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Grapevine breeding in the Midwest
Grapevine breeding in the Midwest
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P. Hemstad, G. Breeder University of Minnesota, Horticultural Research Center, Excelsior, MN, USA
17.1 Introduction Grape breeding in the Midwestern United States has been primarily concentrated in the northern part of the region, known as the Upper Midwest. When the Midwest was settled in the mid-nineteenth century, settlers brought grapevines with them from the East Coast of the U.S. While Concord did well in Iowa and Illinois, most Vitis labrusca-based cultivars (Vitis labruscana) fared quite poorly under the harsh climatic conditions of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas, where winter temperatures can sometimes drop as low as −40 °C. These severe conditions motivated grape breeders to create a series of new cultivars with extreme cold hardiness (Alderman, 1962). The following sections review the important breeding programs that have been undertaken in various Midwestern states over the last one hundred and forty years.
17.2 Minnesota 17.2.1 Louis Suelter, Carver, Minnesota Some of the earliest efforts to develop a grape cultivar hardy enough to be grown without winter protection in the Upper Midwest were done by the German immigrant, Louis Suelter. Suelter lived near Carver, MN, and in the 1870s, he crossed a supposedly white-fruited form of Vitis riparia with Concord (Pfaender, 1912). V. riparia is native to a large portion of North America, including most of the Upper Midwest. It is arguably the most cold hardy grape species in the world, with the possible exception of Vitis amurensis from China (Pierquet and Stushnoff, 1980). It is a very vigorous species with small clusters of tiny black berries. The vine tends to have good resistance to downy and powdery mildews but is usually quite susceptible to the foliar form of phylloxera (Swenson, 1985). V. riparia is commonly known as the “Riverbank Grape” and does thrive in riparian habitats. Unlike several other American species, V. riparia readily propagates from cuttings. Suelter named four new cultivars out of the 29 seedlings resulting from his cross of V. riparia × Concord, including one named Suelter and another named after his wife, Beta (Table 17.1). Beta became quite successful commercially and is a dependably hardy juice and jelly grape for Minnesota and the surrounding states. The acidity is too high for Beta to be used as a table grape. The same generally holds true for wine, although there was a substantial interest in using Beta for wine during Prohibition Grapevine Breeding Programs for the Wine Industry. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-1-78242-075-0.00017-X Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Notable Midwest grape cultivars
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Table 17.1 Variety
Color
Parentage
Breeder
Place introduced
Year introduced
Principal uses
Beta
Black
Louis Suelter
Carver, MN
1881
Juice, jelly
Bluebell
Black
(Vitis riparia × Concord) (Beta × Unknown)
Juice, jelly
White
(MN 78 × Ontario)
University of Minnesota Minnesota
1944
Edelweiss
1978
Wine, table
NE, MN, IA, WI, SD, IL, VT
St. Croix
Black
(ES 283 × ES 193)
M.J. Dorsey, A.N. Wilcox Elmer Swenson, C. Stushnoff, P. Pierquet E. Swenson
Osceola, WI
1981
Wine
Valiant
Black
(Fredonia × V. riparia)
Ron Peterson
South Dakota State University
1982
Wine, juice, jelly
St. Pepin
White
E. Swenson
Osceola, WI
1983
Wine
La Crosse
White
E. Swenson
Osceola, WI
1983
Wine
Frontenac
Black
((MN 78 × S 1000) × Seyval) ((MN 78 × S 1000) × Seyval) (V. riparia #89 × Landot 4511)
Peter Hemstad, J. Luby, P. Pierquet
University of Minnesota
1996
Wine, jelly
Prairie Star
White
(ES 2-7-13 × ES 2-8-1)
Wisconsin
2000
Wine
Sabrevois
Black
(ES 283 × ES 193)
E. Swenson, T. Plocher, R. Parke E. Swenson, G. Benoit
MN, SD, IA, WI, IL, NE, VT, CT, Quebec SD, ND, MN, WY, Manitoba, Alberta MN, SD, IA, WI, IL, NE MN, SD, IA, WI, IL, NE MN, SD, ND, IA, WI, IL, NE, NY, OH, MI, Ontario, Quebec, China MN, SD, IA, WI, IL, VT, NE
Quebec
2000
Wine
Where grown MN, SD, ND, China MN, SD, ND, WI
Grapevine Breeding Programs for the Wine Industry
Quebec, MN, IA, WI, SD
White
(ES 2-3-17 × Kay Gray)
Brianna
White
La Crescent
White
(Kay Gray × ES 2-12-13) (St. Pepin × E.S. 6-8-25)
Somerset Seedless
Pink
(ES 5-3-64 × Petite Jewel)
Frontenac Gris
Gray
Petite Amie
White
Marquette
Black
Osceola Muscat Petite Pearl
Wisconsin
2001
Wine
MN, SD, IA, WI, IL, VT, NE
Nebraska
2002
Wine
University of Minnesota
2002
Wine, jelly
Osceola, WI
2002
Table
Mutation of Frontenac
P. Hemstad, J. Luby
University of Minnesota
2003
Wine
(ES 2-11-4 × DMP2-54) (MN 1094 × Ravat 262)
Dave Macgregor and E. Swanson P. Hemstad, J. Luby
Nebraska/ Minnesota University of Minnesota
2004
Wine
2006
Wine
White
((ES 56 × OP) × SV 23-657)
E. Swenson, M. Hart
Osceola, WI
2010
Wine
Black
(MN 1094 × ES 4-7-26)
T. Plocher
Minnesota
2010
Wine
NE, MN, IA, WI, SD, ND, VT MN, SD, ND, IA, WI, IL, NE, NY, VT MN, WI, SD, IA, VT, Quebec, Baltic states MN, SD, ND, IA, WI, IL, NE, NY, VT, Ontario, Quebec NE, MN, IA, WI, SD, VT MN, SD, ND, IA, WI, IL, NE, NY, VT, WA, OR, Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia, China MN, WI, IA, Quebec, New Brunswick MN, SD, ND, IA, WI, IL, VT, NE, Quebec
413
E. Swenson, T. Plocher, R. Parke Elmer Swenson, Ed Swanson P. Hemstad, J. Luby, E. Swenson E. Swenson et al.
Grapevine breeding in the Midwest
Louise Swenson
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when any alcohol was at a premium. Today, Beta is still grown on a small scale, primarily on farmsteads in the Great Plains. Strangely enough, it is also one of the most commonly grown rootstocks in Northern China. Suelter somewhat optimistically summed up his breeding work in 1884 with the following statement: “I have produced several new types of vine through hybrid breeding, which will bring forth a completely new revolution in winegrowing, for as far north as the wild vines will thrive, my hybrids will flourish also, for they are just as hardy all winter in the great coldness in the northern part of America as the wild growing riparia. They require no protection …”
17.2.2 University of Minnesota Grape breeding began at the University of Minnesota’s Fruit Breeding Farm (now known as the Horticultural Research Center, or HRC) in Excelsior, MN in 1908 (Snyder, 1982). This limited early work was led by Professor Samuel Green, and the primary objective was the improvement of the leading grape of the time, Beta. There was certainly no interest at the time in developing cold hardy wine grapes since alcohol consumption was frowned upon. (In fact, the measure imposing a prohibition against alcohol in the U.S. in 1920 was labeled the “Volstead Act” after Senator Volstead from Minnesota.) Beta was crossed at the University of Minnesota with many of the leading Eastern V. labruscana cultivars. This work was continued by Professors M.J. Dorsey (active 1911–1921) and A.N. Wilcox (active 1923–1963), and the result was that four new cultivars were released in 1944: Moonbeam, Red Amber, Blue Jay, and Bluebell (Wilcox, 1946; Figure 17.1(a); Table 17.1). The first three are almost extinct 70 years later. Bluebell, however, has gained a degree of popularity as a Northern Concord type, since Concord itself is too late ripening and winter tender to do well in Minnesota. Bluebell is quite disease-resistant and makes an excellent juice and jelly. It may also have some limited wine potential in a sweet rosé style. Bluebell is certainly an improvement on Beta, so that goal was realized. Grape breeding at the University of Minnesota was a low priority in the mid-twentieth century, and apple breeding was the focus of research at the time. Things slowly began to change in 1969 when Mr Elmer Swenson was hired to work at the HRC. Mr Swenson had been doing his own breeding work since 1943 (see section 17.3.1 on his work below), and he brought several of his selections with him to the University for testing. Lacking a formal education, Elmer was hired as a “gardener” to maintain the fruit research plantings. His interest in fruit extended beyond grapes and he was also keenly interested in the apple-breeding work being conducted there. Upon his retirement from the University in 1978, two grapes were jointly released by Elmer Swenson and the University of Minnesota: Swenson Red (Figure 17.1(c)) and Edelweiss (Swenson et al., 1978; Figure 17.1(d); Table 17.1). Swenson Red (MN 78 × S. 11803) was a grape Elmer initially wanted to name NorVin for “northern vinifera”. His rationale was that this was a vinifera-quality grape that could be grown in northern areas. Swenson Red is indeed a very high-quality seeded table grape with
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Figure 17.1 Grape cultivars introduced from breeding programs in the Midwest U.S. (a) St. Croix; (b) Bluebell; (c) Swenson Red; (d) Edelweiss; (e) Frontenac; (f) Frontenac gris; (g) Frontenac blanc; (h) La Crescent. Photos (a), (b), and (h) by Peter Hemstad, University of Minnesota; Photos (c), (d), (e), (f) by David L. Hansen, University of Minnesota; Photo (g) by Alain Breault.
