updated on May 2, 2024
"HERBERT FRITZKE’S 2015 GRAPE PRESERVATION PROJECT"
article was written in November 2015 and published in the MGGA Newsletter “Notes from the North” (winter issue)
Initially, when writing this article, I was planning to combine two projects dedicated to two great men (Elmer Swenson and Herbert Fritzke). I soon changed my mind deciding that both men merit special attention, each for their own accomplishments .
This spring, I visited the Elmer Swenson Experimental Lot at Wild Mountain Winery to check grapes’ blooming characteristics. During my discussions with current President of MGGA, Irving Geary, he suggested I also visit an experimental vineyard of well-known breeder in viticulture, Herbert Fritzke, who passed away during the fall of 2013. His vineyard (approx. 4 acres) is on land owned by the Johnson family in Shaffer, MN. I had difficulty finding more information about this famous man, but I did unearth some that I would like to share. Herb Fritzke, who according to some web links, was man who pursued interests with “passion and purpose”(1). He was truly a renaissance man with diverse interests and natural talent. Fritzke especially honed his skills as a printmaker, but his natural talent and interests included:
• designing and flying remote control airplanes that he built from scratch;
• growing and selecting an enormous collection of Wild Riparia grapes, breeding them to produce better and more hardy hybrids;
• racing on long blade ice skates, which he made for himself;
• researching genealogy for creating personal history books for family and friends.
“Educated at the University of Minnesota, Herbert Fritzke was a respected teacher and a mentor, but he also had a good career as a laborer.” His long time friend Art Kenyon said, “(He) spent his life finding and inventing the means, methods and materials to create new and evocative images.” (1) Personally, I will add – not only in printmaking, but in viticulture and grape breeding as well.
Here are my findings at the Herb’s vineyard, which I researched throughout the entire 2015 season. The vineyard consists of two lots – each having approximately two acres of land. One lot has an elongated shape, and the other a square shape. As well as both lots having multiple variations of Vitis riparia grapes, were open-pollinated seedlings, and some not known to me as Herb’s hybrids. I also found in both lots a few partially filled rows of the well-known hardy white grape variety, Kay Gray, which probably, for this season, was the main pollinator of many female varieties at this vineyard. My first interest for using this genetic material was to find the hardiest varieties with the toughest and thickest trunks resistant to cracking. Because many varieties had no labels I decided to mark those promising varieties.
Following is the method I used for naming each selected variety :
- initials of Herbert Fritzke of first and last name - HF;
- 1st number means the lot number, 1 or 2;
- 2nd number means the row number;
- 3rd number means the number of the post next to the vine. Note: I did not put an actual number of the vine, because the of difficulty to count, as some of the vines did not survived the polar vortex winter and are dead; some spots are empty between the posts but may be filled with the vines in the future.
- if the vine has a label then I included that at the end of the selected variety.
For example, I did a selection of the following vine and named it : HF 1-2-6(C-C). That means a location of a promising variety and its name given by Herb.
During my research of Herb’s best selections and by the end of the growing season when many grapes were ripened, my interest extended to finding the less acidic, less diseased, and the most productive Riparia varieties and its seedlings. Because of the well-known axiom that wild Riparia grapes are extremely acidic, it means that the selection of less acidic wild varieties for future crosses is a very important trait for the Northern viticulture. And Herb Fritzke did those selections with less acids - L50-s, C-C and etc. which Elmer Swenson and the U of MN, Horticultural Research Center used in some of their crosses too. Elmer Swenson, together with Herb Fritzke, wrote an article about their research(2).
An interesting suggestion Herb made in another article (3):
“Recurrent mass selection breeding involves the selection of the best specimens of each generation and propagating their seeds in mass or ‘block’ plants. ‘Open pollination’ is encouraged.”
For the year 2015 I was able to select only a few varieties (collected cuttings and/or seeds) which may present an interest for the Northern Viticulture. I also measured the Brix for those varieties on September 23, 2015:
• HF 1-1-5 - is a blue, very productive variety of small clusters and berries, having a neutral taste. Without any spray, berries were afflicted with some Black Rot disease this season. Brix varied between 23-24°.
• HF 1-2-6(C-C) and HF 1-2-7(C-C) - are two vines of the same blue variety, having small clusters and berries, which are open pollinated seedlings of L50-s Riparia. Brix was 24-25° for both vines. Why that variety was chosen by Herb and named? Because in my opinion, that is the most, less-acidic Riparia seedling among hundreds of varieties on both Herb’s lots and really merit our attention. Trunks were thick and strong, survived well after polar vortex winter of 2013-2014, and were resistant to cracking.
• HF 1-1-11 – is a blue Labrusca type of vine having small to medium sized clusters and small berries. Brix for this variety was 23°.
• HF 1-4-15 –is a blue Riparia seedling of small sized clusters and berries. I marked that variety because it has a nice trunk development. Without any sprays, that variety also had some Black Rot disease during this season. Despite some higher acidity, in my opinion, it has also some pleasant tannic structure. Brix was 22°.
• HF 1-1-6(C-CxConcord) did not produce any grapes this season, but showed a nice healthy growth habit, so I collected cuttings and data for this one too.
The rest of other varieties, I tasted during my walk between rows, had acid levels too high for me this season. I also was impressed by amounts of different wild Riparia seedlings collected in one place. Some of them were too vigorous and some of them less; some of them had a good production and some of them less; some of them were too diseased and some of them less.
My future plans are to look for clones of different colors of wild Vitis Riparia varieties at Herb’s experimental lot. Unfortunately, I was not able to find them yet, because may be they suffered after polar vortex winter 2013- 2014 and did not produced any grapes yet since that time. Irving Geary suggested we also look for the less vigorous Vitis riparia varieties at Herb’s vineyard and use them as a rootstock for grafting the more vigorous varieties into it to lessen their vigor.
After making some observation of wild Riparia grapes on Herb’s Fritzke Vineyard as well as some Riparia growing next to my vineyards at Litchfield and Bradford areas in Minnesota, I wrote few criteria important for an elite Riparia breeding selection. We should at least combine 2-3 traits together for the best selection, because it is difficult to achieve all traits in one wild variety:
- acids (astringently sharp, moderate, very mild);
- vigor (extreme, moderate, low);
- herbaceous by taste (extreme, moderate, mild, absent);
- cluster size (moderate, small);
- berry size (moderate, small, extremely small);
- disease resistance (high, moderate , low);
- trunk cracking chances in a wild environment (high, moderate, absent);
- consistent crop production (high crop, moderate crop, low crop);
- inky juice color right after grape crushing (extreme, moderate);
- even berry ripening (high, moderate, low);
- hardiness (extreme hardy, hardy, moderate).
- capability to grow well on any types of soils (high, moderate, low).
In conclusion regarding Herbert Fritzke’s influence on Northern Viticulture, I would like to recognize that he put enormous and enthusiastic effort keeping wild viticultural genetic reserves by selecting their best traits and best elite Vitis riparia varieties for the future. By using them in his breeding work, he showed to us more opportunities of creating better valuable hybrids for the North.
Following are some pictures of Herbert Fritzke; some views of Herb’s Fritzke Experimental Vineyard; select vine candidates; best looking trunks (thickness of the trunk you can compare with my arm); leaves of promising varieties; pictures of less acidic grapes .
References:
1). http://www.republican-eagle.com/content/fritzke-man-passion-and-purpose
2). “The Search for Louis Suelter’s Riparia” by Herbert Fritzke and Elmer Swenson, Minnesota Grape Growers Association 1991 Annual Report, pp.15-16
3). “Recurrent Mass Selection of Riparia Grapes” by Herbert Fritzke& Associates, Minnesota Grape Growers Association 1986 Annual Report, pp.44-46
"HERBERT FRITZKE’S 2015 GRAPE PRESERVATION PROJECT"
article was written in November 2015 and published in the MGGA Newsletter “Notes from the North” (winter issue)
Initially, when writing this article, I was planning to combine two projects dedicated to two great men (Elmer Swenson and Herbert Fritzke). I soon changed my mind deciding that both men merit special attention, each for their own accomplishments .
This spring, I visited the Elmer Swenson Experimental Lot at Wild Mountain Winery to check grapes’ blooming characteristics. During my discussions with current President of MGGA, Irving Geary, he suggested I also visit an experimental vineyard of well-known breeder in viticulture, Herbert Fritzke, who passed away during the fall of 2013. His vineyard (approx. 4 acres) is on land owned by the Johnson family in Shaffer, MN. I had difficulty finding more information about this famous man, but I did unearth some that I would like to share. Herb Fritzke, who according to some web links, was man who pursued interests with “passion and purpose”(1). He was truly a renaissance man with diverse interests and natural talent. Fritzke especially honed his skills as a printmaker, but his natural talent and interests included:
• designing and flying remote control airplanes that he built from scratch;
• growing and selecting an enormous collection of Wild Riparia grapes, breeding them to produce better and more hardy hybrids;
• racing on long blade ice skates, which he made for himself;
• researching genealogy for creating personal history books for family and friends.
“Educated at the University of Minnesota, Herbert Fritzke was a respected teacher and a mentor, but he also had a good career as a laborer.” His long time friend Art Kenyon said, “(He) spent his life finding and inventing the means, methods and materials to create new and evocative images.” (1) Personally, I will add – not only in printmaking, but in viticulture and grape breeding as well.
Here are my findings at the Herb’s vineyard, which I researched throughout the entire 2015 season. The vineyard consists of two lots – each having approximately two acres of land. One lot has an elongated shape, and the other a square shape. As well as both lots having multiple variations of Vitis riparia grapes, were open-pollinated seedlings, and some not known to me as Herb’s hybrids. I also found in both lots a few partially filled rows of the well-known hardy white grape variety, Kay Gray, which probably, for this season, was the main pollinator of many female varieties at this vineyard. My first interest for using this genetic material was to find the hardiest varieties with the toughest and thickest trunks resistant to cracking. Because many varieties had no labels I decided to mark those promising varieties.
Following is the method I used for naming each selected variety :
- initials of Herbert Fritzke of first and last name - HF;
- 1st number means the lot number, 1 or 2;
- 2nd number means the row number;
- 3rd number means the number of the post next to the vine. Note: I did not put an actual number of the vine, because the of difficulty to count, as some of the vines did not survived the polar vortex winter and are dead; some spots are empty between the posts but may be filled with the vines in the future.
- if the vine has a label then I included that at the end of the selected variety.
For example, I did a selection of the following vine and named it : HF 1-2-6(C-C). That means a location of a promising variety and its name given by Herb.
During my research of Herb’s best selections and by the end of the growing season when many grapes were ripened, my interest extended to finding the less acidic, less diseased, and the most productive Riparia varieties and its seedlings. Because of the well-known axiom that wild Riparia grapes are extremely acidic, it means that the selection of less acidic wild varieties for future crosses is a very important trait for the Northern viticulture. And Herb Fritzke did those selections with less acids - L50-s, C-C and etc. which Elmer Swenson and the U of MN, Horticultural Research Center used in some of their crosses too. Elmer Swenson, together with Herb Fritzke, wrote an article about their research(2).
An interesting suggestion Herb made in another article (3):
“Recurrent mass selection breeding involves the selection of the best specimens of each generation and propagating their seeds in mass or ‘block’ plants. ‘Open pollination’ is encouraged.”
For the year 2015 I was able to select only a few varieties (collected cuttings and/or seeds) which may present an interest for the Northern Viticulture. I also measured the Brix for those varieties on September 23, 2015:
• HF 1-1-5 - is a blue, very productive variety of small clusters and berries, having a neutral taste. Without any spray, berries were afflicted with some Black Rot disease this season. Brix varied between 23-24°.
• HF 1-2-6(C-C) and HF 1-2-7(C-C) - are two vines of the same blue variety, having small clusters and berries, which are open pollinated seedlings of L50-s Riparia. Brix was 24-25° for both vines. Why that variety was chosen by Herb and named? Because in my opinion, that is the most, less-acidic Riparia seedling among hundreds of varieties on both Herb’s lots and really merit our attention. Trunks were thick and strong, survived well after polar vortex winter of 2013-2014, and were resistant to cracking.
• HF 1-1-11 – is a blue Labrusca type of vine having small to medium sized clusters and small berries. Brix for this variety was 23°.
• HF 1-4-15 –is a blue Riparia seedling of small sized clusters and berries. I marked that variety because it has a nice trunk development. Without any sprays, that variety also had some Black Rot disease during this season. Despite some higher acidity, in my opinion, it has also some pleasant tannic structure. Brix was 22°.
• HF 1-1-6(C-CxConcord) did not produce any grapes this season, but showed a nice healthy growth habit, so I collected cuttings and data for this one too.
The rest of other varieties, I tasted during my walk between rows, had acid levels too high for me this season. I also was impressed by amounts of different wild Riparia seedlings collected in one place. Some of them were too vigorous and some of them less; some of them had a good production and some of them less; some of them were too diseased and some of them less.
My future plans are to look for clones of different colors of wild Vitis Riparia varieties at Herb’s experimental lot. Unfortunately, I was not able to find them yet, because may be they suffered after polar vortex winter 2013- 2014 and did not produced any grapes yet since that time. Irving Geary suggested we also look for the less vigorous Vitis riparia varieties at Herb’s vineyard and use them as a rootstock for grafting the more vigorous varieties into it to lessen their vigor.
