Minnesota Has New Cold-Hardy, Lower-Acidity Grape
May 18, 2016 The University of Minnesota has released a new cold-hardy grape that holds promise for winemakers wanting to make dryer wines with local varieties.
The ‘Itasca’ grape, in development since 2002, has about one-third less acidity than ‘Frontenac Gris,’ one of the grape’s parents and another University of Minnesota grape release. That’s good, says Matt Clark, a university grape breeder, because many of the local grapes in Minnesota produce sweeter wines.
“The majority of wines produced in this state are sold at the wineries, and the products that they offer generally are sweet,” Clark says. “We see that our market is a bit fragmented. I think it’s the goal of many of our winemakers to get their products into the restaurant scene, which we see is primarily dominated by European-style wines, which are dry reds, dry white, and sparkling. The sweet offerings are limited, and it’s been a benchmark that a lot of our growers and wine makers are trying to obtain.”
Clark says winemakers can try to work around the acidity to make drier wines, but ‘Itasca’ may be a better option for them.
“The winemaker won’t have to go through those extra processes. The starting product is actually improved,” Clark says.
In addition to the lower acidity, ‘Itasca’ touts resistance to powdery mildew and foliage issues from phylloxera. It has also shown low incidences of downy mildew.
The university has gotten interest in licensing the grape from Canada, and vines have been sent to universities in more than a dozen states, including Ohio, Michigan, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming. Clark says the grape is undergoing tests to ensure it is free from viruses and clear it for distribution on the West Coast as well.
Nurseries will begin selling ‘Itasca’ in 2017. Peter Hemstad, formerly a University of Minnesota grape breeder and now a consultant and winery co-owner, made the first crosses that led to ‘Itasca.’
‘Itasca’s’ name comes from the area around the source of the Mississippi River. The river originates at Lake Itasca, which is in Itasca State Park in Minnesota.
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