an excellent meaty texture, a delicate fruity taste, and outstanding storage ability. Unfortunately, Swenson Red is not reliably hardy in Minnesota and is also quite susceptible to downy mildew. It is not widely grown today, although it is still available as a backyard table grape. The other cultivar released in 1978, Edelweiss, has become much more popular than Swenson Red. Edelweiss has some significant drawbacks as a table grape, especially because it has a thin skin, which easily cracks when handled, and a very limited storage life. Those are not really issues when used as a wine grape, and it has become fairly popular in that capacity. This is especially true in Nebraska, where Edelweiss has become one of the leading white wine cultivars. Edelweiss is marginally winter hardy in central Minnesota, but is very resistant to downy and powdery mildew. If left on the vine to fully mature, Edelweiss becomes extremely foxy, so winemakers usually carefully monitor its maturity and pick it before it is fully ripe. When picked early, it can make a light, fruity white wine that can be quite popular, especially when finished slightly sweet. Another development in the late 1970s at the University of Minnesota was the contribution of a graduate student named Patrick Pierquet. Mr Pierquet worked with Elmer Swenson at the HRC and did his master’s thesis on V. riparia. He collected a large number of V. riparia accessions from Minnesota and the surrounding areas, including the extreme northern edge of its range in Manitoba (Pierquet and Stushnoff, 1980). In
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addition, Mr Pierquet made a number of crosses using V. riparia or other cold hardy grapes like Mandan or Suelter crossed with either V. vinifera cultivars or French– American hybrids. Mr Pierquet received his degree and then left the University before these seedlings could be evaluated. Preliminary evaluation of these crosses was conducted by James Luby and David Bedford in the early 1980s. In 1984, funding was greatly increased for the University of Minnesota’s grape breeding program by the passage of an act in the state legislature, spearheaded by the Minnesota Grape Growers Association. This resulted in the hiring of a full-time grape breeder in 1985, Peter Hemstad (the author of this chapter). Mr Hemstad continued the evaluation of Pierquet’s earlier crosses while greatly expanding the acreage of grapes at the HRC. Hundreds of grape accessions were brought in from nurseries and repositories in the 1980s and 1990s to augment the University of Minnesota’s collections and provide future germplasm for breeding. A small-scale experimental winemaking program was also set up to supplement the breeding work. As a result of these efforts, Frontenac (V. riparia #89 × Landot 4511) (Figure 17.1(e); Table 17.1) was released by the University of Minnesota in 1996 (Hemstad and Luby, 2000). Frontenac was a seedling from a cross originally made by Patrick Pierquet in the late 1970s. It was evaluated by Peter Hemstad and James Luby, who considered it very promising as an F1 hybrid from the wild. It has proven to be a successful cultivar and is now widely grown commercially throughout the Midwest and into Canada as well. Some of its positive attributes are that it is dependably cold hardy in central Minnesota, it is quite productive, has a very manageable semi-upright growth habit, is quick to become established, and is tolerant of a wide range of soil types. It is nearly immune to downy mildew and fairly resistant to powdery mildew. It is, however, susceptible to black rot. Black rot is not a major disease in Minnesota, but this becomes more of an issue when Frontenac is grown further south. Frontenac is tolerant of the root form of phylloxera but susceptible to the foliar form. Overall, it is considered quite forgiving from a grower’s perspective. On the wine side, Frontenac has some very appealing aspects, including a characteristic black cherry aroma, usually accompanied by aromas of berry and plum. Like most interspecific hybrids, Frontenac lacks tannin structure when compared to V. vinifera cultivars. Frontenac has proven to be very versatile in the wine cellar with wineries making successful red wines, rosés, and ports. By far the biggest drawback to Frontenac overall is its high titratable acidity. This can usually be managed by a combination of good viticultural practices, such as cluster thinning and delaying harvest until the fruit is fully mature. Red wines must usually either be put through malolactic fermentation or finished off dry to balance the high acidity. Frontenac may be particularly useful as a port-style cultivar, since its high acidity is masked by the sweetness of that type of wine. Shortly after the release of Frontenac as a new cultivar, a single bud mutation was discovered by Peter Hemstad at the HRC. This single shoot had gray fruit rather than the original black (Figure 17.1(f); Table 17.1). Eventually this sport was patented in 2003 by the University of Minnesota as Frontenac Gris, and there are now hundreds of thousands of vines grown throughout the Midwest and East Coast. Frontenac Gris
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has a characteristic peach aroma accompanied by citrus and tropical fruit. The juice composition is essentially the same as the original Frontenac, meaning high soluble solids and high acidity. The vine is indistinguishable from Frontenac in the vineyard, which simplifies management for growers with both versions. More recently, a further mutation of Frontenac Gris was found—a completely white version now known as Frontenac Blanc (Figure 17.1(g); Table 17.1). Frontenac Blanc was originally discovered in Quebec by Alain Breault and Giles Benoit, but additional independent discoveries have also been made by Ray Winter in Janesville, MN and at the University of Minnesota. It has become apparent that the Frontenac group is highly mutable, and reversions have also been found from Frontenac Gris back to Frontenac or even with two colors on one cluster. These various clones are currently being grown and evaluated at the University of Minnesota, and in the future, clones with different characteristics may become commercially available for growers. Initial results with Frontenac Blanc indicate that it appears to be distinct enough from Frontenac Gris for growers and wineries to consider having all three forms. Another white wine cultivar developed by the University of Minnesota is La Crescent (St. Pepin × (V. riparia × Muscat of Alexandria)) (Figure 17.1(h); Table 17.1), which was introduced and patented in 2002 (Hemstad and Luby, 2003). La Crescent was the result of cooperation between Elmer Swenson and the University of Minnesota. The University of Minnesota was a source of pollen for Mr Swenson on several occasions, so it was not unusual for Peter Hemstad to request pollen from an interesting (V. riparia × Muscat of Alexandria) selection he noticed on a visit to Elmer’s vineyard in Wisconsin (E.S. 6-8-25). Rather than sending pollen, Mr Swenson kindly offered to use the pollen on a pistillate cultivar (St. Pepin) the following spring. It was from these seeds that Hemstad selected MN 1166, which was eventually named La Crescent. La Crescent was introduced primarily because it is an excellent combination of both very high wine quality and cold hardiness. Many of the best white wines from northern areas in the US have been made from this cultivar, and it has won numerous “best of show” awards in national and international wine competitions. While not technically a Muscat, La Crescent wine is highly aromatic with complex aromas of apricot, tangerine, and pineapple. Because of its high acidity, La Crescent is best as a semi-sweet or sweet wine, which tends to have universal appeal. In the vineyard, La Crescent does have some issues. For one thing, it is susceptible to both downy mildew and foliar phylloxera. Fortunately, the downy mildew is confined to the leaves and does not affect the fruit. Unfortunately, the fruit itself is subject to poor set and occasional berry drop (shelling) before harvest. This shelling negates the potential that La Crescent might otherwise have for true ice wine production. In addition, the vine has a somewhat rank growth habit that makes it unsuitable for the popular vertical shoot positioning (VSP) training system. Perhaps the best training system for this vigorous cultivar is the Geneva Double Curtain. The latest introduction from the University of Minnesota’s grape breeding program has been Marquette (MN 1094 × Ravat 262) (Figure 17.2; Table 17.1) in 2006. MN 1094 is a very vigorous and cold hardy selection that has proven to be a good parent. Ravat 262 is an obscure, weak-growing French–American hybrid that has made excellent red wine in Ohio. It is thought to be derived from a cross involving Pinot noir.
