Marquette

Marquette sets a new standard of excellence for winter-hardy red wine grapes. It has good disease resistance to downy and powdery mildew and black rot. It has a desirable open growth habit, and could be trained to a vertical shoot positioning system. The wine is complex with berry, cherry, black pepper and spice, and more tannin than the other northern reds. Matures about 2 weeks before Frontenac.

Frontenac is a very cold hardy vine and has borne a full crop after temperatures as low as -30 F. It has near-immunity to downy mildew. Frontenac's small black berries are produced on medium to large clusters that are usually slightly loose. As a result, berry splitting and bunch rot have been rare, even in wet years. Frontenac has been a consistently heavy producer and sometimes requires cluster thinning. Frontenac is a vigorous variety and usually becomes established very quickly. Typical spacing on fertile soils would be about 8' between vines. Frontenac ripens in late-midseason, about 10 days after Foch. It is important to let the fruit hang long enough to fully mature in order to reduce the acidity to workable levels. Frontenac is a good sugar producer with 24-25 brix not uncommon. Frontenac wine typically has a pleasant cherry aroma with berry and plum evident in many cases.. The color is usually a garnet red. Malolactic fermentation is essential to reduce the wine's high acidity.

Frontenac Gris (pronounced “gree”) is a natural variant of Frontenac with light red/gray fruit. Frontenac. Gris makes a wine with a peach flavor and tropical fruit/grapefruit undertones. The wine color ranges from amber to light rose’. In all other respects, it is identical with Frontenac.

(Frontenac Gris is generally considered a white wine grape, but it’s included here, as well as in the white wine grape section, because of its connection to Frontenac, and because it sometimes makes a light rose’-colored wine.)

St Croix – Many award-wining red wines have been produced from St Croix. It is widely grown in Minnesota, Connecticut and Quebec. Clusters are medium-sized and slightly loose. Acidity is moderate, and sugar doesn’t get above 20 Brix. Vigorous grower, hardy to about –25F. Roots are a bit less hardy, unless there is snow cover.

Sabrevois is sister to St Croix. More than 100,000 vines have been planted in Quebec. The fruit ripens in mid-season, about a week after St Croix. The acidity is higher than St Croix, but very workable. The sugar content rarely exceeds 20%, even in very ripe fruit. Wines from Sabrevois have a pleasant berry-like fruitiness in the nose and mouth. Works best as a rose’, or with carbonic maceration. Long skin-contact time should be avoided. It is hardy to at least –30F.

La Crescent

La Crescent- This is one of the best of the new white wine selections from U Minn. It has long slightly loose clusters and turns a beautiful golden brown color when ripe. La Crescent produces a wine with a pronounced and delicious apricot flavor. The wine is fairly high in acid, and would be made in a Germanic style, with some residual sugar. The wine can be very good, balanced, and with good body. In the vineyard, La Crescent is moderately susceptible to Powdery and Downy Mildew so it needs a careful spray program. It has a strongly trailing growth habit, which makes it easy to train. Hardy to at least –30F.

Louise Swenson- The wine has a typical delicate aroma of flowers and honey. This wine's only fault is that it is rather light in body. Blending with a variety such as Prairie Star makes it a more complete wine. Louise Swenson rarely exceeds 20 Brix.. Acidity is moderate and needs no reduction. Observed at many sites around south-central Minnesota, this variety has shown little or no winter injury even in the most severe (-40 F) winters. It has moderate vigor on most sites. It buds out relatively late in the spring compared to other hybrid grape varieties. Disease resistance is generally very good, with some susceptibility to Anthracnose.

Swenson White- The clusters of Swenson White are medium-large (90-230 ave=152g) and rather loose. Berries are large(4g), yellowish, and thick-skinned, allowing them to hang on the vine, unmolested by insects, late into the fall season. This selection ripens rather late, reaching only 20 Brix by the first of October. Acidity is moderate. White wines produced from Swenson White have been excellent, with a pronounced flowery nose and a long fruity finish. Slightly susceptible to anthracnose. With its ability to hang on the vine and its good aromatics, this selection also should be a good candidate for ice wine. Hardy to at least –30F Very disease resistant.

Prairie Star is usually harvested at 20 to 22 Brix during the third week in September. Prairie Star has long, slightly loose clusters. Berries are small-medium, averaging 2.5 g. Prairie Star is best used as a blending component to add body and finish to thinner white wines. The vine is one of the hardiest white wine varieties, suffering little damage in all but the harshest, -40 F (-40 C) winters. Prairie Star also is rather resistant to mildew diseases, with the exception of Black Rot and Anthracnose, to which it is moderately susceptible. Poor fruit set has been observed in some seasons at a few sites.

Frontenac Gris (pronounced “gree”) is a natural variant of Frontenac with light red/gray fruit. Frontenac. Gris makes a wine with a peach flavor and tropical fruit/grapefruit undertones. The wine color ranges from amber to light rose’. In all other respects, it is identical with Frontenac.

La Crosse ripens fairly late and needs a warm summer to reach 20 Brix. Makes a good dry white wine fermented in oak with ML fermentation. Wine flavors include pear, apricot, and muscat. Hardy to –25F. Vigor and productivity is moderate.

St Pepin ripens mid- to late-September. Has female flowers so must be planted near other grapes for pollination. Can produce very good wines. Hardy to about –26F.

ES 8-2-43 is very winter hardy to at least –35F, and early ripening, by early September. Produces numerous small clusters. Excellent wine, similar to a true muscat. Small clusters slow the harvest. Promising grape for short season, cold winter areas.

Somerset

Somerset Seedless is a seedless grape with small, orange-red berries and good flavor. Many folks say it's the best table grape they've ever had. The vines are hardy to about –30F. The fruit ripens mid- to late-August. We sell Somerset at our tasting room and at the Middlebury Farmers' Market in the end of August.

Swenson Red is a firm, meaty grape with a unique, fruity flavor. Hardy to about -30 F when well hardened. Ripening time averages about a month before Concord, or about mid September in. Sugar is fairly high, often 21 Brix. The vines like fertile soil for best vigor and productivity, though they will do well in other soils. It gets downy mildew in bad years. Has seeds.



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