in Hartsburg

By: Ernie Wren
The tradition of a family farm hosting their kin and friends to help harvest crops and then enjoy home cooked food and desserts in the barn is alive and well in Hartsburg, Missouri!

My wife and I were recently invited to join in the fun (and work!) on a rainy Sunday morning. Having never snipped grapes for harvest before, it was quite an enlightening experience. It was a repetitive task that was both calming and tiring. I talked to Justin Belew about various aspects of his family’s farm and was fascinated to learn what goes into operation of the farm. In his words:

“We have been super busy with harvest this year with all the dry weather. Beckmeyer Vineyard Inc. was started by my grandparents Orion and Barbara Beckmeyer in 2001. Orion and I work together on management of the vineyard. We have four varieties, all of which are for winemaking, including Norton, Traminette, Chardonel and Chambourcin. Most of these grapes are sold to Les Bourgeois in Rocheport or Eagles Landing Winery in St. James.

Growing grapes can be a tedious and labor-intensive process. Some of the tasks throughout the year include pruning during the vines dormant period, training the vines and tying up new growth, spraying for weeds, applying folair fungicides to the leaves and harvesting the grapes.

During harvest, half of the vineyard is mechanically picked. The remaining half is picked by hand due to challenges in the terrain or the set-up of the vines. Growing grapes can seem like monotonous work at times but rewarding when the end result becomes a quality product.”

Norton is the official grape of Missouri and is the cornerstone of the Missouri wine industry. It is one of the better hybrids, has a red fruit character, and are usually handpicked. Chardonel grapes are used for white wines, have hardiness to wintry weather, and are good for sparkling wine.

Chambourcin grapes is a true French American grape, resistant to many diseases, with a juice that is red or pink, as opposed to clear like most red grapes. And the Traminette grape makes a white wine with a distinctive floral aroma and spicy flavors.
Agricultural operations like that of the Beckmeyer Vineyard are what helped save, and make, France the wine icon that it is today. In the 1870’s a devastating Phylloxera disease came close to annihilating France’s vineyards as it caused the vines to wither and die.

Missouri’s first State Entomologist, Charles Riley, discovered that Missouri grapes were resistant to the phylloxera louse. Riley, along with a German-American botanist named George Engelmann concluded that grafting European vines onto American cuttings was the best method for overcoming the disease. They decided to graft French vines to Missouri rootstocks to produce healthy grapes.

George Husmann, a winemaker from Hermann, Missouri, personally led the effort sending hundreds of thousands of native American grape rootstocks to wine producers in France. There are two statues in Montpelier, France to celebrate the success of this effort. It is estimated that French grape vineyards have root stocks that are 90% originated from Missouri vineyards.
Missouri’s wine industry dates back more than 180 years. There are 134 wineries in the state, and together they produce 971,031 gallons of wine a year. Today, more than 28,000 jobs across the state are dedicated to the quality experience found with each pour. (Missouriwine.org)