Finding Fine Vines Online
Had the good fortune to meet up with Andy Farmer in cold storage – the only place to keep his supply of cold-hardy grapevines that are in hot demand from Bar Harbor to Duluth. Andy has steadily built his business – 
Northeastern Vine Supply – one vine at a time using the biggest vine of them all – the Internet – and it seems to be a match made in heaven. His customers would certainly agree because grape growing is a passion in every corner of the country, but few are as passionate as the growers north of 40 (might be related to the long winters). A problem has been finding the cold-hardy grape varieties – the local garden centers usually sell out pretty quick, at least in the Adirondacks.
Enter Northeastern Vine Supply, with Andy’s passion for grape vines, farming and an idea that this thing called the Internet might give his little farm in Vermont the marketing boost it needed. They say that a pizza was the very first sale over the Internet – after meeting Andy, I’d guess a grapevine must have been second. Many of his customers are in the Northeast and New England, but just about as many are in the Midwest – Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and the Dakotas. And that’s a testament to Andy’s skills and product quality, because many of the hardy vines he propagates can be traced back to the upper Midwest and especially Minnesota, as Andy calls it: the epicenter of cold-climate viticulture.
So if you are in the north and into grapes check out Northeastern Vine Supply, but be sure to order early – if the snow has melted you might have waited too long. They are primarily an online retailer and respond quickly to email. Their website is very informative and has links to much more info. And if you were a little too late this year, get on their mailing list and mark the calendar.
Just one more example of the agricultural renaissance in the NE & New England.
