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Flying Otter Vineyard grows grapes that are specifically adapted to cold weather climates. We planted three varieties of grapes in our first year. 2006 The following grapes were planted at the Flying Otter Vineyard May 20-23, 2006. Marechal Foch La Crosse La Crescent Frontenac Gris St. Pepin Traminette Brianna In 2007 we added only one variety to the vineyard. 25 plants of Marquette were planted May 26, 2007. Frontenac is the first in a series of grapes specially developed for cold weather climates by the University of Minnesota. It was introduced in 1995/96 and is a cross of V. riparia 89 with the French hybrid Landot 4511, resulting in a grape exhibiting some of the best characteristics of each. Frontenac is very cold hardy, having borne a full crop after temperatures as low as -30 F. It is also a very disease resistant variety with good resistance to powdery mildew and near-immunity to downy. It produces small black berries in medium to large clusters that are usually slightly loose, resulting in reduced incidences of berry splitting and bunch rot, even in wet years. Frontenac has been a consistently heavy producer and sometimes requires cluster thinning. It is a vigorous variety and usually becomes established very quickly. Frontenac ripens in late midseason. Initially acids are high, but often drop dramatically late in the season, so it is important to let the fruit hang long enough to fully mature, to reduce the acidity to workable levels. Frontenac is a good sugar producer with 24-25 brix not uncommon. Frontenac
wine
typically has a pleasant cherry aroma with berry and plum evident in
many
cases. The color is usually a garnet red, but can become excessively
dark with
long periods of skin time. Malolactic fermentation is essential to
reduce the
wine’s high acidity. Tannin levels are usually relatively low. St. Croix was originally developed by Elmer Swenson in 1983. It was a cross of E.S. 283 and E.S. 193. Hardy to about
-30 F, St. Croix is widely grown in Minnesota, Connecticut and Quebec. A vigorous grower with
vinifera-like good
friut and low tannin, the medium sized clusters are slightly
loose. St.
Croix ripens mid season and achieves
18-20 brix, with moderate acidity.
This
variety is susceptible to downy mildew, but resists powdery mildew and
black
rot. The roots are
a bit less hardy, and
need snow cover in very cold winters.
Grafting on a superhardy rootstock may slightly
enhance it's hardiness
and productivity. St. Croix’s
fruit chemistry is good: it’s relatively easy to make good
quality red wine from
this grape. The
juice is a pale rose and
the wines can be dark in color. Lack
of
tannins is fairly common and needs to be corrected by blending. Sabrevois is the name given
to Elmer Swenson's ES 2-1-9 in August 2001. Like
St. Croix, it is a cross of E.S. 283 and
E.S. 193. It was
named after the village
near the Richeliu River in southern Quebec where Gilles Benoit of
Vignoble des
Pins first made high quality wine from the variety. Sabrevois is very winter hardy ( to -30 F) and disease resistant, exhibiting vigourous growth and good upright growth patterns. The black berries are small to medium in size, and it produces small to medium size somewhat loose clusters. Vines of Sabrevois are vigorous, but they sometimes struggle to provide a crop equal to their vegatative vigor. This can be aided by production management using a divided trellis system. The acidity of Sabrevois tends to be higher than that of St. Croix, but very workable. The sugar content rarely exceeds 20 Brix even in very ripe fruit. Wines made from
Sabrevois have a berry-like taste and aroma, and deep red color. Long skin contact time
should be
avoided. Dry red
varietal sabrevois
should age well and may require two years in bottle to round off the
rough
edges. Probably best as part of a blend with other red hybrid varieties
known
for higher sugars (say maybe Frontenac or Landot Noir). Marechal
Foch is a French hybrid, M 44-53 x Goldriesling.
Synonym name Kuhlmann 188-2. Short
season small-cluster grape with hard-cold tolerance to -20 deg. F.
Grows well
in sandy soils, but may need grafting for use in heavier soil types.
Foch is
one of the hardiest French hybrids. Widely grown commercially in
Minnesota. On
good sites in southern Minnesota, there is no need to cover the vines
for
winter protection. Birds prefer small, black, early grapes, so Marechal
Foch is
particularly attractive to them. As its clusters are relatively small,
it
should not be pruned severely. Quite resistant to common grape
diseases; slight
susceptibility to both powdery and downy mildews. This
variety is versatile, lending itself to both reds and rosés.
Noted for
producing somewhat light, yet deeply colored and strongly varietal,
wines
described as having a "Burgundian" character. Usually needs the help
of carbonic maceration or hot-pressing to enhance quality. Also known
under the
name Foch. LaCrosse was developed by Elmer Swenson in 1961, (MN 78 x S. 1000) x Seyval. It is hardy
to -25 F. Vigor, productivity, and disease resistance are moderate.
LaCrosse
ripens fairly late and needs a warm summer to reach 20 Brix. This is one
of the leading white wine varieties in some upper midwest states. Good
varietal
wines have been made in a dry and semi-dry style and are clean, fruity,
with
good acidity. Wine
flavors can include pear, apricot, and muscat.
Makes a good dry white wine fermented in oak with ML
fermentation. This is one
of the best of the new white wine selections from U Minn, St. Pepin x
ES
6-8-25; U of M, 2002. This
variety is very cold hardy; trunks have survived -36° F. Vigor
and productivity
are medium. It ripens mid-season, and neither berry splitting nor
botrytis have
been observed, even under wet conditions. It has long medium sized
slightly
loose clusters and turns a beautiful golden brown color when ripe. It requires a careful spray program to
control black rot and downy mildew. Sugar can develop to 22-27 brix
with high
acid. It is an
excellent blending component to add good aromatics to more neutral
white wines.
