Patrick Sween knows how many Gs he can safely pull in a Cessna and perhaps the latest schematics for increased aerodynamics. Neither of those things, however, is on his mind as he trims another vine. Meet the vineyard manager at Four Daughters Vineyard and Winery.

Flight suit aside, the aerospace engineer from Grand Meadow is quite comfortable in flannel and a gardener’s hat, a typical outfit, as he propagates the future of the family business.

“It was a chance for me to be living back here in my hometown and doing something useful and fun with my time,” he said.

Patrick – a tall, intellectual and charismatic father of five who is married to Shawn Vogt Sween, one of the winery's "four daughters" – lived in California while doing design and project engineering on prototype aircraft.  “I worked in that field for about 10 years after college,” he said. “That’s kind of what I always thought I would be doing for my entire career.”

Thing about aerospace engineering is, it’s rare in the Midwest – even more than viticulture. Furthermore, the job skills in each field aren’t exactly identical.  Regardless, about six years ago Patrick joined the family discussions about opening a vineyard and winery in the middle of cornfields, next to a highway. It wasn’t California that sparked his interest in wines.

“My wife and I had always been talking about ‘how could we work it out to be able to move back to Minnesota permanently?’” he said. “It finally sunk in that if I wanted to be doing aerospace in a serious way, I wasn’t going to be doing it in the Midwest.”

While his wife had an opportunity to open a law practice in Grand Meadow, Patrick had a chance to work hands-on with grapes at the southeastern Minnesota winery. He liked that. Despite his lingering passion for flight and mechanics, he loosened ties with that sort of work as both he and Shawn could continue careers where they grew up.

“Those two things together were all the push we needed to be back here permanently,” Patrick said.  Aside from growing some hobby gardens and table grapes in his California backyard, Patrick had no practical experience with viticulture or winemaking.

No matter. Thing about aerospace engineers is, they’re a smart breed.  “I thought I would enjoy the outdoors aspect of it and growing things,” Patrick said. “Even though I had never done it before, it was something that interested me.”

He arranged to return to Minnesota and attend viticulture classes at the University of Minnesota while family planted the first acre of grapes he now oversees.  “I moved back here in December of 2010, and immediately took my first viticulture class through the Vesta program that spring,” Patrick said.  The next year, Patrick helped plant an additional five acres, which now includes cold-hardy varietals such as Brianna, St. Croix, Edelweiss, Marquette, Frontenac Gris and a red Frontenac. In his studies, Patrick learned how vines mature, and the importance of pruning and removing fruit during a plant’s juvenile years to strengthen root systems and fortify the entire vine structure. Since planting, Patrick was able to use more grapes for production each year as the vineyard matured. As of 2014, vines at Four Daughters had entered their fourth and fifth growing seasons.

“Year four is kind of your finished product, so to speak,” Patrick said.

That means increasingly, Patrick sees the fruits of his labor, literally.

He’s happy with the maturation of the quaint, six-acre vineyard among the corn and soybean fields.  “You can really see what is happening,” he said. “You can tell if you’re doing it right, which is satisfying.”  While the vineyard has reached maturity, Patrick’s job isn’t done. Like any gardener, he follows a process each year: As soon as the calendar shows January, he begins pruning. That process, depending on weather, can continue into April, as it did this year. After a “hands-off” period, as Patrick calls it, chutes with tiny grapes appear. A spray schedule follows, every two weeks to prevent fungus and pests. As grapes start maturing near the peak of summer, spraying schedule ends. From early-September through mid-October is harvest, an enjoyable and gratifying time. Leaves fall from the trees, humidity dissipates, and grapes are ready for picking. The work may not be as mentally engaging as designing a new fuselage or wing, but it’s peaceful, especially with a little sunshine, and the faint rumble of an airplane in the distance. It’s a good gig.