FIRST DRAFT

The short documentary on cold climate grapes entitled, Uncorked, premiered on Saturday, June 14
th
2014 at Sovereign Vineyards in
Waconia, Minnesota. Husband and wife team Marcus and Emily Taplin, started a Kickstarter campaign to get funding to write, direct,
and produce this documentary to showcase cold hardy grapes. They both work in the world of media. Emily Taplin is a news reporter
for WQOW18 in Eau Claire, Wisconsin and is inquisitive by nature. Marcus works for Fox Sports in Minneapolis.

When I asked what piqued their interest in the subject about cold hardy grapes, Emily replied, We visited a couple of wineries near
where we live. One was in Maiden Rock, Wisconsin; Vino in the Valley. Also, Im a reporter and I like to ask a lot of questions. I
asked the wineries, How are you able to grow these vines and produce this wine? We found out that there were grapes specifically
designed to grow in the Midwest climate. Based on what we do, we wanted to do this as a side project and teach others what we were
learning. This is geared toward people whove never stepped foot in a winery.

Marcus agreed, Thats pretty much what its all about. We wanted to get the word out about what the University of Minnesota is doing
up here, and all these little wineries that have popped up in recent years. We want to let others know that California isnt the only place
where you can take a wine tour; you can do it right in your own backyard. We want to get the word out about these little wineries and
the folks who put in a lot of hard work, getting the word out to the people who dont understand what goes into making a bottle of wine.

Winemakers, scientists, and vineyard owners who were interviewed for the documentary included Peter Hemstad, part owner of St.
Croix Vineyards and scientist, Katie Cook, Enology Project Leader Department of Horticultural Science. Teresa Savaryn owner of
Sovereign Estates Winery, and Ben Banks the winemaker for Sovereign Estates.

I asked Peter Hemstad, what sets the viticulture/enology reseach apart that the University of Minnesota conducts from other states? Peter
replied, First of all, there are very few programs like this in the United States. Theres quite a few that work on cultural practices to
optimize grape growing or wine making. Theres only a handful that are developing new varities of grapes. Thats really what makes us
unique. The closest prgrams would be in Arkansas and the next closest would be in New York. They dont have the same goals as us,
to develop very cold hardy grapes to produce a high quality wine and that are disease resistant at the same time. Thats really quite
unique.

Being a current viticulture student myself, I was curious to know what Mr. Hemstads thoughts were on Minnesota setting itself apart
from creating and designing our own cultivars compared to other states. I think so. Theres a big spillover from our research. Its had
a tremendously stimulating effect on the local industry. Also, if you go to Wisconsin or any of the surrounding states or even in New
England and in some of the western states, youll see these grapes are being grown more and more. I think thats great. Our primary
mission is to develop the Minnesota industry but its great that other people are taking advantage of our work as well. Not a lot of other
states can re-invent the wheel. There are things that Wisconsin are doing that we can benefit from and some of our research can benefit
them. We send our advanced materials that are considered for release to Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, Purdue, Cornell in New York and
then we get feedback from that. We want our variates to be well adapted to a range of soils and other conditions. These programs are
expensive and can take many, many years.

I spoke with Teresa Savaryn, owner of Sovereign Estates Winery to get her thoughts from the persepctive of a winery owner were for a
documentary like this hoping to promote. Teresa stated, I think the documentary is a wonderful tool for marketing for the whole
industry. When Emily and Marcus Taplin decided to make this, it was all on their own initiative so we were delighted that they used us
as part of their research. Its a snippit of whats going on in the wine industry, not a total expose of the wine industry. There are so
many variations on the Minnesota wine industry. From very small garage style wineries to very modern commerical style wineries.
Were somewhere in the middle of all of that. We were accessible to help them make the documentary. Its a good snapshot of whats
going on in the industry, certainly not the entire story, but its a good snapshot.

Speaking with Ben Banks, winemaker for Sovereign Estates winery, I asked him what his thoughts were on the wine industry boom for
Minnesota and what he thought was the reason for it. Its defitnitly the better grapes. Once the grapes are ripened, the better grapes
make a better product and it makes others want to give it a try. Were a family run affair here and weve been in this industry since
2008.

The festivities of the night included stellar wine tastings paired alongside food specifically for the wines. Some of the wines that were
being sampled were their 2011 Seyval Blanc, 2013 LaCrescent, 2012 Blue Loon made from the Traminette grape, a hybrid of
Gewurztraminer, 2013 Talon Crest, 2011 Patina Gris, and their 2013 St. Therese Rose a new release this year for Soveriegn Vineyards.