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Figure 17.2 Marquette, a cultivar introduced by the University of Minnesota in 2006. Photo by Sara Granstrom, Lincoln Peak Vineyard.
Marquette itself is a very good performer in both the vineyard and wine cellar when grown in the Upper Midwest, New England, or Quebec. It is currently (2014) the most widely planted cultivar in Minnesota, after having surpassed Frontenac. The vine of Marquette is moderately vigorous with a somewhat upright growth habit that makes the vine amenable to a variety of training systems, including VSP and high cordon (HC), but yields have tended to be higher with HC. Disease resistance is quite good overall, but Marquette is slightly susceptible to downy mildew, powdery mildew, black rot, and foliar phylloxera. Marquette is reliably hardy on a good site in central Minnesota. Marquette is capable of making high-quality wines with more depth and complexity than typically found in interspecific hybrids. Aromas frequently include cherry, cassis, and black pepper. The color is usually dark but not inky. Marquette fruit ripens early and usually comes in with a high Brix and an acidity that is high, relative to most V. vinifera cultivars but moderate compared to other V. riparia-based cultivars, such as Frontenac. As a result, Marquette is considered relatively easy to work with by local winemakers. The best Marquette wines have been bone dry and aged in oak barrels for upwards of a year before bottling. The first four wine grapes introduced by this program are now the four most widely planted cultivars in Minnesota, and future introductions of advanced selections currently being evaluated should further stimulate the local industry. In addition to the applied breeding work being done at the University of Minnesota, a substantial effort is also currently underway, led by Dr James Luby, to develop genetic markers for use in MAS (marker-assisted selection). In the future, MAS should significantly enhance and expedite the current breeding efforts and lead to more wine cultivars well-adapted to Midwest conditions.
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17.2.3 David Macgregor, Lake Sylvia, Minnesota David Macgregor worked closely with Elmer Swenson for many years, starting during the time when both were working at the University of Minnesota in the 1970s. Mr Macgregor went on to make many crosses of his own at his property near Lake Sylvia, MN. One selection from these efforts, DM 8313.1(ES 2-11-4 × DMP2-54), caught the eye of Ed Swanson, who was testing it in Nebraska. Swanson convinced Macgregor to release DM 8313.1 as Petite Amie or “little friend” in 2004. Petite Amie has been gaining in popularity as a white Muscat variety, making highly aromatic wine that has been useful for blending or, in some cases, as a varietal.
17.2.4 Tom Plocher, Minnesota Tom Plocher of Hugo, MN worked with the late Elmer Swenson for many years, starting in the 1980s (Plocher and Parke, 2001). In the 1990s, Mr Plocher and his friend Bob Parke tested the suitability of several of Swenson’s selections for wine production. As a result of their studies, Plocher and Parke encouraged fellow breeder Elmer Swenson to release Prairie Star and Louise Swenson in 2000 and 2001, respectively (Table 17.1). Prairie Star was released as a cold hardy cultivar capable of making a good quality, fairly neutral white wine with moderate acidity levels. This has proven to be the case, and several wineries in Minnesota and surrounding states make commercial wines out of Prairie Star. One of the drawbacks of this cultivar is a strong tendency for “millerandage,” or poor fruit set. As a varietal, Prairie Star can frequently benefit from blending to compensate for a lack of aromatic intensity. Louise Swenson was originally thought of as a good blending partner for Prairie Star due to its pleasant aromatic structure. This blend is still sometimes made, but Louise Swenson has not been overly popular due to its slow growth and lack of vigor. On the positive side, it is very disease resistant under Midwest conditions. Plocher and Parke also collaborated on writing an important book on cold climate viticulture entitled “Northern Winework,” which is widely regarded as one of the best guides for northern growers (Plocher and Parke, 2001). In addition to his work with Elmer Swenson and Bob Parke, Mr Plocher has also made numerous crosses of his own. The one cultivar he has formally introduced to date is Petite Pearl (Table 17.1). Petite Pearl is a half sister of the well-known cultivar Marquette, and it comes from a cross of (MN 1094 × ES 4-7-26). Petite Pearl is notable for its cold hardiness, good wine quality, early ripening, and moderate acid levels. There are several commercial plantings of Petite Pearl, and time will tell if its popularity will reach that of the similar cultivar Marquette.
17.3 Wisconsin 17.3.1 Elmer Swenson, Osceola, Wisconsin Elmer Swenson (1913–2004; Figure 17.3) is considered the father or grandfather of grape growing in the Upper Midwest. He, in turn, was partially inspired by his own grandfather Larson, who had a small planting of grapes on his dairy farm near Osceola,
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WI. Another source of inspiration was T.V. Munson’s 1909 book, “The Foundations of American Grape Culture,” which Elmer read as a young boy (Krosch, 2005). The foundation of Mr Swenson’s program was MN 78, a University of Minnesota selection he received from Professor A.N. Wilcox in 1944. The parentage of MN 78 is believed to be Beta × Witt. MN 78 figures prominently in the background of nearly all of Elmer’s cultivars. For quality parents, he initially used cultivars from Cornell’s breeding program, such as Ontario, Seneca, and Golden Muscat, which he received in the early 1940s. In the late 1940s, Swenson began to acquire a number of French–American hybrids, which had recently been imported to the U.S., and several of them were used as parents, especially Seibel 1000 (Rosette) and Seyval (Krosch, 2005). Swenson started making crosses in 1943 and continued in relative obscurity until 1969 when he went to work for the University of Minnesota (see below). After retiring
Figure 17.3 Grape breeder Elmer Swenson. Photo by Peter Hemstad, University of Minnesota.
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from the University, Elmer continued grape breeding on his farm in Wisconsin for the rest of his life and introduced several additional cultivars. He also freely allowed others to name his selections if they found them to be of value. His main goal was to see his grapes widely planted and he was very generous with his material. Swenson was a keen observer with an excellent memory for the background and characteristics of each of his selections. He was primarily interested in developing table grapes since he did not drink alcohol himself, but of course he was quite pleased when others found his grapes useful for winemaking. His pioneering work inspired many other grape breeders around the U.S. and beyond. The first cultivar Elmer released after leaving the University of Minnesota was St. Croix (E.S. 283 × E.S. 193) (Figure 17.1(a); Table 17.1) in 1981. St. Croix was named after the beautiful St. Croix River that forms the border between Minnesota and Wisconsin. St. Croix has proven to be a successful red wine cultivar, with some of the best examples coming from Connecticut and Minnesota. Growers generally pick St. Croix slightly before full maturity to avoid the potential development of off aromas. The soluble solids and acidity levels are both fairly low. The vine is easy to manage on a HC system, but it does have a tendency to get downy mildew in some years. Maturity is quite early, so it ripens dependably in short season areas. Sabrevois is a sister seedling of St. Croix that was named by Giles Benoit of Quebec in 2000 (Table 17.1). The vine is very healthy and in some ways superior to St. Croix, but the wine has proven to be somewhat difficult to work with except as a rosé. Swenson released another set of sister seedlings in 1983, St. Pepin and La Crosse ((MN 78 × S 1000) × Seyval) (Table 17.1). Despite being pistillate, St. Pepin has proven to be the more successful of the two. St. Pepin is hardier than La Crosse and makes a more interesting wine that many people enjoy. St. Pepin has also been used successfully for ice wine production in Wisconsin and Minnesota, since the berries adhere very well to the rachis. La Crosse has performed well in slightly warmer parts of the Midwest, such as Nebraska and Iowa. In later years, several of Elmer’s selections were named by others with his permission. Notable examples of this include Prairie Star, Louise Swenson, Brianna, and Osceola Muscat, which are all described elsewhere in this chapter. Swenson also released a seedless table grape he named Petite Jewel in 2000 and another seedless selection Somerset Seedless in 2002 (Table 17.1). Somerset Seedless has become fairly popular, since it is one of the very few seedless grapes that can be grown in the Upper Midwest. It has a pleasant flavor and an attractive appearance, but the seed remnant can be noticeable in some years.
