By Dick Hagen
Grape growing fever appears to be spreading in Minnesota.
“Attendance has increased each of the past three years. This year nearly 500 participants. We exceeded by over 100 attendees from the previous year. We had to shut down registrations because we simply ran out of space,” Tom Martell, president of the Minnesota Grape Growers Association, said of the recent Minnesota Grape Growers Grape & Wine Conference. Martell and his wife operate Martell Vineyards & Orchard at Somerset, Wis.
“Even though this is still relatively new industry to Minnesota, there is tremendous interest,” Martell said. “Much credit goes to the University of Minnesota’s Department of Horticultural Science. Their intensive research and genetic work with grapes has produced several new varieties with outstanding winter hardiness. That single factor is what now makes Minnesota a very viable grape growing culture.”
John Maloney, of Cannon River Winery near Cannon Falls, planted his first vines in 2001 and opened his winery in 2004. Today his vineyard is up to 20 acres and his winery last fall produced about 11,000 gallons of wine. Maloney is vice president of the MGGA.
Minnesota currently has 23 licensed wineries, with three or four more scheduled to be in operation sometime in 2007. The latest addition to the landscape is a winery at Lake Lillian. Proprietor Irv Moen, a native Minnesotan with several years experience in the Napa Valley area of northern California, came back to his home roots around Willmar, and purchased an empty school building that used to be a public school at Lake Lillian.
Today, after a several-thousand-dollar renovation project, Olde Country Vineyard & Winery occupies the old school facility.
Thanks to lots of space in the old school, this structure is complete with several stainless steel fermentation tanks, a retail center offering both bottled wines and wine making kits, a dining and entertainment area in what used to be the old school gym and about four acres of vineyard surrounding two sides of this new Minnesota attraction.
And the fever continues
Maloney predicts Minnesota will have 30 new wineries within the next 12 to 18 months with the bulk of new growth mostly in the southeast quadrant of the state.
Our neighbors to the south are doing even better. Just like the ethanol plants springing up everywhere in Iowa, so to are wineries. Iowa had only three wineries in 2002, but now has 70.
Can there soon be too many?
Not a chance, according to Maloney, who believes that wineries complement each other. “Napa Valley wouldn’t be Napa Valley if there were just a handful of wineries. It’s a synergistic effect. The more wineries, the more interest, the more promotion and the more rural development be it agri-tourism, wine trails, even new jobs and industry created. I don’t think anyone would disagree; at this stage the upside of the Minnesota wine industry is phenomenal.”
So who is the market for this vigorous, pulsating new industry? Mostly Minnesotans at this stage, but Martell said it’s surprising how much of the Minnesota vintage wines are now shipped out of state.
He speaks of wine as a local product, much like produce from the garden or the farm. Minnesotans have a hankering to indulge in their local produce with wine being one of those new benefactors.
“Visitors also like to taste the local product rather than buying a California wine so we keep getting more and more consumers and there’s no better way to build an industry,” Martell said, admitting that most Minnesota wineries still have to buy some “bulk juice” from other sources simply because there aren’t enough Minnesota-grown grapes.
More wine than beer
According to marketing experts who study these things, in 2005 in the United States per capita consumption of wine exceeded that of beer. That was a historical first. The brewing industry, realizing the inroads wine was making into their market, retaliated with even more tastes, colors and fanciful names of new brews. Consumption data isn’t yet available for 2006.
U.S. Department of Agriculture data showed only 220 acres of grapes in Minnesota in 2002. The MGGA, working with Iowa State University and a special resource grant is surveying its members this summer to get a better handle on current acres. Martell speculates statewide acreage could now be approaching 600.
Just like good corn starts with good genetics, much the same holds true with grapes. James Luby, professor in the University of Minnesota Department of Horticultural Science, expressed that the U of M grape program is known worldwide for expertise in cold-hardy varieties.
Today four varieties dominate in Minnesota vineyards. Frontenac, introduced in 1996, claims the most acres. Right behind is Frontenac gris, introduced in 2003 and La Crescent, introduced in 2002. The most popular newcomer is Marquette, introduced in 2006.
“We’ve bred grapes over a century and formally initiated a breeding program for wine grapes in the mid-1980s. Today, we’re recognized as one of the top wine grape programs in the United States,” Luby said.
