Missouri’s 2017 Show Me Grape and Wine Conference
The Show Me State has a Show Me wine conference for the second year in a row. The University of Missouri’s Grape and Wine Institute (GWI) is staging its Show Me Grape and Wine...
Tagged: cold climate winemaking
Reducing Alcohol Levels in Cold Climate Wines
When it comes to Marquette wines, two of the biggest criticisms I hear are excessive oak and alcohol. Oak aside, the high brix of varietals such as Marquette and Frontenac can lead to alcohols...
Katie Cook on Making Wine in the Midwest
Homepage photo: John Thull and Katie Cook of the University of Minnesota. Visiting the University of Minnesota Research Center, I was surprised to see vinifera growing in the vineyard. What are all those old...
Interview With Nick Smith of University of Minnesota
Midwest Wine Press spoke recently with Nick Smith at the University of Minnesota (U of M.) Nick is well-known in the region because, over the course of a year, he probably makes more different...
The True Value of Cold Hardy Hybrids
When the early members of the Minnesota Grape Growers Association (MGGA) first experimented with wine grapes in the early 1970’s, all the vines were cold tender or marginal at best. Foch stood out as...
Drought Produces “Good Wine” in the Midwest
An Associated Press report by Jim Suhr about the grape harvest in the Midwest takes the angle that the severe drought could see, “standout wine from a region better known for corn and soybeans.”...
Drastically Lower Grape Yields Predicted for Some Midwest States
The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) has released its first estimate of the United States grape harvest yield in its August Crop Production report. Despite this year’s frosts that struck many states and the...
Cannon River Shoots for the Stars in Minnesota
Walking into Vincent Negret’s back office at Cannon River Winery in Minnesota is like entering the laboratory of a mad scientist. Sticky notes and articles cover the walls – “I’m visual,” he says –...
Drought Tipping Point: Vines Risk Long Term Damage
As the drought continues to worsen and temperatures across the Midwest exceed 100 degrees, viticulture experts warn that grape growers could face long-term vine damage. If there is no significant rain in the coming days,...
Frontenac Gris Grape Moves Beyond Minnesota
During 1992, a new grape variety was discovered by Peter Hemstad in the vineyard at the University of Minnesota’s Horticulture Research Center. According to Katie Cook, enology project leader at the University of Minnesota,...