Alexis Bailly Vineyard

Alexis Bailly Vineyard
18200 Kirby Ave
Hastings, Minnesota
USA 55033
Phone: (651) 437-1413
http://abvwines.com/

Contact: Nan Bailly

Undeterred by viticulturists who asserted that no wine grape could withstand Minnesota winters, David A. Bailly, a Minneapolis attorney, rose to the challenge of establishing a new viticultural region. In 1973, Bailly bought a 20-acre field of winter rye and planted it with French grapes.

Yet to produce just a Minnesota wine was not Bailly's intention. An amateur oenologist with an educated palate, Bailly aspired to make a great Minnesota wine. French winemakers have long held that in order to produce great wine, the grapevines must endure hardship - wind, sleet, snow, drought. Enthusiastically, Bailly adopted the motto, "Where the grapes can suffer."

Bailly chose grape varieties, not for their hardiness, but for the flavor and excellence of the wine the variety produced. Consequently, this made his job as grape grower difficult: French viticultural practices had to be adapted to the Minnesota climate, new methods of training needed to be developed, and, to survive the sub-zero temperatures, each vine had to be laid down and covered with dirt in autumn. All the laborious field work, however, made his job as winemaker simple, for the key to making great wine is growing quality grapes.


To house his enterprise, Bailly designed and constructed a winery made from Minnesota limestone and white knotty pine. The winery opened its doors in 1978, when Alexis Bailly Vineyard released its 1977 vintage, wines produced from 100% Minnesota-grown grapes.

Not only did Bailly's risky venture survive, it thrived. The grapes may have suffered, but praise and sales did not. Alexis Bailly wines have won over 45 national awards.

David A. Bailly died in 1990. His daughter, Nan, now the master winemaker, carries on her father's romantic fantasy of producing world class wines from a vineyard in Minnesota.

Winemaker: Nan Bailly

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