After making some observation of wild Riparia grapes on Herb’s Fritzke Vineyard as well as some Riparia growing next to my vineyards at Litchfield and Bradford areas in Minnesota, I wrote few criteria important for an elite Riparia breeding selection. We should at least combine 2-3 traits together for the best selection, because it is difficult to achieve all traits in one wild variety:
- acids (astringently sharp, moderate, very mild);
- vigor (extreme, moderate, low);
- herbaceous by taste (extreme, moderate, mild, absent);
- cluster size (moderate, small);
- berry size (moderate, small, extremely small);
- disease resistance (high, moderate , low);
- trunk cracking chances in a wild environment (high, moderate, absent);
- consistent crop production (high crop, moderate crop, low crop);
- inky juice color right after grape crushing (extreme, moderate);
- even berry ripening (high, moderate, low);
- hardiness (extreme hardy, hardy, moderate).
- capability to grow well on any types of soils (high, moderate, low).
In conclusion regarding Herbert Fritzke’s influence on Northern Viticulture, I would like to recognize that he put enormous and enthusiastic effort keeping wild viticultural genetic reserves by selecting their best traits and best elite Vitis riparia varieties for the future. By using them in his breeding work, he showed to us more opportunities of creating better valuable hybrids for the North.
Following are some pictures of Herbert Fritzke; some views of Herb’s Fritzke Experimental Vineyard; select vine candidates; best looking trunks (thickness of the trunk you can compare with my arm); leaves of promising varieties; pictures of less acidic grapes .
References:
1). http://www.republican-eagle.com/content/fritzke-man-passion-and-purpose
2). “The Search for Louis Suelter’s Riparia” by Herbert Fritzke and Elmer Swenson, Minnesota Grape Growers Association 1991 Annual Report, pp.15-16
3). “Recurrent Mass Selection of Riparia Grapes” by Herbert Fritzke& Associates, Minnesota Grape Growers Association 1986 Annual Report, pp.44-46
"U OF MN 2015 GRAPE BREEDING AND ENOLOGY PROJECT"
article was written in October 2015 and published in the MGGA Newsletter “Notes from the North” (fall issue); more pictures added.
I am always excited to visit the University of Minnesota Horticultural Research Center (HRC) for their Grape Breeding and Enology Project. For me, it is a pleasant, like a holiday event I’ve had the pleasure of attending the last 17 years. While it is usually held on a first Saturday after the Labor Day, this year it was on September 12, and the weather was absolutely gorgeous.
We met the new Grape Breeding and Enology Project Leader, Matthew Clark for the first time during this event. Here is a link to read more about Matthew Clark - http://horticulture.umn.edu/about/horticulture-news/welcome-matthewclark
Despite some changes, this event, as usual, was well organized. Attendees were divided into two groups. The first group learned about diversity of grape varieties, perfectly presented by Jenny Thull with diseases and pest control, presented by Matthew Clark. The second group visited U of M vineyard where John Thull, Vineyard Manager, demonstrated different trellising systems, including VSP, GDC for hardy hybrids and mini-J system for a non-hardy Vinifera and hybrid
varieties.
Grape samples were placed on several tables. I enjoyed seeing and tasting new varieties presented. All grapes were divided into categories - Red, White, Labrusca, and Muscat grapes. In addition, we also saw other variations of grapes. One table presented teinturier grapes - an old ancient Saperavi variety; nice looking long clustered teinturier variety created by U of MN and a Brandt Vinifera variety. Some berries were sliced in half, demonstrating the dark colored flesh
of those cultivars. The sweetest was the Saperavi grape (Brix 24). It had extremely pleasant and smooth, but not sharp tannins. Why are teinturier varieties so important for blending for our progressing Northern Viticulture? Because they can bring variations of nicely intense rich colors especially in blended wines. Another table represented some varieties created by HRC of U of MN and marked by alphabetical letters (A-G); the other table presented colored mutations of wild V.Riparia grapes; mutations of Pinot Noir and Frontenac grapes as well as Vitis Riparia #89, which was a parent for a lot of hardy hybrids. A cross of Landot 4511 and Vitis Riparia #89 lead to a new generation of hardy grapes such as Frontenac, Frontenac Gris and Frontenac Blanc. One table had a demonstration of leaves affected by diseases, herbicides and insects. For the first time in my life I had a chance to see kind of a bonsai trained Cabernet Sauvignon grape vine growing in a greenhouse. It was nice that on many displayed grapes, the measured Brix for each specific variety was written on the plate. It was interesting to
compare numbers of Brix for Cabernet Sauvignon growing in a greenhouse vs. growing in the field. Greenhouse Cabernet was almost twice as sweet than the same grown in the field; Brix 22 and 12 respectively.
I also liked the very pleasant aroma of Early Muscat and Muscat Ottonel grapes which were presented among different Muscat varieties. An impressive taste, skin and flesh texture had a new seedless Labrusca type white seedling created at the U of M. I did not find a lot of Labrusca aroma in it, but the sweetness and a full body table grape taste was complete there for that variety. For the first time, I was able to taste a couple (rare for Minnesota climate) Vinifera varieties --
Garnacha and Tempranillo. Many red varieties had noticeable amounts of tannins. Among several U of M seedlings, I also liked MN 1299 which has a nice Muscat flavor. There was also talk about new white grape commercial release, probable in 2017 for MN 1285. My other first time taste was a white variety created by David Macgregor, DM P 3-25.
From the imaginations of professionals at the U of M -HRC, to successfully growing multiple variations of grapes . . .
Below is a slideshow of pictures from the event - Bonsai Cabernet vine; Matthew Clark, new University of MN Grape Breeding and Enology Project Leader and John Thull, HRC Vineyard Manager; Jenny Thull, HRC Vineyard Manager; pictures of mini-J trellising system for Vinifera and not hardy hybrid varieties, GDC (Geneva Double Curtain) for Frontenac; VSP for Marquette variety; pictures of different grapes including Vitis Riparia grapes - the fundamental basis of the new generation of hardy high quality hybrids.
.
"PLUSES AND MINUSES OF THE 2014 GROWING SEASON"
article was written in October 2014 and published in the MGGA Newsletter “Notes from the North” (fall issue); slightly modified; more pictures added.
The polar vortex of the 2013-2014 winter contributed to excessive damage of grape vines on all my vineyards that are situated in different parts of Minnesota. By analyzing the damage, I concluded that the polar vortex that happened last winter negatively affected many vineyards situated above the Twin Cities area. My vineyard in Bradford, MN (36 miles North of Twin Cities) did not produce any grapes this season, including Prairie Star, Marquette, Jukka, ES 2-3-17, and others because polar vortex badly affected there secondary buds and grape vine trunks too. My second vineyard in Shoreview, MN (12 miles North of St. Paul) produced grapes from primary buds only from David MacGregor’s DM 8521-1 variety (Pic.1) and one of my teinturier grape variety Stefania (Pic.2;3), which is based on Mystic Eyes and DM 8521-1 cross. Some other varieties produced a minimal crop from secondary buds. Interesting however was that the most productive varieties produced there from secondary buds were Osceola Muscat and Petite Amie. Both are Muscat type varieties. My vineyard in Litchfield, MN (about 80 miles West of St.Paul) also suffered, but less than my other experimental vineyards. I had decent production mainly from secondary buds on many varieties growing at this location.The varieties suffered the most in all three vineyards were Labrusca type cultivars and seedless grape vines (Somerset Seedless, Petite Jewel and Trollhaugen).
In general, Minnesota climate is tough to grow some marginally hardy varieties, but the interest to expand them even further north is growing, especially for the table grapes, like Swenson Red and Somerset Seedless. Because of our harsh winters, I have an idea next year to start training them
and some other marginally hardy varieties by using what I call the D-training system. It would be a combination of growing one vertical trunk without winter protection and one – or may be two trunks trained by the Mini-J trellis system on a same vine, which I will lay down for the winter protection. Both trunks each will have two canes (9-11 buds per cane). The reason is that the Mini-J system will be more secure to get some harvest after harsh winters, especially after polar vortex winters, the number of live primary buds should be greater. My other interest will be to research which trunk is more productive; vertical or J-style trained on a same vine during moderate winters. Because many vineyards from different northern states now having an interest to know how to grow marginal hardy varieties after this past winter, it would be very helpful if the U of M would create a video on the J-style trellis system.
Some other notes I made during this growing season:
• wet and cool spring did not allow a good pollination for many varieties growing in my vineyards;
• observed higher level of Black Rot and other fungal diseases;
• higher amounts of leaf Phylloxera than usual;
• drought conditions during month of July and persistent rains, especially, during first half of August provoked excessive berry cracking and extensive grape rotting. Of course, those conditions attracted a lot of wasps too. I saw it even for varieties which I have never seen before — Prairie
Star, Brianna, Blue Bell, Marquette.
• Botrytis Bunch Rot was the highest this season compared to previous years, which I never observed before for the last 16 years.
While for me and many others in Minnesota, it was a very unusual growing season (related to extremely low crop combined with excessive berry cracking and extensive Botrytis Bunch Rot) , but like a shining star, was the Open House event at the University of Minnesota Horticultural Research Center(HRC) on September 6, 2014.
Here is a short review of my visit, which I presented recently at Midwest Wine Press too ( http://midwestwinepress.com/2014/09/20/fall-tour-university-minnesota/ ). My main interest was to see how Vinifera varieties and other “not hardy” varieties survived the 2014 polar vortex using the “J-style” vine training techniques used at the U of M vineyard (Vineyard Manager, John Thull)(see below a slide-show taken from that event). And I was impressed by such a high percentage of grape survival and production. As always, Peter Hemstad, grape scientist at the U of M, perfectly presented all grapes and placed each one on long tables for viewing. These included Vinifera, seedless grapes and different types of hybrids. My attention turned to Vinifera-like hybrids Solaris, Dornfelder, Regent, and the Zweigeltrebe grape. Solaris is not a remarkable white wine grape, in my opinion. I did not have a chance to taste the Solaris wine, but, I think, it is good for making a plain white table wine. Some of the U of M varieties have much more potential than Solaris, in my opinion; most notably MN 1188 and MN 1241. MN 1188 has a nice fruity, lemony taste. And MN 1241 has a very pleasant Muscat aroma.
The other variety which I would like to mention is Zweigeltrebe . It really merits attention. That’s because Zweigeltrebe has noticeable amounts of tannins, and probably the highest amount among all grapes presented at the U of M event. Zweigeltrebe was created in 1922 by crossing two Vinifera varieties, but only now the grape is expanding through Europe and the U.S (click here http://zweigeltproject.com/all-things-zweigelt/what-is-zweigelt/ )
Dornfelder is a nice looking grape with big clusters. I agree with Peter Hemstad – the size of Dornfleder clusters and berries are more similar to table seeded grapes. In my opinion, the amounts of tannins are minimal. The Dornfelder wine sold in our local liquor stores presents itself to me as a
regular (ordinary) red table wine.
Regent has more noticeable tannins than Dornfelder, but less than Zweigeltrebe. Perhaps Regent has some potential for expanding in certain areas in the U.S. But for me, Zweigeltrebe may develop more interest among U.S . winemakers, or at least grape breeders.
Among all Muscats presented at the U of M, Muscat Ottonel had the most pronounced aroma, which is good to know for further breeding efforts. From my experience, if a grape conveys a certain aroma, then usually the aroma will show up in the wine.
For the first time, I tasted Zilga which was also showcased on the big viewing table. I agree with Peter’s characteristics – it has some potential from a hardiness point of view for the northern grape-growers. As well, Zilga also has a fruity aroma combined with very noticeable tannins. It will be interesting to see how it turns out as a finished wine.
As usual , blue seedless variety Jupiter was eaten first by visitors as the most tastiest variety presented at the table. I also liked the white seedless grapes called Neptune. Besides a great taste this grape has nicely sized clusters, which are easy for consumers to hold in their hands. This is very important at the grocery store. Grapes do not need to have extremely big clusters; just nicely sized berries, nice color, along with very good taste.
Regarding Centennial grapes – they do have huge clusters, but these grapes were prone to cracking and rotting after the climatic conditions of this year. I was a little disappointed in this variety.
The grape table presentation was followed by a walking tour through different parts of the U of M vineyard. Non-hardy hybrid and Vinifera varieties were growing on the University’s J-style training system. Hardy hybrids were growing on many different training systems. The University is also doing an intense research to determine genetic markers for different diseases.
Thus , I would like to conclude, every growing season as well as winters in Minnesota are different. Besides looking for extreme hardy and disease resistant varieties we should look for alternative grape vine trellising capable of protecting and successfully to growing marginally hardy varieties.
pic.1(DM 8521-1) pic.2(Stefania) pic.3(Stefania close-up)
"Pleasant Surprises in Private Grape Breeding"
(Dedicated to the 100th Anniversary of Elmer Swenson's birth)
Article was written in December,2013 and was published in MGGA Newsletter " Notes from the North" (winter issue) of same year.
This year was a special year for me and, I believe for many northern grape growers. 100 years passed since Elmer Swenson
was born (December 12, 1913 - December 24, 2004), who is considered for us a Godfather of Northern Viticulture, as a
pioneering person who put enormous influence in creating high quality cold hardy grapes (1;2).
Here are some of my bibliographical points for this year.