17.3.2 Mark Hart, Bayfield, Wisconsin Mr Mark Hart has a vineyard situated in northern Wisconsin, within sight of Lake Superior, making it one of the coolest sites in the Midwest. Understandably, Mr Hart is breeding for early ripening in both wine and table grapes. He has used material from Elmer Swenson and the University of Minnesota as the foundation for his work. While he has not yet released anything from his own crosses, he was instrumental in the introduction of the Swenson selection ES 8-2-43 as Osceola Muscat in 2010 (Table 17.1).
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Osceola Muscat helps fill the need for a cold hardy white Muscat cultivar but has issues in some years with poor set, splitting, and bunch rot. While (technically speaking) an amateur breeder, Hart has visited vineyards and research institutes around the world and has a very extensive knowledge of the viticultural literature. He also worked with Elmer Swenson for a number of years before his death in 2004.
17.4 Nebraska 17.4.1 Ed Swanson, Nebraska Mr Ed Swanson of Pierce, NE began breeding grapes in 1996, inspired by Elmer Swenson of Wisconsin. He has tested many of Swenson’s selections in Nebraska and was instrumental in naming Brianna (E.S. 7-4-76) in 2002. Brianna is now gaining in popularity throughout the Upper Midwest due to its early ripening and winter hardiness. Brianna also makes a pleasant white wine with tropical fruit aromas. On the negative side, Brianna has small clusters and can sometimes develop off aromas if overripe. It can also be a slow grower on high pH soils. Brianna tends to be a low sugar cultivar but does have very workable acidity levels. Swanson’s own crosses have frequently involved high-quality red V. vinifera cultivars. His first introduction was Temparia (V. riparia × Tempranillo). Temparia was released on a limited basis in 2008 and has made some very good wines, but it has also been shown to have a problematic combination of high pH and high titratable acidity.
17.5 South Dakota 17.5.1 Niels Hansen, South Dakota State University Niels Hansen was a Danish-American immigrant who had a passionate interest in plants, including everything from apricots and plums to melons and roses. He is perhaps best known for introducing alfalfa to the U.S. Professor Hansen went on a series of eight wide-ranging plant exploration trips from the 1890s to the 1930s. These trips were primarily to China, Russia, and Northern Europe and were some of the first such expeditions funded by the USDA. His last trip in 1934 was even at the invitation of the Soviet Union (Kephart, 2014). As a result of these journeys, Hansen brought back hundreds of potentially useful accessions of plants. Many of these introductions were then used in breeding by Hansen and others. Hansen’s work with grapes was limited to a few crosses using either Beta or wild V. riparia selections that he had collected in North Dakota and Montana as the source of cold hardiness. These were crossed with good quality V. labrusca-based cultivars from the East coast. Hansen did not test his seedlings very thoroughly before release, so he ended up introducing more than two dozen new grape cultivars, with the expectation that the marketplace would ultimately determine which were superior (Luby and
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Fennell, 2006). He gave them American Indian names such as Chontay, Supaska, Eona, Azita, and Mandan (Hansen, 1927, 1937). None of these introductions ever became commercially popular, but Mandan was later used in the University of Minnesota’s grape breeding program, and Eona was used by the private breeder Elmer Swenson. Hansen considered his grape cultivars an important step toward moving away from burying vines over the winter, which he described as “horticulture on crutches”.
17.5.2 Ron Peterson, South Dakota State University Dr Ron Peterson was in charge of fruit breeding at South Dakota State University (SDSU) from 1956 to 1987 (Luby and Fennell, 2006). During that time, he introduced a number of new fruit cultivars, including one grape cultivar, Valiant, in 1982 (Table 17.1). Valiant, tested as SD7121, is now grown commercially in a number of vineyards in South Dakota, North Dakota, and Minnesota. It is also grown on a small scale by growers in the prairie provinces of Canada. Valiant is a cross of (Fredonia × V. riparia), and it is one of the most cold hardy grapevine cultivars in the world, hardy to at least −40 °C. It makes an excellent juice and jelly with a foxy flavor derived from Fredonia. It has also made a successful dessert wine. The clusters and berries of Valiant are quite small and it is very prone to downy mildew and splitting when grown in a wetter climate than South Dakota. Both sugar levels and acidity levels are high.
17.5.3 Dr Anne Fennel, South Dakota State University While not directly involved in applied breeding, Dr Anne Fennel of SDSU has been researching the mechanisms and genetic regulation of grapevine acclimation, dormancy, and hardiness for many years. Her work has primarily focused on V. riparia and its derivatives (Fennell, 2004). More recently, she has been actively involved in the search for genetic markers related to these traits as part of a large interstate project known as “VitisGen.”
17.6 North Dakota 17.6.1 North Dakota State University North Dakota State University initiated a new grape breeding program in 2010 under the direction of Dr Harlene Hatterman-Valenti. The goals of the program include cold hardiness and early ripening, along with low acidity and good wine quality. Many of the original parents used in this breeding program were selections and cultivars from the work of Elmer Swenson or the University of Minnesota. Seedlings are being grown at two sites near Fargo and Minot, ND. Future introductions from this program may give rise to cultivars suitable for very short season areas with extremely cold winters.
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17.7 Missouri 17.7.1 Dr Chin-Feng Hwang, Southwest Missouri State University Southwest Missouri State University initiated a new grape breeding program in 2010, which is currently under the leadership of Dr Chin-Feng Hwang. One of the main goals of this program is to improve upon Missouri’s best-known cultivar, Norton (syn. Cynthiana, Virginia Seedling). Norton is believed to be a chance seedling derived from V. aestivalis that was originally developed in Virginia and has been grown in Missouri since the mid-1800s. The current program seeks to improve upon Norton by crossing it with high quality V. vinifera cultivars, such as Cabernet Sauvignon. Dr Hwang is also actively researching genetic markers for use in MAS.
17.8 Illinois 17.8.1 University of Illinois Dr Herbert Barrett was a prolific grape breeder at the University of Illinois in the 1960s. He was instrumental in the use of interspecific French Hybrids in breeding new cultivars suitable for Midwest conditions. Dr Barrett also collected superior clones of wild species, such as V. cinerea, and used those in breeding for disease resistance. One noteworthy introduction was the table grape Lady Patricia (McCollum, 1968). Unfortunately, funding for this promising program was eliminated around 1966. Cornell University inherited the remains of the University of Illinois program and benefited greatly from the influx of this promising germplasm. Several of Cornell’s later introductions are directly attributable to University of Illinois material, including the popular cultivar Traminette. In 2003, horticulturist Bill Shoemaker started breeding wine grapes at the University of Illinois’ St. Charles Horticulture Research Center in St. Charles, IL. This work is ongoing.
17.9 Conclusions Grape breeding in the Midwest and, more specifically, the Upper Midwest, has had a major impact on the local grape and wine industry. While this part of the U.S. was initially felt to have winters that were too harsh for successful viticulture, the pioneering efforts of Louis Suelter and Niels Hansen, followed by Elmer Swenson, the University of Minnesota, and others, have proven that to be incorrect. Today, there is a thriving Midwestern wine industry based largely on these new cultivars. The influence of these breeders has also been felt well beyond the Midwest, and their cultivars are now being grown in many other parts of the world where extreme cold hardiness, disease resistance, and high wine quality are desired.
