Image of red grape clusters with thumprint grape breeding logo and the words "Grape breeding and enology"

Welcome to the Grape Breeding and Enology project website

Located at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, we conduct research in the Department of Horticultural Science and at the Horticultural Research Center. Our focus is on grapevine cultivar development which includes: wine grapes, table grape varieties, and ornamentals that survive and thrive in cold-climate conditions. We also work on understanding the mechanisms of disease and pest resistance so that we can incorporate these traits as a way to improve sustainability for Minnesota growers. In addition to breeding grapes, we develop and teach enology best practices for cold-hardy grapes.

Ask for Clarion!

By Kate Fessler, Drew Horton, John Thull, and Matt Clark

We have developed a short guide for our most recent UMN release, 'Clarion'! This high quality white wine cultivar is hardy to USDA Zone 5. Click on the preview below to open the PDF, or at the following link: Link to Clarion fact sheet.

Image of the first page of the Clarion fact sheet

News

Itasca Wine Making: New report

Sensory Analysis of Itasca Wines

preliminary findings of industry sensory evaluation of Itasca winemaking practices

September 11, 2019

Presented by Matthew Clark and Andrew Horton

‘Itasca’ is a new wine grape variety developed at the University of Minnesota and released in 2017.  This grape variety demonstrates vineyard sustainability traits like cold hardiness, powdery mildew resistance, and low incidence of foliar phylloxera. Furthermore, the juice of the wine is about 30% lower in total acidity than its parent ‘Frontenac Gris’, making it suitable for dry wine production or for use in blending. The novelty of this variety means that few winemakers have had an opportunity to trial different winemaking practices.  In 2017 and 2018 we made experimental ‘Itasca’ wines in order to provide some initial insight to winemakers who may be making ‘Itasca’ wines for the first time. We conducted 2 different experiments, and then conducted sensory analysis of the wines during the Cold Climate Conference in 2018 and 2019. Here we describe the preliminary results of this research. 

Click here to open the .pdf file

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2019 Fall Open House

Join in celebrating the fall grape harvest with an open house hosted by the University of Minnesota Grape Breeding and Enology project.  

This annual event is a great time to meet other grape growers and enthusiasts. You will get to taste about 50 different grape varieties and learn about research being conducted on enology, viticulture, and grape genetics.

The open house will be from 10 am - noon on Saturday, September 14, 2019 at the Horticultural Research Center, 600 Arboretum Blvd., Chaska, MN 55331.  

*note this is one week later than normal

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