Wineries breathe life into old farms

When owner Dick Adelman purchased Alfalfa Farm 35 years ago, he never imagined starting a winery. Instead, the 63-year-old dabbled with raising beef cattle and horses before planting his first grapes in 1995.

“For me, it was whatever we could do to preserve the farm,’’ said Adelman of his decision to switch from baling bundles of hay to harvesting rows of grapes. “We were just trying different things to see what’s sustainable these days to promote local agriculture, open space, and conservation practices.’’

Adelman is not the only farmer to switch to growing grapes. Wineries have flourished across the state in recent years, most being converted from other agricultural uses. In 2007, Massachusetts had 29 wineries covering 2,425 acres, compared with 12 on 600 acres in 1994, according to the state Department of Agricultural Resources.

And, for the first time, the state published a wine and cheese trail this year highlighting vineyards throughout the Commonwealth, said Scott J. Soares, the state commissioner of agricultural resources.

“The industry is definitely moving forward looking at ways to maintain their landscapes and be engaged in profitable agricultural activities,’’ Soares said.

At Alfalfa Farm, hay fields were converted to grape vines. Part of the old cow/horse barn, which collapsed one winter, was demolished, clearing the way for a new function room. The new construction spawned growth around public wine tastings, weddings, and festivals.

During tastings, which sometimes draw 100 people, attendees can purchase or sample some of the winery’s 13 varieties, including merlot, chardonnay, pinot grigio, and fruit wines. The farm produces about 7,200 bottles each harvest from both its own grapes and some purchased from other farms. The wines cost $14 to $24 a bottle.

Agritourism activities such as the tastings are one way for farmers, under pressure to sell land for development, to maintain their businesses, said Trudi Perry, chairwoman of the Topsfield Agricultural Commission.

Alfalfa Farm “fits in well with what the agricultural commission has been trying to put forth in maintaining a rural atmosphere,’’ Perry said. “We don’t have many farms left and they’re part of the open space that keeps urban sprawl from coming out too far.’’

The farm is a family affair as Adelman’s four children, ages 19 to 34, help in the fields, organize events, and maintain the website

“I grew up around the horses, planted all those grapes, and now it’s a family-operated business,’’ said one daughter, Hannah Adelman Menzer, 30. “It was something different and fun to do.’’

But running a winery is no easy task. In addition to the weather and pests all farmers battle, winery owners have to master the complex, lengthy process of turning grapes into wine.

“Wine is different,’’ Adelman said. “You have the agricultural part of raising grapes but there’s also a lot of chemistry involved in winemaking, from testing when grapes are ripe enough to what kind of yeast to use.’’

There are also creative aspects, since few batches of wine turn out exactly as planned, said Chris Kieffer, the farm’s wine consultant.

“Every year is different and every harvest is a little different,’’ said Kieffer, in his third year at Alfalfa Farm. “You have to adapt and try and produce the best wine with what you have to work with.’’

And none of that can happen until the grape vines have three to five years to grow, Adelman said.

“It’s not a real get-rich-quick business,’’ said Adelman, who teaches sociology and economics at North Shore Community College. “So far, whatever we’ve made we put back into buying more equipment.’’

In Haverhill, Jim and Cindy Parker are in the early stages of opening Willow Spring Vineyards.

The couple purchased an abandoned 1700s subsistence farm in 2000, promising the seller they would return it to agricultural use. The property included a dilapidated 1700s barn that the Parkers are restoring into a wine-tasting room, using part of a barn in Tyngsborough they dismantled and trucked to Haverhill.

“It’s a path we both chose and a labor of love,’’ Jim Parker said. “It has to be because the rewards are not financial. It’s taking much longer and been much more work than we ever dreamed, but we sleep well at night.’’

With 2 acres under cultivation, they hope to open the vineyard to the public during the holidays, once the federal licensing process is completed, he said.

The Parkers hope to emulate Alfalfa Farm, which has grown into a destination for local wine connoisseurs, much the way the former dairy farm attracted school groups, families, and vacationers for its ice cream.

The land was first farmed by an English family in the 1600s. Over time much of the 500-acre farm, which once stretched across present-day Interstate 95 into Danvers, was divided among heirs and sold, becoming a golf course, office park, and housing developments, said Norman Isler, president of the Topsfield Historical Society.

“Topsfield had a farming community background, and Alfalfa Farm was one of the largest ones around,’’ Isler said.

But after the highway was constructed, population “shot up and the town grew out of agriculture and into a more urban, bedroom community,’’ he said.

The farm even had a tunnel under the interstate for cows to get to pastures on what is now Ferncroft Road, Adelman said.

While they are no longer used, the farm’s twin silos remain visible from Interstate 95, where they have been a landmark for decades.

Today, Alfalfa Farm relies on a core group of 20 volunteers to help pick, crush, and press the grapes, although their volunteer e-mail list has 137 members, Adelman said.

“You always meet a fascinating group of people from all walks of life,’’ said volunteer Peter Miles of Danvers. “It could be students, engineers, or schoolteachers.’’

Miles, who started volunteering in 2007, typically spends 12 days at the farm each harvest season, pruning vines, picking grapes, and bottling wine.

Alfalfa Farm also offers noncredit classes through North Shore Community College and an internship, attracting people who are interested in making their own wine or simply curious about the process, Adelman said.

In addition to public wine tasting on fall weekends, the farm’s annual harvest festival is scheduled for Oct. 17-18. For more information, visit www.alfalfafarmwinery.com.