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References Alderman, W.H., 1962. Development of horticulture on the Northern Great Plains. Great Plains Reg. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. Fennell, A., 2004. Freezing tolerance and injury in grapevines. J. Crop Improv. 10, 201–235. Hansen, N.E., 1927. Plant introductions. S. Dak. State Coll. Agr. Mech. Arts Expt. Sta. (Brookings) Bull. 224. Hansen, N.E., 1937. Fruits, old and new and northern plant novelties. S. Dak. Coll. Agr.Mech. Arts Expt. Sta. (Brookings) Bull. 309. Hemstad, P.R., Luby, J.J., 2000. Utilization of Vitis riparia for the development of new wine varieties with resistance to disease and extreme cold. Acta Hort. 528, 487–490. Hemstad, P.R., Luby, J.J., 2003. La Crescent, a new cold hardy, high quality, white wine variety. Acta Hort. 603, 719–722. Kephart, K., 2014. The Remarkable Dr Niels Hansen, South Dakota’s Great Plant Explorer. Article found on www.northscaping.com. Krosch, P., 2005. With a Tweezers in One Hand and a Book in the Other. Minn. Grape Growers Assoc., St. Paul. Luby, J., Fennell, A., 2006. Fruit breeding for the Northern Great Plains at the university of Minnesota and South Dakota State University. HortScience 41, 25–26. McCollum, J.P., 1968. Lady Patricia, a new dessert grape variety. Ill. Res. 10 (2), 19. Pfaender, W., 1912. The Beta grape and its origin. Minn. Hortic. 40 (1), 13. Pierquet, P., Stushnoff, C., 1980. Relationship of low temperature exotherms to cold injury in V. riparia MICHX. J. Am. Soc. Enol. Vit. 31, 1–6. Plocher, T., Parke, R., 2001. Northern Winework. Northern Winework, Inc., Hugo, MN. Snyder, L.C., 1982. History of the Department of Horticultural Science and Landscape Architecture 1849-1982. Minn. Agr. Expt. Sta., St. Paul. Swenson, E.P., 1985. Wild V. riparia from northern U.S. and Canada- breeding source for winter hardiness in cultivated grapes—a background of the Swenson hybrids. Fruit J. 39, 28–31. Swenson, E.P., Pierquet, P., Stushnoff, C., 1978. ‘Edelweiss’ and Swenson Red’ grapes. HortScience 15, 100. Wilcox, A.N., 1946. Grape breeding at the Minnesota station. Fruit Hort. Dig. 1, 28–34.
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P. Hemstad, G. Breeder University of Minnesota, Horticultural Research Center, Excelsior, MN, USA
17.1 Introduction Grape breeding in the Midwestern United States has been primarily concentrated in the northern part of the region, known as the Upper Midwest. When the Midwest was settled in the mid-nineteenth century, settlers brought grapevines with them from the East Coast of the U.S. While Concord did well in Iowa and Illinois, most Vitis labrusca-based cultivars (Vitis labruscana) fared quite poorly under the harsh climatic conditions of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas, where winter temperatures can sometimes drop as low as −40 °C. These severe conditions motivated grape breeders to create a series of new cultivars with extreme cold hardiness (Alderman, 1962). The following sections review the important breeding programs that have been undertaken in various Midwestern states over the last one hundred and forty years.
17.2 Minnesota 17.2.1 Louis Suelter, Carver, Minnesota Some of the earliest efforts to develop a grape cultivar hardy enough to be grown without winter protection in the Upper Midwest were done by the German immigrant, Louis Suelter. Suelter lived near Carver, MN, and in the 1870s, he crossed a supposedly white-fruited form of Vitis riparia with Concord (Pfaender, 1912). V. riparia is native to a large portion of North America, including most of the Upper Midwest. It is arguably the most cold hardy grape species in the world, with the possible exception of Vitis amurensis from China (Pierquet and Stushnoff, 1980). It is a very vigorous species with small clusters of tiny black berries. The vine tends to have good resistance to downy and powdery mildews but is usually quite susceptible to the foliar form of phylloxera (Swenson, 1985). V. riparia is commonly known as the “Riverbank Grape” and does thrive in riparian habitats. Unlike several other American species, V. riparia readily propagates from cuttings. Suelter named four new cultivars out of the 29 seedlings resulting from his cross of V. riparia × Concord, including one named Suelter and another named after his wife, Beta (Table 17.1). Beta became quite successful commercially and is a dependably hardy juice and jelly grape for Minnesota and the surrounding states. The acidity is too high for Beta to be used as a table grape. The same generally holds true for wine, although there was a substantial interest in using Beta for wine during Prohibition Grapevine Breeding Programs for the Wine Industry. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-1-78242-075-0.00017-X Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Table 17.1 Variety
Color
Parentage
Breeder
Place introduced
Year introduced
Principal uses
Beta
Black
Louis Suelter
Carver, MN
1881
Juice, jelly
Bluebell
Black
(Vitis riparia × Concord) (Beta × Unknown)
Juice, jelly
White
(MN 78 × Ontario)
University of Minnesota Minnesota
1944
Edelweiss
1978
Wine, table
NE, MN, IA, WI, SD, IL, VT
St. Croix
Black
(ES 283 × ES 193)
M.J. Dorsey, A.N. Wilcox Elmer Swenson, C. Stushnoff, P. Pierquet E. Swenson
Osceola, WI
1981
Wine
Valiant
Black
(Fredonia × V. riparia)
Ron Peterson
South Dakota State University
1982
Wine, juice, jelly
St. Pepin
White
E. Swenson
Osceola, WI
1983
Wine
La Crosse
White
E. Swenson
Osceola, WI
1983
Wine
Frontenac
Black
((MN 78 × S 1000) × Seyval) ((MN 78 × S 1000) × Seyval) (V. riparia #89 × Landot 4511)
Peter Hemstad, J. Luby, P. Pierquet
University of Minnesota
1996
Wine, jelly
Prairie Star
White
(ES 2-7-13 × ES 2-8-1)
Wisconsin
2000
Wine
Sabrevois
Black
(ES 283 × ES 193)
E. Swenson, T. Plocher, R. Parke E. Swenson, G. Benoit
MN, SD, IA, WI, IL, NE, VT, CT, Quebec SD, ND, MN, WY, Manitoba, Alberta MN, SD, IA, WI, IL, NE MN, SD, IA, WI, IL, NE MN, SD, ND, IA, WI, IL, NE, NY, OH, MI, Ontario, Quebec, China MN, SD, IA, WI, IL, VT, NE
Quebec
2000
Wine
Where grown MN, SD, ND, China MN, SD, ND, WI
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Quebec, MN, IA, WI, SD
White
(ES 2-3-17 × Kay Gray)
Brianna
White
La Crescent
White
(Kay Gray × ES 2-12-13) (St. Pepin × E.S. 6-8-25)
Somerset Seedless
Pink
(ES 5-3-64 × Petite Jewel)
Frontenac Gris
Gray
Petite Amie
White
Marquette
Black
Osceola Muscat Petite Pearl
Wisconsin
2001
Wine
MN, SD, IA, WI, IL, VT, NE
Nebraska
2002
Wine
University of Minnesota
2002
Wine, jelly
Osceola, WI
2002
Table
Mutation of Frontenac
P. Hemstad, J. Luby
University of Minnesota
2003
Wine
(ES 2-11-4 × DMP2-54) (MN 1094 × Ravat 262)
Dave Macgregor and E. Swanson P. Hemstad, J. Luby
Nebraska/ Minnesota University of Minnesota
2004
Wine
2006
Wine
White
((ES 56 × OP) × SV 23-657)
E. Swenson, M. Hart
Osceola, WI
2010
Wine
Black
(MN 1094 × ES 4-7-26)
T. Plocher
Minnesota
2010
Wine
NE, MN, IA, WI, SD, ND, VT MN, SD, ND, IA, WI, IL, NE, NY, VT MN, WI, SD, IA, VT, Quebec, Baltic states MN, SD, ND, IA, WI, IL, NE, NY, VT, Ontario, Quebec NE, MN, IA, WI, SD, VT MN, SD, ND, IA, WI, IL, NE, NY, VT, WA, OR, Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia, China MN, WI, IA, Quebec, New Brunswick MN, SD, ND, IA, WI, IL, VT, NE, Quebec