On June 9, 2013, my wife and I visited Elmer Swenson’s house in Osceola, Wisconsin. I talked to Elmer’s son, who is living there
now, and I also had a chance to check a small nice vineyard next to the house, where Brian is growing mainly Swenson named cultivars.
As a Board member of MGGA, I was involved in the Preservation Project of Elmer Swenson varieties together with Seth Reid (Co-Principal of this Project) and Irving Geary (Vice-President of MGGA). My first visit was in August 10, 2013 to the Wild Mountain Winery & Vineyard (click here)
(owners Alan & Judy Olson, winemaker Irving Geary), which has a nice sized area devoted to trial grape vines. That experimental
lot represents about 25 different Elmer Swenson varieties marked under numbers or named but not well researched. Of course, in early
August, all Elmer’s cultivars were not ripened and were green, but many of them impressive with good looking clusters and berries (pic.1;2).
Some berries of some cultivars also had an oval shape. My other two visits to this vineyard were in the middle and at the end of September, when grapes were ripe or almost ripened. During the walk between rows, I was picking and tasting different grapes. The tastiest varieties for me were ES
8-2-43 (Osceola Muscat), ES 6-16-30(Adalmiina), ES 2-8-1 (Alpenglow), and ES 10-18-14, because of mild acidity and pleasant sweetness of
them. Still, it is hard for me to say if the mentioned cultivars could be used as varietal wines, because I have not made or tasted wines
made from those cultivars. But all definitely could be used as very nice white blenders for diminishing acidity for other highly acidic grapes
used for winemaking.
For the first time, I picked from that vineyard enough grapes of Osceola Muscat (Brix 24) and was able to make a sample (600 ml)
of a pure white wine. My personal impression about this variety for winemaking is kind of two-fold. On one hand, it is a nice tasty
grape with a mild Muscat flavor producing medium to large sized clusters (pic.3). It could be a very productive vine too. However,
those berries absolutely do not support any transportation and storage. They should be processed immediately after
harvesting, because the berries are prone to splitting. Time for harvesting of Osceola Muscat is very important and sensitive
too. If the ripened grapes hang on the vine too long you will have cracking grapes which will attract a lot of wasps and Asian Lady
Beetles, which would ruin the crop. My overall impression about Osceola Muscat wine – it is not a completely full bodied wine
if made as a dry wine. But as a semi-dry, semi-sweet or sweet profile wine with a mild Muscat flavor could reach a pretty high
quality in comparison to many Muscat wines from our local liquor stores. In general, Muscat wines should be made with a residual
sweetness and Osceola Muscat fits well into that position. What I really liked in this wine during the winemaking process is a low
but not fluffy sedimentation, nice yellow color, and slight, but very pleasant bitterness, which is not very common for Muscat
wines.
This year was also special for me, because I was able to attend 4 different meetings (January, July, September (twice)) at the
University of MN, Horticultural Research Center, dedicated to breeding and best practices in Northern Viticulture. By participating in different grape and
wine competitions at the MN State Fair, I was awarded with the 1st Premium for my own white hybrid “Jubilee of Swenson” (St.Pepin X Frontenac Gris cross); 1st Premium for the red grape AMB 22-S (St. Pepin X Marquette cross) and 2nd Premium for Elmer Swenson’s seedless variety - Trollhaugen.
My last chronological point of the year 2013:
It brought for me abundant surprises of interesting traits in my new hybrids, which merit my attention for the future research in
coming years. That does not happen very often for me. Usually I got 1-2 traits per year. This year I had 7 new different traits, which
could be due to this special date in viticulture history.
1) selection of hardy oval grapes from an opened pollinated cross of ES 2-3-17;
2) selection of a rare teinturier cultivar having blue skin and blue flesh and capable of producing very intense dark tannic wine, which
would be good to use for blending with light colored wines for improving the color (3). In general, wines made from teinturier grapes
are expensive and very important for blending in winemaking. That selection came from a cross of Mystic Eyes and DM 8521-1;
3) selection of a sweet and slightly tannic blue hybrid from a St. Pepin X Frontenac cross, capable of producing a pure raspberry colored wine;
4) selection of a blue hybrid having a rose petal aroma from a cross of St. Pepin and Jukka;
5) selection of 2 white seedless varieties which came from open pollinated cross of Prestige grapes. Possible male parents for those selections are
Somerset Seedless and Thompson Seedless, which were growing next to Prestige variety. That female cultivar by itself is a cross of St.Pepin
and Thompson Seedless;
6) selection of very large sized berries from a Catawba and Swenson Red hybridization;
7) selection of a tannic variety based on St. Pepin and Jukka cross.
My table seeded Francis grapes (St. Pepin X Jukka cross) impressed me this year with a new, almost double layered cluster (pic.4).
In conclusion, I would like to state in celebration of the 100th Anniversary since the birth of one of the most famous American
grape breeders - Elmer Swenson:
“Even another 100 years would not be long enough to evaluate, in detail, all remaining varieties of Elmer Swenson. I am sure
many of them will be used in breeding for creating new high quality hardy grapes. His most valuable cultivars as well as hardy
varieties of the U of Minnesota gave us the powerful boost to our successfully growing and important business - Viticulture for
the North.”
References:
1.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elmer Swenson
2.http://www.posttownwinery.com/Swenson.htm
3.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teinturier
(Dedicated to the 100th Anniversary of Elmer Swenson's birth)
Article was written in December,2013 and was published in MGGA Newsletter " Notes from the North" (winter issue) of same year.
This year was a special year for me and, I believe for many northern grape growers. 100 years passed since Elmer Swenson
was born (December 12, 1913 - December 24, 2004), who is considered for us a Godfather of Northern Viticulture, as a
pioneering person who put enormous influence in creating high quality cold hardy grapes (1;2).
Here are some of my bibliographical points for this year.
On June 9, 2013, my wife and I visited Elmer Swenson’s house in Osceola, Wisconsin. I talked to Elmer’s son, who is living there
now, and I also had a chance to check a small nice vineyard next to the house, where Brian is growing mainly Swenson named cultivars.
As a Board member of MGGA, I was involved in the Preservation Project of Elmer Swenson varieties together with Seth Reid (Co-Principal of this Project) and Irving Geary (Vice-President of MGGA). My first visit was in August 10, 2013 to the Wild Mountain Winery & Vineyard (click here)
(owners Alan & Judy Olson, winemaker Irving Geary), which has a nice sized area devoted to trial grape vines. That experimental
lot represents about 25 different Elmer Swenson varieties marked under numbers or named but not well researched. Of course, in early
August, all Elmer’s cultivars were not ripened and were green, but many of them impressive with good looking clusters and berries (pic.1;2).
Some berries of some cultivars also had an oval shape. My other two visits to this vineyard were in the middle and at the end of September, when grapes were ripe or almost ripened. During the walk between rows, I was picking and tasting different grapes. The tastiest varieties for me were ES
8-2-43 (Osceola Muscat), ES 6-16-30(Adalmiina), ES 2-8-1 (Alpenglow), and ES 10-18-14, because of mild acidity and pleasant sweetness of
them. Still, it is hard for me to say if the mentioned cultivars could be used as varietal wines, because I have not made or tasted wines
made from those cultivars. But all definitely could be used as very nice white blenders for diminishing acidity for other highly acidic grapes
used for winemaking.
For the first time, I picked from that vineyard enough grapes of Osceola Muscat (Brix 24) and was able to make a sample (600 ml)
of a pure white wine. My personal impression about this variety for winemaking is kind of two-fold. On one hand, it is a nice tasty
grape with a mild Muscat flavor producing medium to large sized clusters (pic.3). It could be a very productive vine too. However,
those berries absolutely do not support any transportation and storage. They should be processed immediately after
harvesting, because the berries are prone to splitting. Time for harvesting of Osceola Muscat is very important and sensitive
too. If the ripened grapes hang on the vine too long you will have cracking grapes which will attract a lot of wasps and Asian Lady
Beetles, which would ruin the crop. My overall impression about Osceola Muscat wine – it is not a completely full bodied wine
if made as a dry wine. But as a semi-dry, semi-sweet or sweet profile wine with a mild Muscat flavor could reach a pretty high
quality in comparison to many Muscat wines from our local liquor stores. In general, Muscat wines should be made with a residual
sweetness and Osceola Muscat fits well into that position. What I really liked in this wine during the winemaking process is a low
but not fluffy sedimentation, nice yellow color, and slight, but very pleasant bitterness, which is not very common for Muscat
wines.
This year was also special for me, because I was able to attend 4 different meetings (January, July, September (twice)) at the
University of MN, Horticultural Research Center, dedicated to breeding and best practices in Northern Viticulture. By participating in different grape and
wine competitions at the MN State Fair, I was awarded with the 1st Premium for my own white hybrid “Jubilee of Swenson” (St.Pepin X Frontenac Gris cross); 1st Premium for the red grape AMB 22-S (St. Pepin X Marquette cross) and 2nd Premium for Elmer Swenson’s seedless variety - Trollhaugen.
My last chronological point of the year 2013:
It brought for me abundant surprises of interesting traits in my new hybrids, which merit my attention for the future research in
coming years. That does not happen very often for me. Usually I got 1-2 traits per year. This year I had 7 new different traits, which
could be due to this special date in viticulture history.
1) selection of hardy oval grapes from an opened pollinated cross of ES 2-3-17;
2) selection of a rare teinturier cultivar having blue skin and blue flesh and capable of producing very intense dark tannic wine, which
would be good to use for blending with light colored wines for improving the color (3). In general, wines made from teinturier grapes
are expensive and very important for blending in winemaking. That selection came from a cross of Mystic Eyes and DM 8521-1;
3) selection of a sweet and slightly tannic blue hybrid from a St. Pepin X Frontenac cross, capable of producing a pure raspberry colored wine;
4) selection of a blue hybrid having a rose petal aroma from a cross of St. Pepin and Jukka;
5) selection of 2 white seedless varieties which came from open pollinated cross of Prestige grapes. Possible male parents for those selections are
Somerset Seedless and Thompson Seedless, which were growing next to Prestige variety. That female cultivar by itself is a cross of St.Pepin
and Thompson Seedless;
6) selection of very large sized berries from a Catawba and Swenson Red hybridization;
7) selection of a tannic variety based on St. Pepin and Jukka cross.
My table seeded Francis grapes (St. Pepin X Jukka cross) impressed me this year with a new, almost double layered cluster (pic.4).
In conclusion, I would like to state in celebration of the 100th Anniversary since the birth of one of the most famous American
grape breeders - Elmer Swenson:
“Even another 100 years would not be long enough to evaluate, in detail, all remaining varieties of Elmer Swenson. I am sure
many of them will be used in breeding for creating new high quality hardy grapes. His most valuable cultivars as well as hardy
varieties of the U of Minnesota gave us the powerful boost to our successfully growing and important business - Viticulture for
the North.”
References:
1.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elmer Swenson
2.http://www.posttownwinery.com/Swenson.htm
3.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teinturier
Pic.1 Unnamed Elmer Swenson grape; pic.2 L-R:Irving Geary& Seth Reid at Wild Mountain
Vineyard & Winery ES experimental vines; pic.3 Elmer's Osceola Muscat; pic.4 Francis grape
"Prospective on Grapevine Trellising"
Article was written in March,2013 and was published in MGGA Newsletter " Notes from the North" (spring issue) of same year.
I began collecting data for this subject two years ago in response to the rapid growth of viticulture in Minnesota and other Northern regions. This article is based on my own experience of growing grapes in the Eastern European country - Republic of Moldova, combined with productive discussions on this topic through the grape breeders group, and supported with information from the internet.
What are the issues regarding trellis posts?
• excessive use of wood for constructing grape vine trellises
• using treated wood posts for trellis construction
Both issues could lead to negative affects on our environment. We should begin thinking about this now. According to data (1), there exists at least 22 benefits of the trees. The main functions of the trees are absorption (consumption) of CO2 (carbon dioxide) and production of O2 (oxygen). In other words, trees are clean and improve our air and help combat the Greenhouse Effect. Here are some facts: In one year, an acre of mature trees absorbs the amount of CO2 produced when you drive your car 26,000 miles. In one year, an acre of mature trees can provide enough oxygen for 18 people.
My other concern is toxicity of treated wood posts for trellis (2). Over time, these chemical toxins are slowly released from treated wood posts into the ground and we are absorbing it through our grapes. According to the report from Iowa State University (3) based on calculations of 1 acre vineyard with 11 rows@ 9 ft. apart, an average amount of line posts is 187 and for the end posts is 22, totaling 209 posts we need to use per 1 acre of vineyard. Thus, for a medium size (5 acres) northern vineyard we need about 1045 posts, which is approximately 500-600 trees to cut down for making posts 4 inches in diameter. In humid conditions combined with high temperature fluctuations, wood deteriorates much faster, especially if we use them as posts in-ground. links from New Zealand (4, 5) can prove that, even sustainable wood posts cannot compete with the concrete posts. Evergreen trees like pine trees grow very slowly, barely reaching a 4-6 inches diameter in 10-15 years. Unfortunately, wood posts do not last forever. Cheap $5.00 per pine posts in my humid wooded lot in Bradford in 5 years started to decay, having already replaced a few of them, again with wood, painful as it may be. To grow a cedar tree to 4 inches in diameter takes an average of 15- 20 years, sometimes longer depending on variety. Those evergreen trees produce oxygen and clean our air all year around. For more expensive wood posts made from locust, mulberry, walnut and etc., take even longer to grow. We raised a lot of those trees in Moldova and we did not cut them down for posts simply because of the time it takes to grow a nice looking tree. Here in Minnesota, I planted two walnut trees in 1998, with one only about 2” in diameter and another just 1.5” in diameter, after 14 years of growth. A locust tree was planted in 1953 next to my house and has only grown to 7 inches in diameter. I could probably make total of 3 good sized posts from this tree; seems like such a waste for 60 years of growth. It is understandable that wood is cheap here now and easy to take a chain saw to cut trees around at the ground level, but who, when, and where will grow those trees again?