He indicated grapes aren’t particularly fussy when it comes to so-called ideal soils. They tolerate a broad pH range, 6.6 to 7. They like only a moderate rich soil. Too much fertilization and you get too much vegetation at the expense of grape production. “In many of our native prairie soils we need little or no fertilizer because of the inherent fertility of those soils. But the best procedure is to soil test before establishing your vineyard. We are seeing some low potassium soils. Grapes are heavy feeders of soil potassium,” Luby said.
At the University of Minnesota Arboretum at Chaska, more than 10 acres of research vineyards with approximately 10,000 experimental vines produce new seedlings each year with a diverse genetic base — including quality French hybrids coupled with cold hardiness and disease resistance related to Minnesota’s native grape, V. reparia. More than 1,000 vines are planted each year under the supervision of Peter Hemstad, a 20-year research scientist. Other traits observed are productivity, cluster size, growth habit, bud break and ripening times.
“If it wasn’t for the research at the U of M, we wouldn’t have an industry today. Neither would Iowa because they too mostly use genetic stock developed by our university,” Maloney said.
Cannon River Winery is likely typical of many vineyards. Maloney reported they currently have nine significant blocks (variety beds) and will be planting some of the new Marquette release this spring.
Look for a slope
South sloping soils with good drainage and fertility are preferred conditions for establishing a new vineyard. “If the micro climate is right, viticulture works quite well most anywhere in southern Minnesota but we also have an established vineyard in the Alexandria area and up into the Red River Valley. As our ‘seed stock’ keeps improving, the distribution of Minnesota vineyards will keep dispersing,” Maloney said, noting that new varieties can handle the 30 to 35 degree below zero extremes.
What’s the biggest challenge in an established vineyard? Apparently birds according to a consensus of participants at the recent conference. Maloney related that they spent two years looking for that ideal piece of ground for viticulture (the practice of growing grapes.) His first harvest was 2004 with little bird predation.
“But as our volume has grown so have the challenges of birds. Last year our harvest was about 24 tons and when the migrating birds locate a ripening vineyard, the battle is on. We used the usual: the owls and the CO2 guns. But next year we’re going into netting. We did some netting this year and quickly found two things: it works and it’s a necessary evil.”
As newcomers quickly learn, growing grapes is a game of patience with a fairly stiff investment up front. To get a new vineyard properly established including costs of rootstock ($2.75 per plant and higher), trellis materials including both posts and wire, plus soil prep work runs $6,000 per acre and higher. And it’s four years before you have a revenue-producing crop (there is some limited production in the third year) but beginning in year five, you definitely have a predictive revenue stream because you should be harvesting 3.5 to 4 tons per acre at $1,400 a ton. About 70 cents per pound of grapes is the average price today.
Like corn farmers, grape growers develop variety preferences. However much of that is also driven by consumer tastes. Maloney said their harvest of La Crescent last fall produced a delightful wine highly favored by his customers. St. Pepin is another “work horse” variety popular at Cannon River Winery. “Vincent, my winemaker, says the St. Pepin grape makes a world-class wine.”
Even veteran grape growers like Martell agree that “the stars were lined up perfectly” for grape production in Minnesota last year. Grapes can handle some drought, especially during the ripening process. He told of a “great bud break” last spring without any threat from frost plus good late-summer temperatures. It was just an excellent year for growing grapes in Minnesota, though an inch of rain every seven to 10 days is even better for first and second year vineyards.
How about 2007?
With growing concern about 2007 being a dry year in Minnesota, viticulturists were snapping up information on various irrigation schemes to consider. “We had a speaker from Colorado State University at this conference addressing irrigation issues so we know it’s on the minds of our growers this season,” Martell said.
As the fever continues to spread here in the northlands, next year’s Cold Climate Conference could involve a northern wine competition event which could grow into a national event in 2009.
Both Martell and Maloney noted the dozens of new growers at this year’s event. It looks like the next generation of grape growers will be younger, more focused and definitely thinking more than the one- to two-acre “starting vineyards” which are so typical today.
Minnesota Commissioner of Agriculture Gene Hugoson acknowledged the growth of viticulture in the state: “Minnesota seems to be a state rich in entrepreneurs willing to test the niche market. However it looks to me like the Minnesota grape industry is already leading the pack. The diversity, the added pleasure your industry brings to our state is exciting for all of us.”