413
E. Swenson, T. Plocher, R. Parke Elmer Swenson, Ed Swanson P. Hemstad, J. Luby, E. Swenson E. Swenson et al.
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Louise Swenson
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when any alcohol was at a premium. Today, Beta is still grown on a small scale, primarily on farmsteads in the Great Plains. Strangely enough, it is also one of the most commonly grown rootstocks in Northern China. Suelter somewhat optimistically summed up his breeding work in 1884 with the following statement: “I have produced several new types of vine through hybrid breeding, which will bring forth a completely new revolution in winegrowing, for as far north as the wild vines will thrive, my hybrids will flourish also, for they are just as hardy all winter in the great coldness in the northern part of America as the wild growing riparia. They require no protection …”
17.2.2 University of Minnesota Grape breeding began at the University of Minnesota’s Fruit Breeding Farm (now known as the Horticultural Research Center, or HRC) in Excelsior, MN in 1908 (Snyder, 1982). This limited early work was led by Professor Samuel Green, and the primary objective was the improvement of the leading grape of the time, Beta. There was certainly no interest at the time in developing cold hardy wine grapes since alcohol consumption was frowned upon. (In fact, the measure imposing a prohibition against alcohol in the U.S. in 1920 was labeled the “Volstead Act” after Senator Volstead from Minnesota.) Beta was crossed at the University of Minnesota with many of the leading Eastern V. labruscana cultivars. This work was continued by Professors M.J. Dorsey (active 1911–1921) and A.N. Wilcox (active 1923–1963), and the result was that four new cultivars were released in 1944: Moonbeam, Red Amber, Blue Jay, and Bluebell (Wilcox, 1946; Figure 17.1(a); Table 17.1). The first three are almost extinct 70 years later. Bluebell, however, has gained a degree of popularity as a Northern Concord type, since Concord itself is too late ripening and winter tender to do well in Minnesota. Bluebell is quite disease-resistant and makes an excellent juice and jelly. It may also have some limited wine potential in a sweet rosé style. Bluebell is certainly an improvement on Beta, so that goal was realized. Grape breeding at the University of Minnesota was a low priority in the mid-twentieth century, and apple breeding was the focus of research at the time. Things slowly began to change in 1969 when Mr Elmer Swenson was hired to work at the HRC. Mr Swenson had been doing his own breeding work since 1943 (see section 17.3.1 on his work below), and he brought several of his selections with him to the University for testing. Lacking a formal education, Elmer was hired as a “gardener” to maintain the fruit research plantings. His interest in fruit extended beyond grapes and he was also keenly interested in the apple-breeding work being conducted there. Upon his retirement from the University in 1978, two grapes were jointly released by Elmer Swenson and the University of Minnesota: Swenson Red (Figure 17.1(c)) and Edelweiss (Swenson et al., 1978; Figure 17.1(d); Table 17.1). Swenson Red (MN 78 × S. 11803) was a grape Elmer initially wanted to name NorVin for “northern vinifera”. His rationale was that this was a vinifera-quality grape that could be grown in northern areas. Swenson Red is indeed a very high-quality seeded table grape with
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Figure 17.1 Grape cultivars introduced from breeding programs in the Midwest U.S. (a) St. Croix; (b) Bluebell; (c) Swenson Red; (d) Edelweiss; (e) Frontenac; (f) Frontenac gris; (g) Frontenac blanc; (h) La Crescent. Photos (a), (b), and (h) by Peter Hemstad, University of Minnesota; Photos (c), (d), (e), (f) by David L. Hansen, University of Minnesota; Photo (g) by Alain Breault.
an excellent meaty texture, a delicate fruity taste, and outstanding storage ability. Unfortunately, Swenson Red is not reliably hardy in Minnesota and is also quite susceptible to downy mildew. It is not widely grown today, although it is still available as a backyard table grape. The other cultivar released in 1978, Edelweiss, has become much more popular than Swenson Red. Edelweiss has some significant drawbacks as a table grape, especially because it has a thin skin, which easily cracks when handled, and a very limited storage life. Those are not really issues when used as a wine grape, and it has become fairly popular in that capacity. This is especially true in Nebraska, where Edelweiss has become one of the leading white wine cultivars. Edelweiss is marginally winter hardy in central Minnesota, but is very resistant to downy and powdery mildew. If left on the vine to fully mature, Edelweiss becomes extremely foxy, so winemakers usually carefully monitor its maturity and pick it before it is fully ripe. When picked early, it can make a light, fruity white wine that can be quite popular, especially when finished slightly sweet. Another development in the late 1970s at the University of Minnesota was the contribution of a graduate student named Patrick Pierquet. Mr Pierquet worked with Elmer Swenson at the HRC and did his master’s thesis on V. riparia. He collected a large number of V. riparia accessions from Minnesota and the surrounding areas, including the extreme northern edge of its range in Manitoba (Pierquet and Stushnoff, 1980). In
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addition, Mr Pierquet made a number of crosses using V. riparia or other cold hardy grapes like Mandan or Suelter crossed with either V. vinifera cultivars or French– American hybrids. Mr Pierquet received his degree and then left the University before these seedlings could be evaluated. Preliminary evaluation of these crosses was conducted by James Luby and David Bedford in the early 1980s. In 1984, funding was greatly increased for the University of Minnesota’s grape breeding program by the passage of an act in the state legislature, spearheaded by the Minnesota Grape Growers Association. This resulted in the hiring of a full-time grape breeder in 1985, Peter Hemstad (the author of this chapter). Mr Hemstad continued the evaluation of Pierquet’s earlier crosses while greatly expanding the acreage of grapes at the HRC. Hundreds of grape accessions were brought in from nurseries and repositories in the 1980s and 1990s to augment the University of Minnesota’s collections and provide future germplasm for breeding. A small-scale experimental winemaking program was also set up to supplement the breeding work. As a result of these efforts, Frontenac (V. riparia #89 × Landot 4511) (Figure 17.1(e); Table 17.1) was released by the University of Minnesota in 1996 (Hemstad and Luby, 2000). Frontenac was a seedling from a cross originally made by Patrick Pierquet in the late 1970s. It was evaluated by Peter Hemstad and James Luby, who considered it very promising as an F1 hybrid from the wild. It has proven to be a successful cultivar and is now widely grown commercially throughout the Midwest and into Canada as well. Some of its positive attributes are that it is dependably cold hardy in central Minnesota, it is quite productive, has a very manageable semi-upright growth habit, is quick to become established, and is tolerant of a wide range of soil types. It is nearly immune to downy mildew and fairly resistant to powdery mildew. It is, however, susceptible to black rot. Black rot is not a major disease in Minnesota, but this becomes more of an issue when Frontenac is grown further south. Frontenac is tolerant of the root form of phylloxera but susceptible to the foliar form. Overall, it is considered quite forgiving from a grower’s perspective. On the wine side, Frontenac has some very appealing aspects, including a characteristic black cherry aroma, usually accompanied by aromas of berry and plum. Like most interspecific hybrids, Frontenac lacks tannin structure when compared to V. vinifera cultivars. Frontenac has proven to be very versatile in the wine cellar with wineries making successful red wines, rosés, and ports. By far the biggest drawback to Frontenac overall is its high titratable acidity. This can usually be managed by a combination of good viticultural practices, such as cluster thinning and delaying harvest until the fruit is fully mature. Red wines must usually either be put through malolactic fermentation or finished off dry to balance the high acidity. Frontenac may be particularly useful as a port-style cultivar, since its high acidity is masked by the sweetness of that type of wine. Shortly after the release of Frontenac as a new cultivar, a single bud mutation was discovered by Peter Hemstad at the HRC. This single shoot had gray fruit rather than the original black (Figure 17.1(f); Table 17.1). Eventually this sport was patented in 2003 by the University of Minnesota as Frontenac Gris, and there are now hundreds of thousands of vines grown throughout the Midwest and East Coast. Frontenac Gris
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has a characteristic peach aroma accompanied by citrus and tropical fruit. The juice composition is essentially the same as the original Frontenac, meaning high soluble solids and high acidity. The vine is indistinguishable from Frontenac in the vineyard, which simplifies management for growers with both versions. More recently, a further mutation of Frontenac Gris was found—a completely white version now known as Frontenac Blanc (Figure 17.1(g); Table 17.1). Frontenac Blanc was originally discovered in Quebec by Alain Breault and Giles Benoit, but additional independent discoveries have also been made by Ray Winter in Janesville, MN and at the University of Minnesota. It has become apparent that the Frontenac group is highly mutable, and reversions have also been found from Frontenac Gris back to Frontenac or even with two colors on one cluster. These various clones are currently being grown and evaluated at the University of Minnesota, and in the future, clones with different characteristics may become commercially available for growers. Initial results with Frontenac Blanc indicate that it appears to be distinct enough from Frontenac Gris for growers and wineries to consider having all three forms. Another white wine cultivar developed by the University of Minnesota is La Crescent (St. Pepin × (V. riparia × Muscat of Alexandria)) (Figure 17.1(h); Table 17.1), which was introduced and patented in 2002 (Hemstad and Luby, 2003). La Crescent was the result of cooperation between Elmer Swenson and the University of Minnesota. The University of Minnesota was a source of pollen for Mr Swenson on several occasions, so it was not unusual for Peter Hemstad to request pollen from an interesting (V. riparia × Muscat of Alexandria) selection he noticed on a visit to Elmer’s vineyard in Wisconsin (E.S. 6-8-25). Rather than sending pollen, Mr Swenson kindly offered to use the pollen on a pistillate cultivar (St. Pepin) the following spring. It was from these seeds that Hemstad selected MN 1166, which was eventually named La Crescent. La Crescent was introduced primarily because it is an excellent combination of both very high wine quality and cold hardiness. Many of the best white wines from northern areas in the US have been made from this cultivar, and it has won numerous “best of show” awards in national and international wine competitions. While not technically a Muscat, La Crescent wine is highly aromatic with complex aromas of apricot, tangerine, and pineapple. Because of its high acidity, La Crescent is best as a semi-sweet or sweet wine, which tends to have universal appeal. In the vineyard, La Crescent does have some issues. For one thing, it is susceptible to both downy mildew and foliar phylloxera. Fortunately, the downy mildew is confined to the leaves and does not affect the fruit. Unfortunately, the fruit itself is subject to poor set and occasional berry drop (shelling) before harvest. This shelling negates the potential that La Crescent might otherwise have for true ice wine production. In addition, the vine has a somewhat rank growth habit that makes it unsuitable for the popular vertical shoot positioning (VSP) training system. Perhaps the best training system for this vigorous cultivar is the Geneva Double Curtain. The latest introduction from the University of Minnesota’s grape breeding program has been Marquette (MN 1094 × Ravat 262) (Figure 17.2; Table 17.1) in 2006. MN 1094 is a very vigorous and cold hardy selection that has proven to be a good parent. Ravat 262 is an obscure, weak-growing French–American hybrid that has made excellent red wine in Ohio. It is thought to be derived from a cross involving Pinot noir.