What are the real alternatives to wood posts? In my vision, in the next 100-150 years, the future of vineyard trellis will be built using regular concrete posts fortified with re-bars (6) or ecocrust posts (7,8) based on ceramic magnesium compound, or something similar, building safe and strong structures, that can last for centuries without affecting our ecosystem. Necessity in production of those concrete posts would be much less because they can withstand the weight of loaded grapes, strong winds, extreme climate changes, etc. The idea on using concrete posts for the vineyards is not a new one but unfortunately, has not yet found support among growers. Using concrete posts for vineyards is relatively rare, but here are some examples of their use in the USA (9) since 1914; persistent use for the last 60 years in Moldova and some areas in Hungary (see pictures below), and for the last decades in New Zealand (4), but not limited to these areas. Please, look through the reference list at the end of this article.
From my growing experience, concrete posts in Moldova cost around $2 per post in 1972 and are still functional in my father’s vineyard, without replacing any in 40 years. Here in the US, today a 60 lb. bag of concrete costs around $3 and rebar can cost between $4-$11, (possibly less in bulk), combined with a life-time+ warranty, still seems cost effective. If we persistently continue to cut our trees, no matter what the use, we will not be able to protect our air from the Greenhouse Effect. It is believed that killing our trees faster than we can replace them is the number one accelerating factor of our "global warming" and unpredictable cataclysms of our climate, or commonly referred to as the Greenhouse Effect. Our body is not built from concrete and, unfortunately, a human’s life is short (average is 70 years). Even 100 years of life is not enough to enjoy it. But, I believe, we always need to think what will be left after our life for the future next generations.
In conclusion, I would like to express, that the future prospective on grape vine trellising will be based on less harmful constructions to our environment and built using stronger, longer lasting concrete compounds. We need to talk about it now — the sooner the better for our suffering Planet Earth.
References:
1. http://www.treepeople.org/top-22-benefits-trees
2. http://www.pitrading.co.nz/palipost_about_environmental.php
3. http://www.orchardvalleysupply.com/domototrellis.pdf
4. http://www.goldenbay.co.nz/mainmenu35/page164/Archived+Projects.html
5. http://www.pitrading.co.nz/index.php
6. http://www.pitrading.co.nz/palipost_product_profiles.php
7. http://www.ecocrust.com/
8. http://storage.ubertor.com/cl5101/content/document/160.pdf
9. PDF - how to make concrete posts http://mngrapegrowers.com/Websites/mgga/images/Resources/How_to_Make_Concrete_Posts.PDF
Rectangular concrete posts in Hungary (1) and semi-oval concrete posts in Moldova (2)
"Vitis Amurensis Prospective for Minnesota Viticulture"
Article was written in January, 2013
I would like to present my recent 5-year research for perspectives on Vitis Amurensis species, which I tried to grow on Minnesota lands. Why did I choose Vitis Amurensis species for my research? Vitis Amurensis hybrids were chosen due to the wide use for breeding hardy grape varieties in Russia. For a trail, the taken varieties were available from USDA - ARS, Plant Genetic Resources Unit, located on the Geneva, NY Campus of Cornell University, which is a component of the National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS).
I propagated the grapevines from cuttings received from USDA. One variety (Saperavi Severnyi) that I received was from Mark Hart, Mt. Ashwabay Vineyard & Orchard, WI. Here is the list of grapevines having Vitis Amurensis genes, which I used for my research:
-Severnyi (translated from Russian – "Northern");
-Dalnevostochnyi (translated from Russian – "Far Eastern");
-Zarya Severa (translated from Russian – “Dawn of the North”);
-Michurinets (this variety was named by the name of the most famous Russian breeder Michurin, Ivan Vladimirovich);
-Skujins-675 (selected by Latvian breeder Kaspars Skujins, the other name of this variety is "Moscovskii Ustoichivyi", translated from Russian – "Resistant in Moscow" or "Steady in Moscow");
-Saperavi Severnyi (translated from Russian – "Northern Saperavi");
-Taezhnyi Izumrud (translated from Russian - "Taiga Emerald"). Taiga is a swampy coniferous forest of high northern latitudes, esp. that between the tundra and steppes of Siberia and North America.
I also included the last variety in my research because it was created by the breeder Tikhonov, N.N. at the Krasnoyarsk Horticultural Experimental Station of Siberia. In that area, Vitis Amurensis are a very common species and are used for developing hardy grape varieties. Despite the fact that it is an open pollinated cross of white Vitis Riparia variety Minnesota, it has some traits of Vitis Amurensis and Vitis Labrusca species and it presents some interest, in my opinion, to Minnesota Viticulture.
During the 5-year trail all my Vitis Amurensis species showed weakness on hardiness, weakness of growth habit and weakness on developing a root system. But the level of weakness was different on different species. To find out which variety is the most hardy and disease resistant, I did not protect them during the winter and did not spray them against diseases during the growing seasons. Michurinets did not survive after the first winter and it was the most diseased cultivar in my Vitis Amurensis collection. The next on the range of weakness was Severnyi, which lived during 2 seasons. Zarya Severa, Saperavi Severnyi and Dalnevostochnyi are still barely alive after 5 growing seasons. Despite different winter fluctuations during the last 5 years, all three mentioned varieties showed about 20% buds survival, extremely low growth habit – up to 5-15 inches per growing season and excessive disease affection in forms of Powdery and Downy mildew. I did not observed any leaf Phylloxera , but I think root Phylloxera had affected them because the root system is developing very poorly despite on variations of different soils. According to grape growers commentary taken from Internet , root Phylloxera can affect those varieties. The last 2 varieties –Skujins 675 and Taezhnyi Izumrud showed significantly better hardiness, better growth habits and more resistance to diseases. I am sure this significant improvement was caused by fact that both varieties having Vitis Riparia genes in its pedigree parentage also.
I described Skujins -675 in my article a few years ago. You can read about it in my archive section of this website. In this article I would like to talk a little more about Taezhnyi Izumrud. For simplicity, the English translation will be used, Taiga Emerald. In Minnesota’s harsh climate, this variety seems to merit attention for use as a table seeded grape and as a source for a good quality white varietal wine and/or as a blender. First of all, it is based on white Vitis Riparia Michaux variety, named Minnesota, which was selected by a breeder Munson,T.V., a long time ago, and it has a good potential for future hardy crosses. Taiga Emerald (Minnesota's O.P. cross) is a hermaphrodite white variety having small-medium sized berries on small clusters. It has slip skinned berries with some aroma and a similar taste to Brianna grapes. Leaf ampelography stays between Vitis Amurensis and Vitis Labrusca species, and it does not have signs of Vitis Riparia species on leaves. Vigor is moderate. It is better grown on neutral or slightly acidic soils. It is fairly disease resistant (some Powdery Mildew) in my vineyard and is fully ripened by middle to late September. Brix varies between 20-21%. It has moderate acidity by taste. Hardiness and growth habits stay on about the same level as Skujins - 675, and wood maturity before the winter is very appropriate for Minnesota climate. I did not observe any leaf Phylloxera on it and did not notice cracking on berries.
In conclusion, I would like to state that Vitis Amurensis species do not bring enough hardiness and vigor into Minnesota Viticulture as well as insufficient disease resistance either for these Vitis. Probably, combining crosses with Vitis Riparia species can improve quality of Vitis Amurensis for Minnesota climate, which was confirmed in my research. Personally, I do not see huge perspectives by using Vitis Amurensis genes in future crosses for Minnesota Viticulture, because they do not exceed my breeding expectations. In my opinion, our future in grape breeding for the Northern Viticulture should be based on hardy, strong, vigorous, Vitis Riparia varieties which would be enhanced and enriched with high quality genes of Vitis Vinifera varieties.
St.Michael
"Ampelograghic Pictures for Some Varieties of Grapes Growing in Minnesota"
Article was written in October-November, 2011.
Grape leaves? What can they say to us about grapevines? Doing some research in the field of grape breeding I found, that we do not have many articles dedicated to ampelography, especially in Minnesota. I would like to give the more accurate definition of ampelography, which I selected among different definitions through the Internet. "Ampelography is the science of identifying grape varieties by detailed description of the appearance of the vine, especially its leaves." In this article I will try to open the curtain of unknown ampelography for some varieties of grapes growing in Minnesota and bring some study to that topic by using grape leaves growing on my land. I will also attempt to uncover the mystery of deciphering the quality grapes "written" on those leaves. In general, I would like to say that grape leaves growing in Minnesota have variations of many different shapes, colors, structure and texture of thickness. I will describe leaves for the most known Vitis and some hybrids growing in Minnesota.
Vitis Riparia is the wild grape variety ubiquitous in our state. I would not stop on the description on the high vigor of the vine, which is also very important, but I will stop only on description of the leaves . Leaves of Vitis Riparia have variations of shapes, but the most common are thin round leaves that do not usually have deeply serrated margins and not big lobes on them.
Vitis Labrusca also is expanded in Minnesota most of the time through the forms of different Vitis Labrusca hybrids. We will divide them initially on two variations: typical Vitis Labrusca vines, and Vitis Labrusca based on Vitis Riparia crosses. For the first group of Vitis Labrusca we can put Concord, Catawba, Blue Bell, E.S.-56 and some other varieties with a similar construction of leaves. Leaves for them characterized as big round shaped thick felty and hairy leaves, having the nice intense green color on the upper surface and white color or its hue on the lower surface of the leaves. Margins are also not very serrated. Here is an example of Labrusca picture of St.Anna leaves (pic.1). Berries have slip-skin pulp and unique aromatic Labrusca ("foxy" musk – strawberry) flavor. According Wikipedia description " this musk is not related to the fox animal, but rather the earthy, redolent aromas characteristics of the grapes that were known by early American settlers to the New world. The term "foxy" became a sort of catchall for the wine tasting descriptors used for these American wines that were distinct from the familiar flavors of the European Vinifera based wines". For the second group of grape vines having Vitis Labrusca character on flavor and slip skins, we can put Valiant and King of the North, which are based on Vitis Riparia crosses and having very similar character to Vitis Riparia leaves described above.
Leaves for Vitis Vinifera usually have character of thin, not hairy, not felty texture without any white tones of color on a lower its surfaces. Very commonly leaves of Vitis Vinifera have big lobes and serrated margins very similar to forms of silver maple leaves. Some examples of Vitis Vinifera leaves are leaves of Thompson Seedless (pic.2) and almost Vitis Vinifera hybrid of my cross Mystic Eyes (pic.3).
Different types of grape hybrids have different similarity with some specific Vitis, and very often have combinations of those genes in different proportions. For example, some Elmer Swenson varieties have different hue of white on a lower surface of leaves, include cuneiform, orbicular or truncate structure, hairiness and thickness of them very similar to Vitis Labrusca, such as Prairie Star, Adalmiina, Swenson White, Kay Gray, Jukka. Structure of those berries is also very similar to Labrusca species - big seeds, thick skin, meaty pulp. But the flavor is absolutely not typical to Labrusca, which means that good portions of genes of Vitis Labrusca combined with other genes on those varieties causing a change in the flavor and taste of berries. Other examples of Elmer Swenson hybrids are different from Labrusca leaves structure. There are Swenson Red, St.Pepin, Osceola Muscat varieties having leaf structure very similar to Vitis Vinifera and some of them have a bronze leaf color on a young stage of growth. This means that large amount of Vinifera genes evolved into those crosses. Other examples of a very good interspecific hybrids are University of Minnesota hybrids, such as La Crescent, Marquette, Frontenac and its mutant clones Frontenac Gris and Frontenac Blanc. All of them also contain large amounts of Vinifera genes, confirming by the leaf structure and the wine quality, but the presence of Vitis Riparia genes provides high hardiness and excessive vigor of those hybrids.
In conclusion, I would like to state my opinion, as the more quality and quantity of different genes involved and evolved into the grape hybrid the more valuable it will be for our Northern Viticulture. By doing cellular electronic microscopic research on human's hearts when working in a medical field in a past and doing genetic selections in the field of gardening , especially in the field of viticulture for the last 10 years, I also would like to make a general conclusion, that a good strong genetics responsible for effective immunity and combined with a good right nutrition in any biological creations of Mother Nature with or without human's efforts is a main key for our healthy brilliant future and longevity.
References:
1. “A Practical Ampelography (grapevine identification)” by Pierre Galet, p.p.248, published 1979 by Cornell University Press.
Article was written in October-November, 2011.
Grape leaves? What can they say to us about grapevines? Doing some research in the field of grape breeding I found, that we do not have many articles dedicated to ampelography, especially in Minnesota. I would like to give the more accurate definition of ampelography, which I selected among different definitions through the Internet. "Ampelography is the science of identifying grape varieties by detailed description of the appearance of the vine, especially its leaves." In this article I will try to open the curtain of unknown ampelography for some varieties of grapes growing in Minnesota and bring some study to that topic by using grape leaves growing on my land. I will also attempt to uncover the mystery of deciphering the quality grapes "written" on those leaves. In general, I would like to say that grape leaves growing in Minnesota have variations of many different shapes, colors, structure and texture of thickness. I will describe leaves for the most known Vitis and some hybrids growing in Minnesota.
