Distinctly Montana Magazine

Ten Spoon also uses fruit grown in Montana whenever possible. Flathead Cherry Dry is made from organic Lambert cherries grown by Fat Robin Orchard & Farm on Flathead Lake. Sophie's Organic Apples in Arlee sup- plies all the apples for Temptation Dry Apple. Don't think for a second that a few apples or cherries are thrown in just for the name. When asked if he supplements these wines with grapes, Sponseller is quick to point out, "My cherry wine is straight up cherries and my apple wine is apple wine." Connie and Andy have refused to let their winemaking success pull them away from a deep love of their community and the ability to reflect on what success really is. Sponseller sums up this philosophy, "We do everything just about the hardest way that you can do it. We buy expensive fruit, we pay our people a decent wage, we're organic, and we haven't chopped our property up for develop- ment. It's not the shortest route to profit but we think what we've estab- lished here is something that's good for the long term." Down in Victor at Hidden Legend Winery, Ken Schultz utilizes another local ingredient to make mead, or honeywine. Schultz has found that Montana is the perfect place to make this ancient drink since it is fifth in the nation for honey production. That wealth of honey comes in large part from knapweed, a noxious weed to many but a boon to local beekeepers. Knapweed is one of the few things in this area that blooms from June to Oc- tober providing a long season for bees to gather the nectar. Beekeepers from Arlee to Hamilton and Darby to Dillon supply Schultz with the massive amounts of honey he needs. Even though he doesn't have a hand in the honey production, his respect for these hard workers shows through the minute the subject is broached. "Those people are as busy as their bees," he is quick to say. Along with the more traditional meads, Hidden Legend also makes a wide variety of fruit meads using chokecherry, elderberry, huckleberry, and others including a dandelion wine. The taste of honey and the specific fruit shines through each glass without being overpowering or too sweet. "If we were going to be a winery, we wanted it to be a Montana Winery. We didn't want to make wine out of someone else's grapes." Schultz is passionate about get- ting his honey and all his fruits from Montana producers and growers. "If we were going to be a winery we wanted it to be a Montana winery. We didn't want to make wine out of someone else's grapes." He appreci- ates the fact that people are satisfied with his product and that he can generate wealth for the local econo- my. "It's beginning to look like we're on our way to being a national brand but we'll always be local." Want to see the idea of using lo- cal products taken to the extreme? Visit Paddy Fleming's Flathead Lake Winery in Columbia Falls, the only winery in Montana to use 100% Montana grown fruit. This pledge that Fleming has made creates a con- stant struggle for him to try to not only find, but keep fruit growers in a state not known for its fruit. Fleming says, "We used to make pear wine but now I can't find enough pears locally. Of course, I could truck them in from Washing- ton, but then I can't say it's Montana wine." He also used to make a black currant wine but his black currant patch was sold to a housing devel- oper who promptly burned 10 acres of berries. For each frustration there is a suc- cess. His mirabelle plum wine is a delicious medium bodied slightly dry wine with an inspiring story behind it. "There's a 90-year-old couple in Kalispell growing them. Back in 2000 a guy tried to start a brandy distillery here so he convinced this couple to plant these plum trees. Unfortunately he went bankrupt before he put his 42 DISTINCTLY MONTANA • FALL 2012

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