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Figure 17.2 Marquette, a cultivar introduced by the University of Minnesota in 2006. Photo by Sara Granstrom, Lincoln Peak Vineyard.
Marquette itself is a very good performer in both the vineyard and wine cellar when grown in the Upper Midwest, New England, or Quebec. It is currently (2014) the most widely planted cultivar in Minnesota, after having surpassed Frontenac. The vine of Marquette is moderately vigorous with a somewhat upright growth habit that makes the vine amenable to a variety of training systems, including VSP and high cordon (HC), but yields have tended to be higher with HC. Disease resistance is quite good overall, but Marquette is slightly susceptible to downy mildew, powdery mildew, black rot, and foliar phylloxera. Marquette is reliably hardy on a good site in central Minnesota. Marquette is capable of making high-quality wines with more depth and complexity than typically found in interspecific hybrids. Aromas frequently include cherry, cassis, and black pepper. The color is usually dark but not inky. Marquette fruit ripens early and usually comes in with a high Brix and an acidity that is high, relative to most V. vinifera cultivars but moderate compared to other V. riparia-based cultivars, such as Frontenac. As a result, Marquette is considered relatively easy to work with by local winemakers. The best Marquette wines have been bone dry and aged in oak barrels for upwards of a year before bottling. The first four wine grapes introduced by this program are now the four most widely planted cultivars in Minnesota, and future introductions of advanced selections currently being evaluated should further stimulate the local industry. In addition to the applied breeding work being done at the University of Minnesota, a substantial effort is also currently underway, led by Dr James Luby, to develop genetic markers for use in MAS (marker-assisted selection). In the future, MAS should significantly enhance and expedite the current breeding efforts and lead to more wine cultivars well-adapted to Midwest conditions.
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17.2.3 David Macgregor, Lake Sylvia, Minnesota David Macgregor worked closely with Elmer Swenson for many years, starting during the time when both were working at the University of Minnesota in the 1970s. Mr Macgregor went on to make many crosses of his own at his property near Lake Sylvia, MN. One selection from these efforts, DM 8313.1(ES 2-11-4 × DMP2-54), caught the eye of Ed Swanson, who was testing it in Nebraska. Swanson convinced Macgregor to release DM 8313.1 as Petite Amie or “little friend” in 2004. Petite Amie has been gaining in popularity as a white Muscat variety, making highly aromatic wine that has been useful for blending or, in some cases, as a varietal.
17.2.4 Tom Plocher, Minnesota Tom Plocher of Hugo, MN worked with the late Elmer Swenson for many years, starting in the 1980s (Plocher and Parke, 2001). In the 1990s, Mr Plocher and his friend Bob Parke tested the suitability of several of Swenson’s selections for wine production. As a result of their studies, Plocher and Parke encouraged fellow breeder Elmer Swenson to release Prairie Star and Louise Swenson in 2000 and 2001, respectively (Table 17.1). Prairie Star was released as a cold hardy cultivar capable of making a good quality, fairly neutral white wine with moderate acidity levels. This has proven to be the case, and several wineries in Minnesota and surrounding states make commercial wines out of Prairie Star. One of the drawbacks of this cultivar is a strong tendency for “millerandage,” or poor fruit set. As a varietal, Prairie Star can frequently benefit from blending to compensate for a lack of aromatic intensity. Louise Swenson was originally thought of as a good blending partner for Prairie Star due to its pleasant aromatic structure. This blend is still sometimes made, but Louise Swenson has not been overly popular due to its slow growth and lack of vigor. On the positive side, it is very disease resistant under Midwest conditions. Plocher and Parke also collaborated on writing an important book on cold climate viticulture entitled “Northern Winework,” which is widely regarded as one of the best guides for northern growers (Plocher and Parke, 2001). In addition to his work with Elmer Swenson and Bob Parke, Mr Plocher has also made numerous crosses of his own. The one cultivar he has formally introduced to date is Petite Pearl (Table 17.1). Petite Pearl is a half sister of the well-known cultivar Marquette, and it comes from a cross of (MN 1094 × ES 4-7-26). Petite Pearl is notable for its cold hardiness, good wine quality, early ripening, and moderate acid levels. There are several commercial plantings of Petite Pearl, and time will tell if its popularity will reach that of the similar cultivar Marquette.
17.3 Wisconsin 17.3.1 Elmer Swenson, Osceola, Wisconsin Elmer Swenson (1913–2004; Figure 17.3) is considered the father or grandfather of grape growing in the Upper Midwest. He, in turn, was partially inspired by his own grandfather Larson, who had a small planting of grapes on his dairy farm near Osceola,
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WI. Another source of inspiration was T.V. Munson’s 1909 book, “The Foundations of American Grape Culture,” which Elmer read as a young boy (Krosch, 2005). The foundation of Mr Swenson’s program was MN 78, a University of Minnesota selection he received from Professor A.N. Wilcox in 1944. The parentage of MN 78 is believed to be Beta × Witt. MN 78 figures prominently in the background of nearly all of Elmer’s cultivars. For quality parents, he initially used cultivars from Cornell’s breeding program, such as Ontario, Seneca, and Golden Muscat, which he received in the early 1940s. In the late 1940s, Swenson began to acquire a number of French–American hybrids, which had recently been imported to the U.S., and several of them were used as parents, especially Seibel 1000 (Rosette) and Seyval (Krosch, 2005). Swenson started making crosses in 1943 and continued in relative obscurity until 1969 when he went to work for the University of Minnesota (see below). After retiring
Figure 17.3 Grape breeder Elmer Swenson. Photo by Peter Hemstad, University of Minnesota.
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from the University, Elmer continued grape breeding on his farm in Wisconsin for the rest of his life and introduced several additional cultivars. He also freely allowed others to name his selections if they found them to be of value. His main goal was to see his grapes widely planted and he was very generous with his material. Swenson was a keen observer with an excellent memory for the background and characteristics of each of his selections. He was primarily interested in developing table grapes since he did not drink alcohol himself, but of course he was quite pleased when others found his grapes useful for winemaking. His pioneering work inspired many other grape breeders around the U.S. and beyond. The first cultivar Elmer released after leaving the University of Minnesota was St. Croix (E.S. 283 × E.S. 193) (Figure 17.1(a); Table 17.1) in 1981. St. Croix was named after the beautiful St. Croix River that forms the border between Minnesota and Wisconsin. St. Croix has proven to be a successful red wine cultivar, with some of the best examples coming from Connecticut and Minnesota. Growers generally pick St. Croix slightly before full maturity to avoid the potential development of off aromas. The soluble solids and acidity levels are both fairly low. The vine is easy to manage on a HC system, but it does have a tendency to get downy mildew in some years. Maturity is quite early, so it ripens dependably in short season areas. Sabrevois is a sister seedling of St. Croix that was named by Giles Benoit of Quebec in 2000 (Table 17.1). The vine is very healthy and in some ways superior to St. Croix, but the wine has proven to be somewhat difficult to work with except as a rosé. Swenson released another set of sister seedlings in 1983, St. Pepin and La Crosse ((MN 78 × S 1000) × Seyval) (Table 17.1). Despite being pistillate, St. Pepin has proven to be the more successful of the two. St. Pepin is hardier than La Crosse and makes a more interesting wine that many people enjoy. St. Pepin has also been used successfully for ice wine production in Wisconsin and Minnesota, since the berries adhere very well to the rachis. La Crosse has performed well in slightly warmer parts of the Midwest, such as Nebraska and Iowa. In later years, several of Elmer’s selections were named by others with his permission. Notable examples of this include Prairie Star, Louise Swenson, Brianna, and Osceola Muscat, which are all described elsewhere in this chapter. Swenson also released a seedless table grape he named Petite Jewel in 2000 and another seedless selection Somerset Seedless in 2002 (Table 17.1). Somerset Seedless has become fairly popular, since it is one of the very few seedless grapes that can be grown in the Upper Midwest. It has a pleasant flavor and an attractive appearance, but the seed remnant can be noticeable in some years.