The wine can be very good, balanced, and with good body. Similar to a
good
Vignole or Riesling but with apricot and honey in the nose and flavor. Frontenac Gris Found
growing at the University of Minnesota as a sport of Frontenac. Culturally,
it is identical to Frontenac, having high vigor and yields. Hardy to at
least
-38 F. Disease resistance is good, with moderate suseptability to
powdery
mildew and black rot, and very low suseptability to downy mildew. Small
grey
berries are born on medium sized, loose clusters. Berry splitting and
botrytis
have not been observed. Suitable
for high quality table and dessert wines, possibly ice wine as well.
Ripens mid
season with aromas that include peach, apricot, citrus, and pineapple.
Labrusca
and herbaceous aromas have not been detected.
St. Pepin Developed by Elmer Swenson in 1981, (MN 78 x S. 1000) x Seyval. A sister
seedling of LaCrosse but hardier, to around -26 F. This variety is
pistallite,
meaning that it has only female flowers and must be planted near other
varieites to ensure proper fruit set. It should be pruned to a high bud
count
to make sure there is adequate fruit production. Small berries are
formed on
medium loose clusters. Ripens mid season to about 20 brix and 1.0%
total
acidity. One row of St. Pepin next to one row of another variety will
do
well. This vine has
average
susceptibility to downy mildew, powdery mildew, and black rot. Excellent
wines have been made from St. Pepin as a varietal and also blended with
LaCrosse. When well ripened, fruit quality is similar to Reisling. St.
Pepin
also makes a pleasing juice, unlike many wine grapes. 'Traminette'
resulted from the cross, Joannes Seyve 23.416 x
'Gewürztraminer'.. This cross
was made in 1965 by H.C. Barrett, then of the University of Illinois,
with the
intention of producing a large clustered table grape with the flavor of
'Gewürztraminer'.
Seed from the cross were sent to Cornell's grape breeding program where
they
were planted in 1968. Fruit were first observed in 1971 and the
original vine
was propagated in 1974 under the number NY65.533.13. The vine was
initially
described as a vigorous and productive green grape with moderately
loose
clusters. 'Traminette'
is a late
mid-season white wine grape which produces wine with pronounced
varietal
character likened to one of its parents, 'Gewürztraminer'.
'Traminette' is
distinguished by its superior wine quality combined with good
productivity,
partial resistance to several fungal diseases, and cold hardiness
superior to
its acclaimed parent, 'Gewürztraminer'.
Flowers of 'Traminette' are perfect and
self-fertile, blooming at
mid-season following late bud-break. Clusters are shouldered,
moderately loose,
and medium in size (0.24 to 0.29 lb.). Vines average 1.7
clusters/shoot. Very
little crop is borne on lateral shoots and cluster thinning is rarely
necessary. The amber berries are medium sized (1.52 g/berry) and
spherical. The
balance between sugar,
acidity and pH is excellent. These data indicate that 'Traminette' can
accumulate satisfactory amounts of sugar while maintaining sufficient
acidity and
a low pH. Foliage
and fruit are moderately
resistant to powdery mildew, black rot and Botrytis bunch rot . Foliage
is
susceptible to downy mildew which can be controlled by standard
commercial
practices. Rupestris stem pitting virus has been found to occur in
vines of
'Traminette'. It is not known whether stem pitting has a negative
effect on
vine growth. Infected
vines in New York
trials have been observed to be as productive as adjacent uninfected
vines. Wines, which were first made in 1972, have been described as distinctively spicy and fragrant, much like the 'Gewürztraminer' parent. The wine has good body and no noticeable flavors characteristic of interspecific hybrid grapes. Skin contact for 12 to 48 hours (40 o to 50 °F) helps to enhance the desirable spicy, floral aromas. Excessive bitterness due to prolonged skin contact has not been observed. Wines may be finished dry or semi-dry depending on preferred style. When the grape is fully ripe and when processed with some skin contact, the aromas of 'Traminette' are very similar to those of 'Gewürztraminer'. 'Traminette' wine differs from 'Gewürztraminer' in structure and mouthfeel; it does not have the strong fresh ground spice flavors with phenolic bitterness as is characteristic of very ripe 'Gewürztraminer'. On the other hand, it does not get the bitter taste that 'Gewürztraminer' may develop. 'Traminette' also maintains a lower, more favorable, wine pH. A very vigorous and winter hardy white wine grape developed by Elmer Swenson as ES 7-4-76 and later named Brianna. Berries are greenish gold to gold when fully ripe in early to mid September. It is easily managed in the vineyard and appears to tolerate 2,4 D drift. It makes a pleasant white wine with tropical (pineapple) aromas and flavor. Marquette
Experimental wines from Marquette have been excellent, exceeding nearly all
Information from
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The cross for Marquette was made in 1992 from MN 1094 and Ravat
262 (a French pinot noir grape), combining the hardiness and early
ripening qualities of a wild grape with the ideal chemical content of a
traditional wine grape. In terms of cold hardiness, it has withstood temperatures as low as
-36° F without serious injury. Resistance to common grape diseases
(downy mildew, powdery mildew and black rot), has been excellent and
the vine requires only a minimal spray program. Resistance to
infestation by foliar phylloxera has been moderate. The open, orderly,
and somewhat upright growth habit of Marquette is considered highly
desirable for efficient vineyard management and fruit exposure to the
sun conducive to maximizing wine quality. Shoots typically have two
small to medium clusters per shoot, thus avoiding the need for cluster
thinning. Marquette ripens in mid-season, a few days before the
standard cultivar Frontenac. Sugar levels for Marquette have been
high, averaging 26.1° brix. Acid levels have also been higher than
most cultivars (1.19%) although lower than that of Frontenac (1.50%).
This level of titratable acidity has been found to be quite manageable
by experienced winemakers. Marquette yields have averaged 5.46 Kg/
vine or 3.6 tons/acre.