This article was written by Debbie Nelson, Master Gardener Emeritus, U of M Extension Service, Hennepin County
The University of Minnesota Horticultural Research Center (HRC) has just released their sixth cold-hardy wine grape, the Clarion. The Research Center has been breeding, growing, researching and testing cold hardy grapes for wine production since the mid-1970s, and released their first grape, Edelweiss, in 1977 in partnership with Elmer Swenson.
Their latest release, Clarion, has been studied for 20 years (as MN1200) to tests for cold hardiness and disease resistance. Test plots have been in evaluation with nursery, university and extension service partners across the United States. Wine produced from these test plots prove to be similar to the Sauvignon Blancs of the Southern Hemisphere (New Zealand and Argentina) with notes of citrus, pear, melon, apricot and chamomile. The vine is marginally hardy in zone 4 but does well in zone 5, Iowa and southern Wisconsin. The vines are less vigorous than others, making them easy to manage. The bunches are loose, reducing disease and increasing resistance to powdery mildew. The vines are being released in our area with the expectation that both commercial and backyard grape growers will experiment with Clarion finding microclimates in which it can thrive.
In 1996 the Horticultural Research Center produced their first modern wine grape, the Frontenac. It is a classic bluish black grape, producing a rich red wine with a strong cherry flavor and hints of red currant. Frontenac is proven to survive cold of -35° and is reliably hardy to zone 3.
Frontenac eventually was followed by the cultivars of Frontenac Gris in 2003 and Frontenac Blanc in 2012. The ‘gris’of Frontenac Gris refers to the grayish color of the skin and the pink berried grape is used to make a white wine with a characteristic peach flavor. Frontenac Blanc is a genetic variant of Frontenac with yellow to golden skin. The white wine offers flavors and aromas of citrus, pineapple and other tropical fruits.
In 2002, the Horticultural Research Center released a grape named for a town on the Mississippi River, the La Crescent. La Crescent wine has the most Governor Cup wins of any entered in the International Cold Climate Wine competition. The white grape produces a wine that has flavors of apricot, citrus and tropical fruits.
The Marquette grape was introduced in 2006. It is a disease resistance dark red grape which produces a dry, medium-balanced red wine which is suitable for barrel aging. The wine has complex flavors of cherry, berry, black pepper and spice.
Prior to Clarion, the most anticipated grape released by the HRC was the Itasca in 2017. Named for Lake Itasca, the source of the Mississippi River, this white grape exhibits extreme cold hardiness. It has high sugar content and produces a wine similar to a Riesling with notes of pear, quince, kiwi, gooseberries and honey dew melon. The first bottle of commercially produced Itasca only came onto the market a couple of years ago and was well received.
The Horticultural Research Center and the Enology Department of the College of Food Agriculture and Natural Resources Science with its development of these cold hardy grapes has jump started a vital industry for our state. A 2016 U of MN Extension report found over 80 wineries in our state, 60 of which were currently producing wine. The wineries were providing over 10,500 jobs and pumping $80.3 million into our state economy. So whether one is a wine lover or not, one can appreciate the benefit of the research to our state.