17.3.2 Mark Hart, Bayfield, Wisconsin Mr Mark Hart has a vineyard situated in northern Wisconsin, within sight of Lake Superior, making it one of the coolest sites in the Midwest. Understandably, Mr Hart is breeding for early ripening in both wine and table grapes. He has used material from Elmer Swenson and the University of Minnesota as the foundation for his work. While he has not yet released anything from his own crosses, he was instrumental in the introduction of the Swenson selection ES 8-2-43 as Osceola Muscat in 2010 (Table 17.1).
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Osceola Muscat helps fill the need for a cold hardy white Muscat cultivar but has issues in some years with poor set, splitting, and bunch rot. While (technically speaking) an amateur breeder, Hart has visited vineyards and research institutes around the world and has a very extensive knowledge of the viticultural literature. He also worked with Elmer Swenson for a number of years before his death in 2004.
17.4 Nebraska 17.4.1 Ed Swanson, Nebraska Mr Ed Swanson of Pierce, NE began breeding grapes in 1996, inspired by Elmer Swenson of Wisconsin. He has tested many of Swenson’s selections in Nebraska and was instrumental in naming Brianna (E.S. 7-4-76) in 2002. Brianna is now gaining in popularity throughout the Upper Midwest due to its early ripening and winter hardiness. Brianna also makes a pleasant white wine with tropical fruit aromas. On the negative side, Brianna has small clusters and can sometimes develop off aromas if overripe. It can also be a slow grower on high pH soils. Brianna tends to be a low sugar cultivar but does have very workable acidity levels. Swanson’s own crosses have frequently involved high-quality red V. vinifera cultivars. His first introduction was Temparia (V. riparia × Tempranillo). Temparia was released on a limited basis in 2008 and has made some very good wines, but it has also been shown to have a problematic combination of high pH and high titratable acidity.
17.5 South Dakota 17.5.1 Niels Hansen, South Dakota State University Niels Hansen was a Danish-American immigrant who had a passionate interest in plants, including everything from apricots and plums to melons and roses. He is perhaps best known for introducing alfalfa to the U.S. Professor Hansen went on a series of eight wide-ranging plant exploration trips from the 1890s to the 1930s. These trips were primarily to China, Russia, and Northern Europe and were some of the first such expeditions funded by the USDA. His last trip in 1934 was even at the invitation of the Soviet Union (Kephart, 2014). As a result of these journeys, Hansen brought back hundreds of potentially useful accessions of plants. Many of these introductions were then used in breeding by Hansen and others. Hansen’s work with grapes was limited to a few crosses using either Beta or wild V. riparia selections that he had collected in North Dakota and Montana as the source of cold hardiness. These were crossed with good quality V. labrusca-based cultivars from the East coast. Hansen did not test his seedlings very thoroughly before release, so he ended up introducing more than two dozen new grape cultivars, with the expectation that the marketplace would ultimately determine which were superior (Luby and
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Fennell, 2006). He gave them American Indian names such as Chontay, Supaska, Eona, Azita, and Mandan (Hansen, 1927, 1937). None of these introductions ever became commercially popular, but Mandan was later used in the University of Minnesota’s grape breeding program, and Eona was used by the private breeder Elmer Swenson. Hansen considered his grape cultivars an important step toward moving away from burying vines over the winter, which he described as “horticulture on crutches”.
17.5.2 Ron Peterson, South Dakota State University Dr Ron Peterson was in charge of fruit breeding at South Dakota State University (SDSU) from 1956 to 1987 (Luby and Fennell, 2006). During that time, he introduced a number of new fruit cultivars, including one grape cultivar, Valiant, in 1982 (Table 17.1). Valiant, tested as SD7121, is now grown commercially in a number of vineyards in South Dakota, North Dakota, and Minnesota. It is also grown on a small scale by growers in the prairie provinces of Canada. Valiant is a cross of (Fredonia × V. riparia), and it is one of the most cold hardy grapevine cultivars in the world, hardy to at least −40 °C. It makes an excellent juice and jelly with a foxy flavor derived from Fredonia. It has also made a successful dessert wine. The clusters and berries of Valiant are quite small and it is very prone to downy mildew and splitting when grown in a wetter climate than South Dakota. Both sugar levels and acidity levels are high.
17.5.3 Dr Anne Fennel, South Dakota State University While not directly involved in applied breeding, Dr Anne Fennel of SDSU has been researching the mechanisms and genetic regulation of grapevine acclimation, dormancy, and hardiness for many years. Her work has primarily focused on V. riparia and its derivatives (Fennell, 2004). More recently, she has been actively involved in the search for genetic markers related to these traits as part of a large interstate project known as “VitisGen.”
17.6 North Dakota 17.6.1 North Dakota State University North Dakota State University initiated a new grape breeding program in 2010 under the direction of Dr Harlene Hatterman-Valenti. The goals of the program include cold hardiness and early ripening, along with low acidity and good wine quality. Many of the original parents used in this breeding program were selections and cultivars from the work of Elmer Swenson or the University of Minnesota. Seedlings are being grown at two sites near Fargo and Minot, ND. Future introductions from this program may give rise to cultivars suitable for very short season areas with extremely cold winters.
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17.7 Missouri 17.7.1 Dr Chin-Feng Hwang, Southwest Missouri State University Southwest Missouri State University initiated a new grape breeding program in 2010, which is currently under the leadership of Dr Chin-Feng Hwang. One of the main goals of this program is to improve upon Missouri’s best-known cultivar, Norton (syn. Cynthiana, Virginia Seedling). Norton is believed to be a chance seedling derived from V. aestivalis that was originally developed in Virginia and has been grown in Missouri since the mid-1800s. The current program seeks to improve upon Norton by crossing it with high quality V. vinifera cultivars, such as Cabernet Sauvignon. Dr Hwang is also actively researching genetic markers for use in MAS.
17.8 Illinois 17.8.1 University of Illinois Dr Herbert Barrett was a prolific grape breeder at the University of Illinois in the 1960s. He was instrumental in the use of interspecific French Hybrids in breeding new cultivars suitable for Midwest conditions. Dr Barrett also collected superior clones of wild species, such as V. cinerea, and used those in breeding for disease resistance. One noteworthy introduction was the table grape Lady Patricia (McCollum, 1968). Unfortunately, funding for this promising program was eliminated around 1966. Cornell University inherited the remains of the University of Illinois program and benefited greatly from the influx of this promising germplasm. Several of Cornell’s later introductions are directly attributable to University of Illinois material, including the popular cultivar Traminette. In 2003, horticulturist Bill Shoemaker started breeding wine grapes at the University of Illinois’ St. Charles Horticulture Research Center in St. Charles, IL. This work is ongoing.
17.9 Conclusions Grape breeding in the Midwest and, more specifically, the Upper Midwest, has had a major impact on the local grape and wine industry. While this part of the U.S. was initially felt to have winters that were too harsh for successful viticulture, the pioneering efforts of Louis Suelter and Niels Hansen, followed by Elmer Swenson, the University of Minnesota, and others, have proven that to be incorrect. Today, there is a thriving Midwestern wine industry based largely on these new cultivars. The influence of these breeders has also been felt well beyond the Midwest, and their cultivars are now being grown in many other parts of the world where extreme cold hardiness, disease resistance, and high wine quality are desired.
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