Vitis Riparia is the wild grape variety ubiquitous in our state. I would not stop on the description on the high vigor of the vine, which is also very important, but I will stop only on description of the leaves . Leaves of Vitis Riparia have variations of shapes, but the most common are thin round leaves that do not usually have deeply serrated margins and not big lobes on them.
Vitis Labrusca also is expanded in Minnesota most of the time through the forms of different Vitis Labrusca hybrids. We will divide them initially on two variations: typical Vitis Labrusca vines, and Vitis Labrusca based on Vitis Riparia crosses. For the first group of Vitis Labrusca we can put Concord, Catawba, Blue Bell, E.S.-56 and some other varieties with a similar construction of leaves. Leaves for them characterized as big round shaped thick felty and hairy leaves, having the nice intense green color on the upper surface and white color or its hue on the lower surface of the leaves. Margins are also not very serrated. Here is an example of Labrusca picture of St.Anna leaves (pic.1). Berries have slip-skin pulp and unique aromatic Labrusca ("foxy" musk – strawberry) flavor. According Wikipedia description " this musk is not related to the fox animal, but rather the earthy, redolent aromas characteristics of the grapes that were known by early American settlers to the New world. The term "foxy" became a sort of catchall for the wine tasting descriptors used for these American wines that were distinct from the familiar flavors of the European Vinifera based wines". For the second group of grape vines having Vitis Labrusca character on flavor and slip skins, we can put Valiant and King of the North, which are based on Vitis Riparia crosses and having very similar character to Vitis Riparia leaves described above.
Leaves for Vitis Vinifera usually have character of thin, not hairy, not felty texture without any white tones of color on a lower its surfaces. Very commonly leaves of Vitis Vinifera have big lobes and serrated margins very similar to forms of silver maple leaves. Some examples of Vitis Vinifera leaves are leaves of Thompson Seedless (pic.2) and almost Vitis Vinifera hybrid of my cross Mystic Eyes (pic.3).
Different types of grape hybrids have different similarity with some specific Vitis, and very often have combinations of those genes in different proportions. For example, some Elmer Swenson varieties have different hue of white on a lower surface of leaves, include cuneiform, orbicular or truncate structure, hairiness and thickness of them very similar to Vitis Labrusca, such as Prairie Star, Adalmiina, Swenson White, Kay Gray, Jukka. Structure of those berries is also very similar to Labrusca species - big seeds, thick skin, meaty pulp. But the flavor is absolutely not typical to Labrusca, which means that good portions of genes of Vitis Labrusca combined with other genes on those varieties causing a change in the flavor and taste of berries. Other examples of Elmer Swenson hybrids are different from Labrusca leaves structure. There are Swenson Red, St.Pepin, Osceola Muscat varieties having leaf structure very similar to Vitis Vinifera and some of them have a bronze leaf color on a young stage of growth. This means that large amount of Vinifera genes evolved into those crosses. Other examples of a very good interspecific hybrids are University of Minnesota hybrids, such as La Crescent, Marquette, Frontenac and its mutant clones Frontenac Gris and Frontenac Blanc. All of them also contain large amounts of Vinifera genes, confirming by the leaf structure and the wine quality, but the presence of Vitis Riparia genes provides high hardiness and excessive vigor of those hybrids.
In conclusion, I would like to state my opinion, as the more quality and quantity of different genes involved and evolved into the grape hybrid the more valuable it will be for our Northern Viticulture. By doing cellular electronic microscopic research on human's hearts when working in a medical field in a past and doing genetic selections in the field of gardening , especially in the field of viticulture for the last 10 years, I also would like to make a general conclusion, that a good strong genetics responsible for effective immunity and combined with a good right nutrition in any biological creations of Mother Nature with or without human's efforts is a main key for our healthy brilliant future and longevity.
References:
1. “A Practical Ampelography (grapevine identification)” by Pierre Galet, p.p.248, published 1979 by Cornell University Press.
pic.1 pic.2 pic.3
"Mystery of Osceola Muscat"
Article was written in December 2011, revised in October 2012, revised in November 2013.
About 6 years ago I received cuttings of different grape varieties from Mark Hart , Mt.Ashwabay Vineyard and Orchard, WI. One of the variety was Osceola Muscat (aka E.S. 8-2-43). I propagated those cuttings and started my research-observation on it. It is very difficult to grow any Muscat type varieties in Minnesota climate , because it is not enough hardiness for them combined with a short unpredictable growing season. After 3 years of growing Osceola Muscat on my land, I found out that this variety is an outstanding treasure for us. From my observations Osceola Muscat showed very nice growth habit right from the start , minimal disease damage, perfect flowers for pollination, good hardiness and more important it has a very nice mild pleasant Muscat flavor on berries. I also discovered that growth habit; leaf types and quality of berries indicate on good amount of Vitis Vinifera genes in it. During the season of 2013 I was able to make some samples of wine from this variety. The body of wine was medium combined with the nice but mild Muscat flavor. Acidity for the wine made from it without any malolactic fermentation was nice too. This year I found that this variety does not support any transportation and storage time, because skin on berries cracks very easy. Thus, grapes should be processed as soon as possible after harvesting. Time of harvesting is very important too, because overripe berries start to crack on a vine and became very attractive to wasps and Asian Lady Beetles.
This variety was selected by Elmer Swenson in 1989. I started to look for who are the parents of Osceola Muscat and found out that one of the parents is not clearly right for this cross. According to different sources (data) from Internet; book "With A Tweezers in One Hand and a Book in the Other: The Grape Breeding Work of Elmer Swenson"(1); data from Germplasm Repository Station in Geneva , New York I found contradictions in parents of Osceola Muscat. It is definitely clear that it should be at least one parent caring Muscat genes into that variety. According to those data the seeded parent is or unknown Riparia, or MN78, or MN78xBuffalo cross or Labrusca type E.S. 56 or E.S. 56xOP. None of them are carrying Muscat genes. Second parent (pollen parent) for this cross is a French not hardy hybrid S.V. 23-657, but it is also not carrying Muscat genes. Even Elmer Swenson in his data according to the book was not sure about seeded parent of Osceola Muscat - he wrote "r.s.p.#?". I tried to ask different specialists what is that abbreviation mean – r.s.p.? Nobody knows. I think this abbreviation could stand or for "Riparia species" or for my other suggestion - "Rangspay" , which is indigenous Indian Vitis Vinifera variety. That variety Elmer used for his crosses and it stays not too far in the row list from his ES 8-2-43 (Osceola Muscat). From my breeding experience hardiness character most of the time carries seeded parent (usually female variety). In this case it should be hardy variety combined with Muscat genes, because like I mentioned above S.V. 23-657 is not a source for the Muscat flavor and for hardiness either. From all Elmer's crosses, one vine is well known white variety which carried hardiness combined with Muscat genes (ES 4-23-60). This is a cross of E.S. 23-33 X Couderc 299-35 (Muscat d' Moulin). I found Elmer's description of ES 4-23-60 - "Year selected and comments. 1984; medium size cluster and berry, white, very sweet muscat flavor. Plants of this cross had short internodes, vinifera-like leaves, but lack of hardiness". This is a very similar description to Osceola Muscat except hardiness. In my opinion, despite Elmer's note on lack of hardiness for E.S 4-23-60, this variety capable to carry good genes of hardiness for our harsh climate in Minnesota. He has another variety in his book, having an interesting similar characteristics, but, unfortunately, blue colored grape E.S.4-23-50, and I really do not know if this variety exists any more. The rest of his other Muscat crosses look very acidic, according to his written notes. I believe that the seeded parent of Osceola Muscat was or E.S.4-23-60 or very similar to that cross Elmer's unknown for us, but hardy enough white grape variety that carried similar genes, characteristics and even a little bitterness on a taste from Muscat d' Moulin which Osceola Muscat also carries. According to Elmer's written descriptions of his breeding work - he wrote that all his crosses between Vitis Riparia and Muscat varieties demonstrated unacceptable high acidity for Muscat flavored seedlings. And I think he was right because Vitis Riparia carries high acidity character into their crosses and very unlikely, that main seeded parent of Osceola Muscat was unknown Vitis Riparia. Also all those acidic Muscat crosses did not prove enough hardiness or did not bring much attention to Elmer Swenson because of their poor quality. That means - seeded parent of Osceola Muscat had better characteristics than Vitis Riparia or even Vitis Labrusca, because it carried good amount of Vitis Vinifera Muscat genes into Osceola Muscat. This is why I predisposed ES 4-23-60 or unknown very similar to that variety parent is the main seeded parent for Osceola Muscat. Of course you can think - it is just the author fantasy who are the real parents for Osceola Muscat, but this fantasy based on my own breeding experience, real observations and conclusions.
In conclusion, I would like to say very simply. Sincerely really it does not matter a lot for me who are exact parents for Osceola Muscat. As a breeder I usually look for the high quality final product. Personally for me, an Osceola Muscat is an outstanding hardy Muscat grape, created by Elmer Swenson and we should appreciate this a lot in our future. From my experience, even by using both good grape parents for crosses, in many times, we could not produce very valuable outcome with an excellent character, but sometimes, not very often, they can produce an outstanding treasure for us. One example, about 8 thousands years ago from the combination of different grape genes was created by the help of Mother Nature very high quality Vitis Vinifera variety - Saperavi grapes. Nobody knows who are the real parents of this ancient grape variety, but it was selected long time ago by people and is existing until now because of a superb wine quality character. Saperavi grapes also capable to carry high level of resveratrol and antioxidants helping to extend humans longevity. The same words I would like to say about Osceola Muscat . Elmer Swenson selected this variety for its quality and many of us already tested it on our northern lands. Truly hope the life for Osceola Muscat variety would be as long as we have for Saperavi grapes to humans.
References:
1. “With a Tweezers in One Hand and a Book in the Other: The Grape Breeding Work of Elmer Swenson”, compiled by Penelope Krosch, p.p.118
Article was written in December 2011, revised in October 2012, revised in November 2013.
About 6 years ago I received cuttings of different grape varieties from Mark Hart , Mt.Ashwabay Vineyard and Orchard, WI. One of the variety was Osceola Muscat (aka E.S. 8-2-43). I propagated those cuttings and started my research-observation on it. It is very difficult to grow any Muscat type varieties in Minnesota climate , because it is not enough hardiness for them combined with a short unpredictable growing season. After 3 years of growing Osceola Muscat on my land, I found out that this variety is an outstanding treasure for us. From my observations Osceola Muscat showed very nice growth habit right from the start , minimal disease damage, perfect flowers for pollination, good hardiness and more important it has a very nice mild pleasant Muscat flavor on berries. I also discovered that growth habit; leaf types and quality of berries indicate on good amount of Vitis Vinifera genes in it. During the season of 2013 I was able to make some samples of wine from this variety. The body of wine was medium combined with the nice but mild Muscat flavor. Acidity for the wine made from it without any malolactic fermentation was nice too. This year I found that this variety does not support any transportation and storage time, because skin on berries cracks very easy. Thus, grapes should be processed as soon as possible after harvesting. Time of harvesting is very important too, because overripe berries start to crack on a vine and became very attractive to wasps and Asian Lady Beetles.
This variety was selected by Elmer Swenson in 1989. I started to look for who are the parents of Osceola Muscat and found out that one of the parents is not clearly right for this cross. According to different sources (data) from Internet; book "With A Tweezers in One Hand and a Book in the Other: The Grape Breeding Work of Elmer Swenson"(1); data from Germplasm Repository Station in Geneva , New York I found contradictions in parents of Osceola Muscat. It is definitely clear that it should be at least one parent caring Muscat genes into that variety. According to those data the seeded parent is or unknown Riparia, or MN78, or MN78xBuffalo cross or Labrusca type E.S. 56 or E.S. 56xOP. None of them are carrying Muscat genes. Second parent (pollen parent) for this cross is a French not hardy hybrid S.V. 23-657, but it is also not carrying Muscat genes. Even Elmer Swenson in his data according to the book was not sure about seeded parent of Osceola Muscat - he wrote "r.s.p.#?". I tried to ask different specialists what is that abbreviation mean – r.s.p.? Nobody knows. I think this abbreviation could stand or for "Riparia species" or for my other suggestion - "Rangspay" , which is indigenous Indian Vitis Vinifera variety. That variety Elmer used for his crosses and it stays not too far in the row list from his ES 8-2-43 (Osceola Muscat). From my breeding experience hardiness character most of the time carries seeded parent (usually female variety). In this case it should be hardy variety combined with Muscat genes, because like I mentioned above S.V. 23-657 is not a source for the Muscat flavor and for hardiness either. From all Elmer's crosses, one vine is well known white variety which carried hardiness combined with Muscat genes (ES 4-23-60). This is a cross of E.S. 23-33 X Couderc 299-35 (Muscat d' Moulin). I found Elmer's description of ES 4-23-60 - "Year selected and comments. 1984; medium size cluster and berry, white, very sweet muscat flavor. Plants of this cross had short internodes, vinifera-like leaves, but lack of hardiness". This is a very similar description to Osceola Muscat except hardiness. In my opinion, despite Elmer's note on lack of hardiness for E.S 4-23-60, this variety capable to carry good genes of hardiness for our harsh climate in Minnesota. He has another variety in his book, having an interesting similar characteristics, but, unfortunately, blue colored grape E.S.4-23-50, and I really do not know if this variety exists any more. The rest of his other Muscat crosses look very acidic, according to his written notes. I believe that the seeded parent of Osceola Muscat was or E.S.4-23-60 or very similar to that cross Elmer's unknown for us, but hardy enough white grape variety that carried similar genes, characteristics and even a little bitterness on a taste from Muscat d' Moulin which Osceola Muscat also carries. According to Elmer's written descriptions of his breeding work - he wrote that all his crosses between Vitis Riparia and Muscat varieties demonstrated unacceptable high acidity for Muscat flavored seedlings. And I think he was right because Vitis Riparia carries high acidity character into their crosses and very unlikely, that main seeded parent of Osceola Muscat was unknown Vitis Riparia. Also all those acidic Muscat crosses did not prove enough hardiness or did not bring much attention to Elmer Swenson because of their poor quality. That means - seeded parent of Osceola Muscat had better characteristics than Vitis Riparia or even Vitis Labrusca, because it carried good amount of Vitis Vinifera Muscat genes into Osceola Muscat. This is why I predisposed ES 4-23-60 or unknown very similar to that variety parent is the main seeded parent for Osceola Muscat. Of course you can think - it is just the author fantasy who are the real parents for Osceola Muscat, but this fantasy based on my own breeding experience, real observations and conclusions.
