The Red River Valley is the agricultural engine of North Dakota, and it's where the state's most active wine community is taking root. The valley's extraordinarily fertile soil, deposited by the ancient glacial Lake Agassiz, supports robust agriculture of every kind, and a growing number of producers are adding grape vines and fruit orchards to the mix.
Fargo, the state's largest city, provides both a customer base and a cultural context for the valley's wine scene. Several producers maintain tasting rooms in the city, and Fargo's increasingly sophisticated restaurant scene has embraced local wines as a point of pride and identity.
The wines here are unapologetically Northern. Marquette and Frontenac reds have a bracing acidity and earthy character that reflects the extreme climate they're grown in. Prairie fruit wines made from local berries, rhubarb, and even honey offer sweeter alternatives. Either way, you're tasting something that could only come from this particular stretch of the northern Great Plains.
Browse all Red River Valley wineries on Wino Notion. Click any card to visit the full page.