Prairie Fire Winery And Candles

Photos by Emma Highfill: Rose Wheat Photography

Owner Bob DesRuisseaux likes to say that Prairie Fire Winery is only 18 minutes away from 6th and Wanamaker but is really a world away. A visit to Prairie Fire means live music, local meats, hand poured candles and about 30 varieties of wine. And because of its proximity to I-70, Prairie Fire is sending the flavor of Kansas all over America and around the globe.

“The only continent our wine hasn’t made it to is Antarctica,” DesRuisseaux said, “and we’re working on that one! We get photos from all over—Australia, Japan, even the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. You never know where a buyer at the winery might be from.”

Wine is great business for DesRuisseaux, but it is also a tradition.

“My family has been in farming for centuries,” DesRuisseaux said, “and wine has always been a part of it. Growing up in my family, there was usually wine on the table with dinner. For us, wine goes with food. It’s a part of the meal.”

Wine drinkers might not immediately think of Kansas as a source for their preferred beverage, but DesRuisseaux points out that grapevines are native to Kansas and actually grow wild here. The Flint Hills is the perfect place for growing grapes and other perennial crops because of the heavy rain that falls during early season. French fur traders even made wine here in the 1700s.

“This is a great area for a vineyard,” DesRuisseaux said, “with lots of sunshine to ripen grapes to nice maturity.”

SUSTAINABILITY

DesRuisseaux respects the land, and sustainability is one of the core principles that drives his business practices. He says that the ideal conditions in Kansas make it much easier to practice environmentally sustainable farming here than in other parts of the country.

“We do not have to irrigate at all unless there is exceptional drought,” DesRuisseaux said. “We farm on some of the most organically rich soil in the world, recharged over the winter with moisture.”

DesRuisseaux’s goal of reducing the farm’s carbon footprint inspired his creativity with upcycling wine bottles into new, useful products. A major focus of Prairie Fire’s mission is to keep glass out of the landfill.

“Prairie Fire is possibly the only winery in the world that has never sent a bottle from the tasting room to the landfill,” DesRuisseaux said. “We’ve always found other uses.”

At Prairie Fire you can buy spoon rests, cracker bowls, cutting boards, planters, vases, and more, all made from upcycled bottles. You’ll also find hand poured candles made with 100% American soy wax. DesRuisseaux spent two years sourcing the exact ingredients to make a candle with no zinc, no lead, no dyes and no phthalates. He blends the scents himself and just introduced 10 new blends in February.

“If you burn clean, you breathe clean,” DesRuisseaux said, “so our candles return to the tradition of burning vegetable oil, rather than petroleum.”

Prairie Fire just started selling the candles in the fall of 2019, and they’ve already been a hit, available at the winery and online, as well as in local retailers such as Moburts and the Kansas Historical Society. Prairie Fire has even created two fundraiser candles with custom labels, available to order through their website or to purchase in the store. With each candle purchase, $4 is donated to either Operation Fetch or to Kansas Specialty Dog Service, located in Washington, Kansas.

“It’s a win-win,” DesRuisseaux said. “Nonprofits can sell a product that people really want and will use, while supporting a local business and supporting Kansas farmers. We can create custom labels so that groups and organizations can sell something really special.”

LOCAL FOCUS

DesRuisseaux describes Prairie Fire as hyperlocal—100% locally, Kansas grown.

“I want to produce a regional product grown here,” DesRuisseaux said, “something special, unique to our area.”

The local focus goes far beyond the wine. Prairie Fire sells their own summer sausage, made with Kansas beef, and wine brats made with Kansas pork. They have also partnered with Alma Creamery to make a wine-infused cheese. Their walls are decorated with art created by Kansas artists that is available for sale, giving local artists an opportunity to be introduced to buyers from around the world, and they host local musicians for live music performances.

“We love live music,” DesRuisseaux said. “We never have a huge band, it’s always a relaxing vibe, usually acoustic, with one or two musicians. We host a diverse rotation of local performers with different styles and voices, and all of them are incredibly talented.”

FLEXIBLE AND CREATIVE

DesRuisseaux says that the most important thing he has learned over his years in business is how to embrace change. Flexibility and creativity certainly came in handy during the recent COVID crisis.

“Literally every week we were thinking about what needed to change for that week of business,” DesRuisseaux said. “We kept thinking through what we could do, how we could operate while keeping people safe.”

DesRuisseaux saw an opportunity to help people during the crisis by providing access to effective, affordable hand sanitizer, which was in very low supply.

“We know how to handle and bottle alcohol,” DesRuisseaux said, “and we could see that people needed this product. The response was tremendous, and the first customer through the door was just about in tears. What we were able to sell her for $15, she had paid $80 for the week before.”

Prairie Fire sold hand sanitizer to nurses, emergency rooms, doctors’ offices, fire departments, bridge inspectors, schools producing meals, corrections officers, and more. Buyers came from Hays and Kansas City, and all were thankful and grateful. DesRuisseaux donated some to nonprofits and community service organizations, as well.

“It felt really good to be able to do something to help,” DesRuisseaux said, “to give back to our community in a time of need.”

As DesRuisseaux looks to the future, he plans to establish more partnerships with retailers, and make more of the winery’s upcycled bottle goods available to order on his website. Above all, Prairie Fire aims to maintain a beautiful escape for guests who visit from around the world.

“People visit us for many different reasons,” DesRuisseaux said. “Some want to enjoy the quiet of the prairie, others want to tour the vineyard and learn about winemaking or relax and listen to some music. A lot of people tell us that this is their respite.”

DesRuisseaux and his wife live on the farm grounds, so they are surrounded by the beauty of the Flint Hills. He notes that when visitors gush about the scenery, he is able to see it fresh, through their eyes.

“We forget how fortunate we are to have this natural beauty around us, and we’re so lucky that we have an opportunity to share that beauty with others,” DesRuisseaux said.