Welcome To Rogotzke's Simple Gifts Website

We have a beautiful maple forest just outside of Duluth, Minnesota. Currently we have 4600 taps and continue to expand as the weather permits. Check out our Maple Syrup page to learn about the sap process which generally runs from mid-March to mid-April. It must freeze over night and thaw during the day to be optimal for drawing the sap out of the trees. The weather cooperated this year and we had a great season. Order your syrup online or give us a call.

Matt, Leah, David, Katie, Anne Rogotzke

A colorful progression of maple syrup, 2009

You are welcome to visit us to see the maple syrup process from start to finish. We give hour long tours during maple season which include learning to tap a maple tree, viewing how the sap flows through lines to converge into one tank, and turning sap into syrup in the Sugar Shack. Give us a call at 1-218-525-5474 to schedule your tour.

Our award winning 100% pure maple syrup took 1st place in the 2006 Minnesota State Fair. We also won first place in 2003 and second place in 2005. Our syrup is available in a variety of sizes, just check out our ordering page. We also have maple butter, which 100% pure maple syrup boiled, chilled, then churned into a creamy consistency. It is fantastic on toast, muffins, pancakes, or whatever you can think of.

The Spring 2009 Maple Syrup Season
In mid-March Duluth temperatures warmed enough to thaw the maple trees and begin our best syruping season yet. Almost everyday the sap steadily ran and the evaporator kept busy for the five week season. By the end of April, we had produced over 1,300 gallons of light and medium amber maple syrup. We enjoyed the many visitors who filtered through the sugar house to appreciate and learn about the woods. We cite the ideal weather - freezing nights and thawing days, which lasted more weeks than normal - for allowing us to collect and produce so much tasty maple syrup. Like always, the agricultural process in our woods is organic and our syrup is all-natural. After such a plentiful season, be sure to place your maple syrup orders and enjoy the gift from the trees!

We have commercially fished salmon in Bristol Bay, Alaska, for the past 25 years. We mainly fish for King and Sockeye salmon, which run from early June to the end of July. Are you wondering why there is so much discussion on Wild Alaska Salmon vs. Farm Raised Salmon? You may have recently heard a lot about farm raised salmon and the toxins they contain. They have significantly higher PCB levels because they are fed meal that contains ground-up fish tainted with contaminants. did you know that they are also artifically colored?

Dave and daughters Katie and Leah with King salmon, 2009

Wild Alaska Salmon from Bristol Bay, Alaska, come from one of the last pristine ecological habitats on earth. Consequently the absence of pollutants and toxins enable the salmon to be a rich source of nutrition, as nature intended. Wild Alaska Salmon provides vitamins and minerals, as well as being rich in Omega-3 fatty acids. For more information, check out our Alaska Salmon page and place your order today.

The June and July 2009 Salmon Season
The middle of June found Dave, Katie, and Leah back in Bristol Bay for another plentiful salmon run - Dave's twenty-sixth, Katie's sixth, and Leah's second season. Those three, plus Duluthian friend Ben Ellison, formed the '09 crew and together worked hard on the Kanista to have another successful year of king and sockeye catches. The peak of the sockeye run occurred on July 3, when over 26,000 pounds of sockeye salmon was caught in 24 hours. Most of the season time was spent in the Nushagak Bay and we finished farther south into the Alleutians in the Ugashik Bay. The Alaskan salmon run continues to be strong and healthy, and we are excited to bring it to other people's plates.

Recent Events -

Our maple syrup took first place at this year's Minnesota State Fair! After an abundant '09 maple season, we have plenty of award-winning syrup to distribute so be sure get your tastey maple syrup.

Learn about the maple syruping process of Simple Gifts from a vidoe recorded in the 2009 season by a local news station. Click here to view the video.

During the 2009 maple syrup season we welcomed Slow Food Lake Superior, a group committed to the local, sustainably-produced food movement.

In 2008 we were honored with Farm Family of the Year for St. Louis County. From one generation to the next, to continue a family tradition of agriculture is exciting and rewarding, whether of sweet corn or maple syrup.