In conclusion, I would like to say very simply. Sincerely really it does not matter a lot for me who are exact parents for Osceola Muscat. As a breeder I usually look for the high quality final product. Personally for me, an Osceola Muscat is an outstanding hardy Muscat grape, created by Elmer Swenson and we should appreciate this a lot in our future. From my experience, even by using both good grape parents for crosses, in many times, we could not produce very valuable outcome with an excellent character, but sometimes, not very often, they can produce an outstanding treasure for us. One example, about 8 thousands years ago from the combination of different grape genes was created by the help of Mother Nature very high quality Vitis Vinifera variety - Saperavi grapes. Nobody knows who are the real parents of this ancient grape variety, but it was selected long time ago by people and is existing until now because of a superb wine quality character. Saperavi grapes also capable to carry high level of resveratrol and antioxidants helping to extend humans longevity. The same words I would like to say about Osceola Muscat . Elmer Swenson selected this variety for its quality and many of us already tested it on our northern lands. Truly hope the life for Osceola Muscat variety would be as long as we have for Saperavi grapes to humans.
References:
1. “With a Tweezers in One Hand and a Book in the Other: The Grape Breeding Work of Elmer Swenson”, compiled by Penelope Krosch, p.p.118
Osceola Muscat
Archive section
Minnesota Emerald
"Some Benefits of the Frustrating 2010 Growing Season"
Article was written in September, 2010 and published in MGGA Newsletter "Notes from the North" (winter issue) on same year.
Sounds strange, but I think this year was a treasure for me as an amateur grape breeder. For the last 7 years I have not sprayed any chemicals on my vines and have not used any fertilizer, just to initiate difficult conditions for my grapes and to help make better selections when developing new varieties.
This growing season was full of surprises. First of all was the late frost on Mother's Day. Such a hard late spring frost is not common in this area. In the last 12 years, since I have been growing grapes here I have not endured so much damage as during the spring this year. In future I am considering using a thicker plastic cover or bubble wrap or even blankets instead of using thin plastic and thin paper sheets used in past to protect my more valuable grapes during late frost.
On a good portion of my vineyard I sprinkled water during the entire night from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. on May 8, to prevent damage from late frost. However, this did not help me at all. Later I received advice message from Davis, California to sprinkle water in a future frost event until 8 a.m. because the lowest temperatures are between 6-7.30 a.m in the morning. All my primary buds on all my grape vines were killed on that night. And that was a good test for all my grapes (selected from my crosses and for my collection of local grapes varieties) to find out which ones can or cannot produce well from the secondary buds.
Also this past season was good for my research in another way. The abundance of hot, humid, rainy weather created a lot of different diseases, mainly Powdery Mildew, Downy Mildew and Black Rot. I observed all of the selections and varieties which grew shoots from secondary buds for how they would resist these difficult conditions. It is interesting to note that practically all vines produced flowers from secondary buds, but these flowers were not as viable as those from primary buds. The size of produced clusters were about 30% or even 50% smaller than regular size for just about every variety. In addition production was minimal (around 3%) and most of these were affected by fungal diseases. Only two local varieties showed good production (around 70-80%) of medium size clusters produced from secondary buds and no disease damage at all. These were "Prairie Star" and "Marquette".
And few of my own hybrids, most of them crosses of St.Pepin and Thompson Seedless also produced well and resisted diseases very well too. One of these crosses appear to me to be very promising - AMB 15-6-S (see picture - recently I named it Minnesota Emerald). At the middle of September I checked the Brix and acidity for some of these crosses as well as some local varieties. Grapes of AMB 15-6-S had uniform ripeness and a good size cluster. The Brix was in the range of 20.5 % -21.5%, and acidity was perfect too - pH was in a range 3,5-3,6, which I believe is excellent acidity for our local varieties. Most of the local varieties, as we know, have high acidity and usually pH in the range of 2.9-3.4. The taste, pulp and skin texture of AMB 15-6-S reminds me Chardonnay. I found no off flavors when I tasted grapes or the juice from this hybrid. I hope that in a couple of years this vine will produce enough grapes to make test samples of wine.
In my view the main benefits of AMB 15-6-S is the ability to remain healthy even under extreme disease pressure. It also appears able to maintain good production even from secondary buds in the event of late frost. It has a very moderate acidity compared to most local varieties. In comparison, Chardonnay is not able to remain healthy without using fungicides. In my view this is because Chardonnay does not contain enough resveratrol, antioxidants and vitamins to withstand fungal diseases and of course, is not hardy enough for our area. In addition, AMB 15-6-S is much earlier than Chardonnay. By the middle of September AMB 15-6-S was fully ripe whereas for me Chardonnay usually ripens at the beginning of October.
I would like also to mention my research for this season about some specific varieties growing in my vineyard and representing some interest for Northern Viticulture -- E.S. 6-16-30, Swenson Red, Skujins -675, and Valiant. All these did not do very well for me this growing season because they were not able to withstand difficult conditions. Some did not pollinate well, some were badly diseased and all had much smaller and fewer clusters from secondary buds than in years past. I checked Brix for E.S 6-16-30 twice, the third week of August and mid- September and acidity as well. What was interesting - E.S. 6-16-30 had very good acidity (pH was at range 3.5-3.55), but Brix remained the same 18-18.5%. In almost three weeks the Brix did not change. It was also a little bit lower than what I expected.
I also checked the Brix and acidity of Swenson Red, Skujins-675 and Valiant . Swenson Red had low sugar levels, around 16.5-17.0%. The pH was 3.1-3.2. Skujins had a little higher pH than last year, 3.4-3.5 compare to last year -3.6. However, the Brix was better this year 20.5% versus last year’s maximum of 18.9%. Valiant had wide variation of Brix on the same grape cluster, between 16-20%. The pH was only 3.1 which it is close to the acidity of wild grapes.
In conclusion, I would like to say that even frustrating growing season like the past one can bring some benefits and even joy to area grape growers. You just need to look for the benefits by searching for what has survived well and what performed well, and you will find them.
Article was written in September, 2010 and published in MGGA Newsletter "Notes from the North" (winter issue) on same year.
Sounds strange, but I think this year was a treasure for me as an amateur grape breeder. For the last 7 years I have not sprayed any chemicals on my vines and have not used any fertilizer, just to initiate difficult conditions for my grapes and to help make better selections when developing new varieties.
This growing season was full of surprises. First of all was the late frost on Mother's Day. Such a hard late spring frost is not common in this area. In the last 12 years, since I have been growing grapes here I have not endured so much damage as during the spring this year. In future I am considering using a thicker plastic cover or bubble wrap or even blankets instead of using thin plastic and thin paper sheets used in past to protect my more valuable grapes during late frost.
On a good portion of my vineyard I sprinkled water during the entire night from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. on May 8, to prevent damage from late frost. However, this did not help me at all. Later I received advice message from Davis, California to sprinkle water in a future frost event until 8 a.m. because the lowest temperatures are between 6-7.30 a.m in the morning. All my primary buds on all my grape vines were killed on that night. And that was a good test for all my grapes (selected from my crosses and for my collection of local grapes varieties) to find out which ones can or cannot produce well from the secondary buds.
Also this past season was good for my research in another way. The abundance of hot, humid, rainy weather created a lot of different diseases, mainly Powdery Mildew, Downy Mildew and Black Rot. I observed all of the selections and varieties which grew shoots from secondary buds for how they would resist these difficult conditions. It is interesting to note that practically all vines produced flowers from secondary buds, but these flowers were not as viable as those from primary buds. The size of produced clusters were about 30% or even 50% smaller than regular size for just about every variety. In addition production was minimal (around 3%) and most of these were affected by fungal diseases. Only two local varieties showed good production (around 70-80%) of medium size clusters produced from secondary buds and no disease damage at all. These were "Prairie Star" and "Marquette".
And few of my own hybrids, most of them crosses of St.Pepin and Thompson Seedless also produced well and resisted diseases very well too. One of these crosses appear to me to be very promising - AMB 15-6-S (see picture - recently I named it Minnesota Emerald). At the middle of September I checked the Brix and acidity for some of these crosses as well as some local varieties. Grapes of AMB 15-6-S had uniform ripeness and a good size cluster. The Brix was in the range of 20.5 % -21.5%, and acidity was perfect too - pH was in a range 3,5-3,6, which I believe is excellent acidity for our local varieties. Most of the local varieties, as we know, have high acidity and usually pH in the range of 2.9-3.4. The taste, pulp and skin texture of AMB 15-6-S reminds me Chardonnay. I found no off flavors when I tasted grapes or the juice from this hybrid. I hope that in a couple of years this vine will produce enough grapes to make test samples of wine.
In my view the main benefits of AMB 15-6-S is the ability to remain healthy even under extreme disease pressure. It also appears able to maintain good production even from secondary buds in the event of late frost. It has a very moderate acidity compared to most local varieties. In comparison, Chardonnay is not able to remain healthy without using fungicides. In my view this is because Chardonnay does not contain enough resveratrol, antioxidants and vitamins to withstand fungal diseases and of course, is not hardy enough for our area. In addition, AMB 15-6-S is much earlier than Chardonnay. By the middle of September AMB 15-6-S was fully ripe whereas for me Chardonnay usually ripens at the beginning of October.
I would like also to mention my research for this season about some specific varieties growing in my vineyard and representing some interest for Northern Viticulture -- E.S. 6-16-30, Swenson Red, Skujins -675, and Valiant. All these did not do very well for me this growing season because they were not able to withstand difficult conditions. Some did not pollinate well, some were badly diseased and all had much smaller and fewer clusters from secondary buds than in years past. I checked Brix for E.S 6-16-30 twice, the third week of August and mid- September and acidity as well. What was interesting - E.S. 6-16-30 had very good acidity (pH was at range 3.5-3.55), but Brix remained the same 18-18.5%. In almost three weeks the Brix did not change. It was also a little bit lower than what I expected.
I also checked the Brix and acidity of Swenson Red, Skujins-675 and Valiant . Swenson Red had low sugar levels, around 16.5-17.0%. The pH was 3.1-3.2. Skujins had a little higher pH than last year, 3.4-3.5 compare to last year -3.6. However, the Brix was better this year 20.5% versus last year’s maximum of 18.9%. Valiant had wide variation of Brix on the same grape cluster, between 16-20%. The pH was only 3.1 which it is close to the acidity of wild grapes.
In conclusion, I would like to say that even frustrating growing season like the past one can bring some benefits and even joy to area grape growers. You just need to look for the benefits by searching for what has survived well and what performed well, and you will find them.
"Dynamic of Brix (Sugar) for Some Varieties of Grapes During Late Ripening (Harvesting)
Period in Central Part of Minnesota"
Article was written in September - November 2008, published in MGGA Newsletter "Notes from the North" 2009 (spring issue), slightly modified and enriched with graphics in December 2012.
“Sugar is an essential basic constituent of all wine musts, it's importance being due, of course, to the fact that it is fermented by yeast into alcohol and carbon dioxide.”(1).
Living in Minnesota since 1996 and growing grapes here since 1998 (10 years already) I observed that every growing season in Minnesota was different –- early or late springs (wet or dry), dry summers with a lot of heat or dry summers with moderate heat and humidity, or wet cool or hot summers with a lot of humidity. Falls are different every year too – wet or dry during harvesting period (usually between middle of September up to beginning of October). Of course we need to mention about winters in Minnesota – huge variations every year – cold or warm with different amount of snow – a lot of snow or no snow cover at all. We live in a state that has one of the highest seasonal temperature fluctuations. Our winter wind chills are comparable to Alaska’s, but in mid-summer our heat index is not different from Louisiana’s. “The coolness of the climate nevertheless does mean that every beneficial factor must be exploited to its fullest if the grapes are to ripen fully. Stones placed beneath the vines reflect heat on the grapes and the nature of the soil is often such that it retains the heat of the sun far into the night, thus preventing too drastic a temperature drop during the hours of darkness”(2). But from my observations we always can see practically constant detail – cool nights, sometimes-even frost by the middle of September and after that grapes have struggling to ripen well. Year 2008 was not exclusive at all and we can describe as:
1. long and cold winter (Minnesota had one of the coldest winter this decade. January witnessed record sub-zero temperatures at International Falls, Embarrass, Tower and the Twin Cities)
2. late spring start of the season:
- most of the buds started to swell at the beginning of May
- most blossoms or flowering occurred at the end of May
3. summer was moderate hot with less humidity then usual and dry, which did not produce a lot of diseases for my grapes .