Although the weather wasnt cooperating being that it poured down rain for two hours during the showing of the documentary, a lot of
people still came out for the release party. It was held under a white tent and decorated beautifully with white lights interspersed
throughout the tent. Jeff Carver set the mood with his performance of the jazz trumpet.

The wines were stellar in taste to go along with an elegant event. I purchased a bottle of their Blue Loon produced from the Traminette
grape varietal. I have to admit, it was quite heavenly!

MY EDITED VERSION

The short-form documentary "Cold Climate Grapes Uncorked" premiered Saturday, June 14, 2014, at Sovereign Vineyards in Waconia,
Minnesota. The husband-and-wife team of Marcus and Emily Taplin launched a Kickstarter campaign to get funding to write, direct, and
produce the documentary. They both work in the world of media: Emily is a news reporter in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, while Marcus
works for Fox Sports in Minneapolis.

The couple found themselves interested in cold-climate grapes after visiting wineries near their home, such as Vino in the Valley in
Maiden Rock, Wisconsin. After finding out that there are grapes specifically designed to grow in the Midwest, they decided to share their
newfound knowledge through the documentary.

"Based on what we do," Emily said, "we wanted to do this as a side project and teach others what we were learning. [The documentary]
is geared toward people who've never stepped foot in a winery."

Marcus said the main reason behind making the documentary was to spread the word about how accessible wine is in the Midwest. "We
wanted to get the word out about what the University of Minnesota is doing up here," he said. "We want to let others know that
California isn't the only place where you can take a wine tour. You can do it in your own backyard."

Winemakers, scientists, and vineyard owners who were interviewed for the documentary include: Peter Hemstad, scientist and co-owner
of St. Croix Vineyards, Katie Cook, Enology Project Leader of the Department of Horticultural Science at the University of Minnesota,
Teresa Savaryn, owner of Sovereign Estates Winery, and Ben Banks, the winemaker for Sovereign Estates.

At the documentary's premiere, when I asked Peter Hemstad about what sets Minnesota apart from other states when it comes to the
production of wine, he referenced research at the University of Minnesota. According to Mr. Hemstad, the research being done at the U
is to develop new varieties of grapes--something, Mr. Hemstad said, that is only done in a "handful" of other research facilities.

"There's quite a few [research programs] that work on cultural practices to optimize grape growing or wine making," Mr. Hemstad said.
The other programs, in places like Arkansas and New York, have different priorities than the research in Minnesota. "They don't have the
same goals as us, like developing cold, hardy, disease-resistant grapes that produce a high-quality wine."

He continued, "That's really quite unique."

Being a current viticulture student myself, I was curious to know what Mr. Hemstad's thoughts were on how Minnesota sets itself apart
from other states by creating and designing its own cultivars.

"I think [it makes a difference]. There's a big spillover from our research. It's had a tremendously stimulating effect on the local
industry," he said.

But it's not just the local industry that's been impacted. Mr. Hemstad told me that states surrounding Minnesota, areas of New England,
and even states in the west are growing Minnesota grapes more often.

"I think that's great: our primary mission is to develop the Minnesota industry, but it's great that other people are taking advantage of our
work as well," Mr. Hemstad said. "Not a lot of other states can re-invent the wheel."

The co-owner of Sovereign Estates Winery, where "Uncorked" premiered, Teresa Savaryn, said that she was happy to work with Emily
and Marcus for the documentary.

"We were delighted that they used us as part of their research. The documentary is a snippet of what's going on in the wine industry," she
said. "There are so many variations of the Minnesota wine industry--from very small garage-style wineries to modern, commercial-style
wineries--we're somewhere in the middle."

Sovereign Estates Winery's winemaker, Ben Banks, said that the industry is particularly successful in Minnesota because of the high
quality of the grapes grown.

As for the documentary's release party, the festivities of the night included delicious wine tastings paired alongside food specifically for
the wines. Some of the wines that were sampled were their 2011 Seyval Blanc, 2013 LaCrescent, 2012 Blue Loon made from the
Traminette grape, a hybrid of Gewurztraminer, 2013 Talon Crest, 2011 Patina Gris, and their 2013 St. Therese Rose--a new release this
year for Sovereign Vineyards.

Despite the massive downpour of rain that accompanied the premiere of the documentary, many people attended the release party. Held
under a white tent and decorated beautifully with lights, Jeff Carver's jazz trumpet performance before and after the documentary set the
mood for a wonderful evening.

The wines were stellar in taste to go along with an elegant event. I purchased a bottle of their Blue Loon produced from the Traminette
grape varietal. I have to admit, it was quite heavenly!