“If the leaves are allowed to shade the roots of the plants, they become vulnerable to black rot disease,” Dean said. “You have to learn how to be kind of cruel to have healthy productive plants with high sugar content fruit.”

In August there will a harvest party with food and wine taste, similar to the pruning event.

“One of the reasons micro wineries like ours can make some really great wines is that we hand select the grapes that are used,” Dean said. “Large wineries put everything into their vats that the machines harvest. That can include stems and leaves. Each cluster that we harvest is selected and any that don’t look good are left on the ground.”

Dean explained that Cabernet and Riesling vines produce fewer clusters and therefore grow more slowly than zinfandel so cabernet wine is more expensive. Zinfandel produces larger clusters with more grapes so it costs less per bottle.

In a large room at the winery, vats and oak casks line the walls and tables fill the center. The oak barrels are used to age red wines. The Zambelli Internationale grape crusher, destemmer, bottle filler, bottle corker, and all the other equipment used to make wine are in sight. Last year at the harvest event, volunteers learned how to use the equipment.

The dining room is used for dinner events and is rented out for rehearsal dinners, showers and other private parties. A full kitchen is provided.

“We hosted a Valentine’s Day Ultimate Murder Mystery for about 80 people,” Doreen said. “The next dinner event we have planned is at Halloween, but there may be something before that. The dinners are salad to dessert, white table cloth and waiter events.”

Dean works full time at T. D. Williamson (TDW) in Tulsa. TDW works with United Way in many fund-raising events. The Riesens are hosting the second annual Poker Run. This year’s event on May 3 begins at the winery at 10 a.m. and ends at the winery with wine tasting and food.

The Whispering Vines’ T-shirt motto sum up the Riesens’ approach to running their business, “Blending Wine and Friends.”

To find out more, go to www.whisperingvines.net, or riesenvineyards@netzero.com or 231-7928.