4. late ripening start for most of my grape varieties (2-3 weeks later then usual).
Despite difficult growing season for this year I decided to determine dynamics of Brix(sugar) during harvesting period in September to find some usual tendencies of ripening for some my varieties, which started producing first grapes after 4-5 years of my breeding work, and for some varieties of grapes grown in Minnesota.
I did my Brix measurements at the beginning, at the middle and at the end of September, because this month is a crucial month for ripening on most grapes growing in Minnesota, when they are achieving sugar and losing acidity. In October, from my experience, when we have cold nights (between +35+40 o F.) grapes practically not ripen at all. In past 5 years I created almost a thousand different varieties of grapes (I tried to make crosses of wide spectrum of grapes - table seeded, seedless and grapes for wine making) which I am going to investigate for detail selection in a future seasons , and compiling more information/knowledge about how my grapes’ sugar levels affected by various growing season variables such as temperatures, accumulated growing season heat, influence of different types of soil, and perhaps even my growing practices (trellising, pruning regimen during spring and summer, canopy management activities). In addition to my little (0.3 acres) vineyard in Shoreview,MN, last year I bought 2,6 acres of land in Western Part of Minnesota, 7 miles south of c.Lithchfield, where I am trying to establish a vineyard and where I have 4 types of soil – black rich soil, clay soil, sandy soil mixed with gravel, clay soil mixed even with granite stones. Hopefully, in near future, I can relate findings on some of my own hybrids.
For year 2008 I found some interesting things that I would like to share on examples of some cultivars grown in Minnesota. Different grapes have different dynamic of Brix during late ripening period. I discovered during my measurements that some varieties of grapes achieved their maximum sugar at the beginning of ripening and held that level until the end of September only losing their acidity ( Skujins, Valiant, St.Pepin, E.S. 2-3-17). That would be the first group ( see table 1).
The second group of grapes had gradually raised Brix and gradually losing their acidity (some more quick or some less) ( Prairie Star, Frontenac Gris, Marquette, Concord)(see table 2).
The third group of grapes had, right at the beginning of September, low acidity and seemingly very sweet by taste, but had not very high levels of sugar and these levels of sugar stayed flat until harvest (end of September) (E.S.-56, D.Mc. 8521-1)( see table 3).
One cultivar showed very good levels of sugar and low acidity at the beginning of September and maintained these levels until the end of September (Somerset Seedless) (see table 4).
The fifth category of grapes had low Brix, around 11-14% through all September, but the acidity dropped significantly during that month. Example, AMB-7 ( my cross between Isabella and Noua) , had acceptable levels of acidity by the end of September, but Brix reached only 14% (see table 5).
There probably exists one more group of grapes, which has high levels of Brix and high acidity, but I do not have any such in my collection yet. I predispose, that some species of wild Vitis Riparia could fit into this group (schematically shown in table 6).
Also, I made some interesting observations during ripening period - some varieties of grapes intensify their Labrusca flavor (Edelweiss grapes, for example) and some losing that character by the time of complete ripening. E.S. 5-4-16 (named Jukka) practically lost his Labrusca flavor when Brix reached up to 19%. A few cultivars of Labrusca type grapes (Concord grapes, King of the North, Blue Bell and e.t.c.) do not ripen at all initially. They seemed practically stagnant until the night temperatures dropped down to 45-55 o F., and after that they start to turn colors and ripen. These probably require specific day-night gradients of the temperatures for some grapes to initiate ripening.
Conclusion - I am sure that every year has different affections on grapes during growing season, but also I believe that tendencies of ripening come into 6 different groups.
References:
1,2 – “Progressive winemaking ” by Peter Duncan and Bryan Acton, Fifth Impression, 1971,p.71, p.p.297-298
"SKUJINS- 675 for Minnesota Viticulture"
Article was written in December 2009, published in MGGA Newsletter "Notes from the North" 2010 (spring issue).
I have been growing Skujins – 675 for the last 6 years. I would like to bring to light some of my observations about this cultivar as I have grown it in Minnesota.
Skujins 675 (synonims : S-675, “Moskovskiy Ustoichivyi”, translated from Russian as “Resistant in Moscow” or “Steady in Moscow”) was selected by Latvian breeder Kaspars Skujins at the Tymiryazev’s Academy of Agriculture (Russian abbreviation is TCXA) in Moscow, Russia.
My interest to this variety came first when I learned that it comes from a complex cross of different types of Vitis, to include Vitis Vinifera , Vitis Amurensis, Vitis Riparia and Vitis Labrusca. The actual parents of Skujins-675 are Muscat type variety (“Pearl of Csaba” X “Amurskiy”) and the University of Minnesota old variety “Alpha”. In genetic terms - “Pearl of Csaba” is a cross of ”Muscat Ottonel” and “Bronnerstraube”, both are Vitis Vinifera cultivars. “Amurskiy” is a cross of two Vitis Amurensis cultivars, and “Alpha” is a cross of Vitis Riparia and Vitis Labrusca cultivars. Three of these strains of Vitis incorporated hardiness and disease resistance into Skujins. The Vitis Vinifera brought quality, a light Muscat-pineapple taste and moderate acidity.
According to data developed from grape growers from Baltic Republics, Belarus and Russia(1)and data from T.Plocher and B.Parke (2) this variety appears to be very hardy . From my of 6 years of observations it has survived with minimal damage and has been productive following minus -- 35 o F. In my vineyard this variety has shown moderate vigor, good productivity with moderately loose small to medium sized clusters of small to medium sized amber berries. Skujins - 675 has the ability to ripen early, usually by the beginning of September. Nevertheless, I often wait to harvest until the second half of September to achieve a better pH.
Skujins-675 has shown very good disease resistance with minimal damage from Powdery Mildew, Downy Mildew and from Anthracnose. I had not observed any damage from leaf Phylloxera. I noted a little cracking of berries during the last, somewhat dry season of 2009. I also had not seen that S-675 has died back on his own roots and believe it does not need to be grafted. Thus the vine appears to be well adapted to this climate.
I grow these grapes without any winter protection on multiple trunks in a fan trellising system. Other trellises will likely work as well for commercial purposes, but from my observations I think it will do best with low cordon training.
Despite recommendations from researches and growers from Latvia and Russia who use it as a table grapes or as a decent varietal wine (1), I think those recommendations are questionable. Moreover, in my opinion, small–medium sized berries that are very seeded containing very sticky juice does not suggest a good table grape. However, because of its moderate to low sugar levels (from my observations in the range of 18-18,9 % during last 4 years) combined with a lack of consistency on berries quality, I do not believe it has enough capability to make a high quality varietal wine. My findings confirmed by Plocher and Parke data, who reported that wines from this cultivar are still under research because of its variations in flavor and prone to oxidation (2).
However, from my experience, what is interesting about this variety and why it may offer something importance to Minnesota Viticulture is its moderately low acid levels. I did some measurements on this variety and by the end of September pH was 3.6. In comparison of all other local varietals measured from my vineyard pH varied between 3.0-3.4. And only Somerset Seedless had a similar pH to Skujins-675. Thus the low acids of Skujins–675, when used for blending, may be able to bring down acidity and improve the quality of wine for some of our local white varieties having high acids combined with the high Brix. For example, Prairie Star or St.Pepin usually have a Brix around 23-24% in my vineyard, but the pH usually runs in the range of 3.2-3.4. If we blend this 50/50 varieties with Skujins –675 , the Brix will go a little down to around 21%, but the pH of juice will go up to the range of 3.45-3.5.
As, is well known, it is important for us to bring down the acidity of local wines and I believe the wine from the blends of Prairie Star and St.Pepin with Skujins-675 can improve the wines of these varieties dramatically. In fact, I have seen this previously. In 2007 and 2009, when I had a considerable crop of Skujins grapes and made some experimental wines, in both these years, the results were the same, bringing down the acids of blended wines and improving their quality.
In conclusion, I believe Skujins-675 should be more widely grown in Minnesota, because it has lower acid than most of our white varieties. In fact, it is difficult to find low acid grapes in this climate and thus this grape could offer us an important potential characteristic for blending with local varieties.
References:
1. Multiple Skujins descriptions, translated from Russian Websites.
2. T. Plocher, and B.Parke, Northern Winework: Growing Grapes and Making Wine in Cold Climates, 2001.
Article was written in December 2009, published in MGGA Newsletter "Notes from the North" 2010 (spring issue).
I have been growing Skujins – 675 for the last 6 years. I would like to bring to light some of my observations about this cultivar as I have grown it in Minnesota.
Skujins 675 (synonims : S-675, “Moskovskiy Ustoichivyi”, translated from Russian as “Resistant in Moscow” or “Steady in Moscow”) was selected by Latvian breeder Kaspars Skujins at the Tymiryazev’s Academy of Agriculture (Russian abbreviation is TCXA) in Moscow, Russia.
My interest to this variety came first when I learned that it comes from a complex cross of different types of Vitis, to include Vitis Vinifera , Vitis Amurensis, Vitis Riparia and Vitis Labrusca. The actual parents of Skujins-675 are Muscat type variety (“Pearl of Csaba” X “Amurskiy”) and the University of Minnesota old variety “Alpha”. In genetic terms - “Pearl of Csaba” is a cross of ”Muscat Ottonel” and “Bronnerstraube”, both are Vitis Vinifera cultivars. “Amurskiy” is a cross of two Vitis Amurensis cultivars, and “Alpha” is a cross of Vitis Riparia and Vitis Labrusca cultivars. Three of these strains of Vitis incorporated hardiness and disease resistance into Skujins. The Vitis Vinifera brought quality, a light Muscat-pineapple taste and moderate acidity.
According to data developed from grape growers from Baltic Republics, Belarus and Russia(1)and data from T.Plocher and B.Parke (2) this variety appears to be very hardy . From my of 6 years of observations it has survived with minimal damage and has been productive following minus -- 35 o F. In my vineyard this variety has shown moderate vigor, good productivity with moderately loose small to medium sized clusters of small to medium sized amber berries. Skujins - 675 has the ability to ripen early, usually by the beginning of September. Nevertheless, I often wait to harvest until the second half of September to achieve a better pH.
Skujins-675 has shown very good disease resistance with minimal damage from Powdery Mildew, Downy Mildew and from Anthracnose. I had not observed any damage from leaf Phylloxera. I noted a little cracking of berries during the last, somewhat dry season of 2009. I also had not seen that S-675 has died back on his own roots and believe it does not need to be grafted. Thus the vine appears to be well adapted to this climate.
I grow these grapes without any winter protection on multiple trunks in a fan trellising system. Other trellises will likely work as well for commercial purposes, but from my observations I think it will do best with low cordon training.
Despite recommendations from researches and growers from Latvia and Russia who use it as a table grapes or as a decent varietal wine (1), I think those recommendations are questionable. Moreover, in my opinion, small–medium sized berries that are very seeded containing very sticky juice does not suggest a good table grape. However, because of its moderate to low sugar levels (from my observations in the range of 18-18,9 % during last 4 years) combined with a lack of consistency on berries quality, I do not believe it has enough capability to make a high quality varietal wine. My findings confirmed by Plocher and Parke data, who reported that wines from this cultivar are still under research because of its variations in flavor and prone to oxidation (2).
However, from my experience, what is interesting about this variety and why it may offer something importance to Minnesota Viticulture is its moderately low acid levels. I did some measurements on this variety and by the end of September pH was 3.6. In comparison of all other local varietals measured from my vineyard pH varied between 3.0-3.4. And only Somerset Seedless had a similar pH to Skujins-675. Thus the low acids of Skujins–675, when used for blending, may be able to bring down acidity and improve the quality of wine for some of our local white varieties having high acids combined with the high Brix. For example, Prairie Star or St.Pepin usually have a Brix around 23-24% in my vineyard, but the pH usually runs in the range of 3.2-3.4. If we blend this 50/50 varieties with Skujins –675 , the Brix will go a little down to around 21%, but the pH of juice will go up to the range of 3.45-3.5.
As, is well known, it is important for us to bring down the acidity of local wines and I believe the wine from the blends of Prairie Star and St.Pepin with Skujins-675 can improve the wines of these varieties dramatically. In fact, I have seen this previously. In 2007 and 2009, when I had a considerable crop of Skujins grapes and made some experimental wines, in both these years, the results were the same, bringing down the acids of blended wines and improving their quality.
In conclusion, I believe Skujins-675 should be more widely grown in Minnesota, because it has lower acid than most of our white varieties. In fact, it is difficult to find low acid grapes in this climate and thus this grape could offer us an important potential characteristic for blending with local varieties.
References:
1. Multiple Skujins descriptions, translated from Russian Websites.
2. T. Plocher, and B.Parke, Northern Winework: Growing Grapes and Making Wine in Cold Climates, 2001.
"Dilemma of The Red Wine - Flavor or Healthiness?"
Article was written in June 2009, published in MGGA Newsletter "Notes from the North" (winter issue) on same year.
For the past few years the Press has published some articles and we have all seen some Television material, about how healthy red wine is and how a new element has been discovered in red wine, resveratrol which helps to prolong the life of cells in our body. Not only as a long time grape grower but as a physician I have decided to express my views on this subject.
What is wine in general? Wine is naturally fermented grape juice, which processes sugar into alcohol by the action of yeast. By using different colored grapes we can make white, rose and red wines. White wine and rose wine are produced using primary fermentation without a
pulp, skins and seeds. The red wine production as usually involves pulp, skins and seeds during primary fermentation.
In regard to resveratrol it is a polyphenolic phytoalexin, classified as stilbene and is produced in plants by the help of the enzyme stilbene synthase.
Resveratrol was originally isolated by Takaoka from roots of white hellebore in 1940. However, it attracted wider attention in 1992, when its presence in wine was suggested as the explanation for cardioprotective effects of wine (1). In grapes, resveratrol is found primarily in the skin (2), and - in Muscadine (Vitis Rotundifolia) grapes- also in the seeds (3). The amount found in grape skins also varies with the grape cultivar, its geographic origin, and its exposure to fungal infection. The amount of fermentation time a wine spends in contact with the grape skins is an important determinant of its resveratrol content(1). Mark Rene LeBlanc from Louisiana State University, the Department of Horticulture also mentioned in his Ph.D. dissertation that the Vitis Labrusca cultivar "Miss Blanc" has a greater skin stilbene concentration than black skinned cultivars. Vitis Labrusca grape juices have relatively high stilbene concentration when compared to Muscadine juices (3). This is easy to explain because Vitis Labrusca grapes are more disease resistant than Muscadine grapes. I believe that the naturally healthiest plants (not requiring spraying by chemicals) have higher concentrations of resveratrol because it is well known that greater resveratrol is produced in plants when influenced by injuries, infection or ultraviolet irradiation. Jeandet et al., 1995 discovered that higher concentration of resveratrol provides better resistance to fungal diseases in grapes. Unfortunately we do not have many scientific publications in research area about different amounts of resveratrol in skins, vitamins in seeds, variations of active ions and vitamins in juices of
different cultivars of grapes grown world wide. Surely it would be interesting to develop a research project for our local grapes to identify the healthiest cultivars with higher levels of resveratrol. Another valuable project would be to encourage our scientists to gauge the influence of our difficult climate on production of resveratrol in local grapes. I think we have "better climate" for producing resveratrol in our plants than California does. Probably it also would be interesting to check the amount of resveratrol , vit.E and microelements in our wine made from different blends of grapes, because I believe that different cultivars have different levels of benefits and combinations of these grapes will improve the quality of the wine. When traveling in France in 2005, I was surprised how expensive were some rare wines made from blends of different cultivars most of which were unknown to me. The same idea would fit into grape juices as blends of grapes in grape juice, will increase the benefits in the juice and thus would be healthier as well.
Of course as healthier, more disease resistant grapes and their juices and wines are included in our diet the healthier we are going to be. Thus, we need to encourage our breeders to create more healthy plants, naturally containing higher concentrations of resveratrol and vitamins not only in our grapes, but also in other fruits and berries. The goal would be to use fewer chemicals by growing disease resistant plants first because diseased plants have less resveratrol and secondly it because it is practically impossible to remove 100% of residual chemicals, especially from grapes, and these are harmful to our health being involved in biochemical reactions in our body.
The object of this article has been to discuss what we are drinking and how to receive benefits from that. At the beginning of this article I mentioned that research discovered the length of fermentation time a wine spends in contact with the grapes skins is an important determinant of its resveratrol content. This is simple to explain as longer primary fermentation at lower temperatures brings better extraction of resveratrol, vitamins and microelements into the wine. We still need good research to determine the best temperatures and length of time for maximum extraction of these benefits into wine.
Recently I was surprised when watching a video ( from my friend, a Georgian priest) about old fashioned winemakers of the Eastern European Republic of Georgia living in Caucasus Mountains. It has been archaeologically proven that the roots of Georgian viticulture are between 7000 and 5000 BC. In their centuries old traditions they make wine in a large clay vessels, called kvevri, (about 75 gallons in each vessel) buried underground with only the entrance of these huge carboys at the level of the earth. The kvevris were closed with a wooden or clay lid and then covered and sealed
with earth. Actual primary fermentation was performed at the temperature of the ground (about 50-55 degree of F.). The heat from fermenting grapes and juice is absorbed through ceramic walls of these kvevris into the earth which slowed down the process. Believe it or not, primary fermentation of their wines is about 3-4 months long. Secondary fermentation without seeds, skins and a pulp may continue for years. According to historical data some kvevris may remain entombed for up to 50 years. During my visit to Georgia in 1983 I was able to taste some commercial wines, but unfortunately, did not taste these old fashioned wines. From my observations, however, even commercial Georgian wines were
higher in tannins than most wines. I think now that if the wine has higher tannins which come from skins and seeds it is because, in many cases, the primary fermentation is longer and thus at the same time better and more complete extraction of resveratrol and vitamins
as well. I had the same observation in France in 2005: some of French wines made from grapes varieties unknown to me, were higher in natural tannins (not from oak) than usual.
In conclusion, I am sure that as more grapes are included in our wines, the healthier they will be for us because different varieties of grapes have different levels of resveratrol, vitamins, antioxidants and ions in them. By a combination of grapes we can create a good flavored wine, but I think more important, how healthy the wine will be for us. I believe in the future, our priority should be not to drink only flavorful alcohol beverage, but also high quality wine to improve our health and energy. We should encourage healthy, multigrape wines the same way we talk about healthy, multigrain breads.
This is a joke, but as in any joke there is a good portion of truth. May be some day we will see wine and grape juice labeled multigrape red wine or multigrape juice. I recently was not surprised to see in a food store some rather expensive Resveratrol Juice based on Concord grape juice and a blend of other grapes and berries juices. I hope that these healthy grape juices and wines, enriched with resveratrol and other nutrients will become popular in the nearest future with consumers and this will create new products for grape growers and wineries through out the region.
References:
1. Baur,J.A., Sinclair, D.A., "Therapeutic Potential of Resveratrol: the In Vivo
Evidence". Nature Reviews Drug Discovery 5, 493-506 (June 2006).
2. Roy,H., Lundy,S., Resveratrol, Pennington Nutrition series, 2005 No7.
3. LeBlanc, Mark Rene (2005-12-13) "Cultivar, juice Extraction, Ultraviolet
Irradiation and Storage Influence the Stilbene Content of Muscadine Grapes (Vitis
Rotundifolia Michx.)".
Article was written in June 2009, published in MGGA Newsletter "Notes from the North" (winter issue) on same year.
For the past few years the Press has published some articles and we have all seen some Television material, about how healthy red wine is and how a new element has been discovered in red wine, resveratrol which helps to prolong the life of cells in our body. Not only as a long time grape grower but as a physician I have decided to express my views on this subject.
What is wine in general? Wine is naturally fermented grape juice, which processes sugar into alcohol by the action of yeast. By using different colored grapes we can make white, rose and red wines. White wine and rose wine are produced using primary fermentation without a
pulp, skins and seeds. The red wine production as usually involves pulp, skins and seeds during primary fermentation.
In regard to resveratrol it is a polyphenolic phytoalexin, classified as stilbene and is produced in plants by the help of the enzyme stilbene synthase.
Resveratrol was originally isolated by Takaoka from roots of white hellebore in 1940. However, it attracted wider attention in 1992, when its presence in wine was suggested as the explanation for cardioprotective effects of wine (1). In grapes, resveratrol is found primarily in the skin (2), and - in Muscadine (Vitis Rotundifolia) grapes- also in the seeds (3). The amount found in grape skins also varies with the grape cultivar, its geographic origin, and its exposure to fungal infection. The amount of fermentation time a wine spends in contact with the grape skins is an important determinant of its resveratrol content(1). Mark Rene LeBlanc from Louisiana State University, the Department of Horticulture also mentioned in his Ph.D. dissertation that the Vitis Labrusca cultivar "Miss Blanc" has a greater skin stilbene concentration than black skinned cultivars. Vitis Labrusca grape juices have relatively high stilbene concentration when compared to Muscadine juices (3). This is easy to explain because Vitis Labrusca grapes are more disease resistant than Muscadine grapes. I believe that the naturally healthiest plants (not requiring spraying by chemicals) have higher concentrations of resveratrol because it is well known that greater resveratrol is produced in plants when influenced by injuries, infection or ultraviolet irradiation. Jeandet et al., 1995 discovered that higher concentration of resveratrol provides better resistance to fungal diseases in grapes. Unfortunately we do not have many scientific publications in research area about different amounts of resveratrol in skins, vitamins in seeds, variations of active ions and vitamins in juices of
different cultivars of grapes grown world wide. Surely it would be interesting to develop a research project for our local grapes to identify the healthiest cultivars with higher levels of resveratrol. Another valuable project would be to encourage our scientists to gauge the influence of our difficult climate on production of resveratrol in local grapes. I think we have "better climate" for producing resveratrol in our plants than California does. Probably it also would be interesting to check the amount of resveratrol , vit.E and microelements in our wine made from different blends of grapes, because I believe that different cultivars have different levels of benefits and combinations of these grapes will improve the quality of the wine. When traveling in France in 2005, I was surprised how expensive were some rare wines made from blends of different cultivars most of which were unknown to me. The same idea would fit into grape juices as blends of grapes in grape juice, will increase the benefits in the juice and thus would be healthier as well.
Of course as healthier, more disease resistant grapes and their juices and wines are included in our diet the healthier we are going to be. Thus, we need to encourage our breeders to create more healthy plants, naturally containing higher concentrations of resveratrol and vitamins not only in our grapes, but also in other fruits and berries. The goal would be to use fewer chemicals by growing disease resistant plants first because diseased plants have less resveratrol and secondly it because it is practically impossible to remove 100% of residual chemicals, especially from grapes, and these are harmful to our health being involved in biochemical reactions in our body.
The object of this article has been to discuss what we are drinking and how to receive benefits from that. At the beginning of this article I mentioned that research discovered the length of fermentation time a wine spends in contact with the grapes skins is an important determinant of its resveratrol content. This is simple to explain as longer primary fermentation at lower temperatures brings better extraction of resveratrol, vitamins and microelements into the wine. We still need good research to determine the best temperatures and length of time for maximum extraction of these benefits into wine.
Recently I was surprised when watching a video ( from my friend, a Georgian priest) about old fashioned winemakers of the Eastern European Republic of Georgia living in Caucasus Mountains. It has been archaeologically proven that the roots of Georgian viticulture are between 7000 and 5000 BC. In their centuries old traditions they make wine in a large clay vessels, called kvevri, (about 75 gallons in each vessel) buried underground with only the entrance of these huge carboys at the level of the earth. The kvevris were closed with a wooden or clay lid and then covered and sealed
with earth. Actual primary fermentation was performed at the temperature of the ground (about 50-55 degree of F.). The heat from fermenting grapes and juice is absorbed through ceramic walls of these kvevris into the earth which slowed down the process. Believe it or not, primary fermentation of their wines is about 3-4 months long. Secondary fermentation without seeds, skins and a pulp may continue for years. According to historical data some kvevris may remain entombed for up to 50 years. During my visit to Georgia in 1983 I was able to taste some commercial wines, but unfortunately, did not taste these old fashioned wines. From my observations, however, even commercial Georgian wines were
higher in tannins than most wines. I think now that if the wine has higher tannins which come from skins and seeds it is because, in many cases, the primary fermentation is longer and thus at the same time better and more complete extraction of resveratrol and vitamins
as well. I had the same observation in France in 2005: some of French wines made from grapes varieties unknown to me, were higher in natural tannins (not from oak) than usual.
In conclusion, I am sure that as more grapes are included in our wines, the healthier they will be for us because different varieties of grapes have different levels of resveratrol, vitamins, antioxidants and ions in them. By a combination of grapes we can create a good flavored wine, but I think more important, how healthy the wine will be for us. I believe in the future, our priority should be not to drink only flavorful alcohol beverage, but also high quality wine to improve our health and energy. We should encourage healthy, multigrape wines the same way we talk about healthy, multigrain breads.
This is a joke, but as in any joke there is a good portion of truth. May be some day we will see wine and grape juice labeled multigrape red wine or multigrape juice. I recently was not surprised to see in a food store some rather expensive Resveratrol Juice based on Concord grape juice and a blend of other grapes and berries juices. I hope that these healthy grape juices and wines, enriched with resveratrol and other nutrients will become popular in the nearest future with consumers and this will create new products for grape growers and wineries through out the region.
References:
1. Baur,J.A., Sinclair, D.A., "Therapeutic Potential of Resveratrol: the In Vivo
Evidence". Nature Reviews Drug Discovery 5, 493-506 (June 2006).
2. Roy,H., Lundy,S., Resveratrol, Pennington Nutrition series, 2005 No7.
3. LeBlanc, Mark Rene (2005-12-13) "Cultivar, juice Extraction, Ultraviolet
Irradiation and Storage Influence the Stilbene Content of Muscadine Grapes (Vitis
Rotundifolia Michx.)".