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WineEast Great Lakes wine states and other regions where additional cold hardiness was an advantage much less demanding, as many of the selections lacking necessary viticultural or wine qualities had been winnowed out. The area committed to viticulture since 1970 has increased significantly (see Figure 1). This increase occurred across nearly all states east of the Rocky Mountains, including some that had no previous history of commercial wine-grape production. Table 1 provides a recent compilation of area by state and the relative percentage of the area planted to American (largely based on labrusca), hybrid and vinifera cultivars. Several points are clear: 1) New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Ohio have the most significant area under cultivation; 2) They maintain the highest W 4 R 4 Veeblanc W 4 Veeport R 4 Ventura W 4 Vincent Bradt, Ollie HRIO, Ontario, Canada Cold hardinessZ Valiant Location Wine color Vivant Breeder R 4 Cultivar Dressel, Lucian Missouri St. Vincent R 3 Einset, John NYAESGeneva Cayuga White W 4 Frontenac R 5 Frontenac Gris W 5 LaCrescent W 5 Marquette R 5 Chardonel W 3 Corot Noir R 3 Horizon W 3 Melody W 3 Noiret R 3 Traminette W 3 Valvin Muscat W 3 Brianna W 5 Sabrevois R 5 St. Pepin W 5 St. Croix R 5 Swenson Red R 5 Swenson White W 5 percentages of American cultivars, largely for use as non-fermented juices or confections; and 3) They have the largest area of vinifera. The first case is due to a long history of American production of non-fermented products, and, in the latter case, the influence of the Great Lakes, which serve to create milder, "maritime" climates needed for vinifera (not really maritime, but a degree of maritime buffering). Indeed, of the Great Lakes states only New York and Michigan have a ratio of vinifera to hybrids favoring vinifera (Figure 2). This is borne out by the data in Table 2 regarding Missouri and the states adjacent to the Great Lakes with minimal lake moderation of winter cold. Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin have hardy hybrids as their top five cultivars. Of equal note is the impact of hybrids in developing wineproduction regions. Although the area is currently small, it is increasing at a rapid rate because of existing hardy hybrids and very cold-hardy cultivars produced by Elmer Swenson and Peter Hemstad. Table 3 compares the cold hardiness of vinifera and hybrid cultivars. No hybrid is as susceptible to cold damage as the most cold-hardy vinifera, and the three hardiest cultivars are from the Minnesotabreeding efforts. A summary of North American mixed species of wine cultivars grown in Michigan appears in Table 4. The New York efforts, under the guidance of Dr. Bruce Reisch, continue the productive tradition established by Reisch's predecessors, Robert Pool and John Einset (Pool, et al., 1976). Additionally, the efforts of Hemstad and Swenson expanded on the cold hardiness available in French hybrids, allowing the development of commercial wine grape production in areas where it was formerly not possible. Lack of strong color is a common problem for many cool-climate hybrid cultivars, and many of the breeding programs specifically select for parents with deeply colored juice. Harold Olmo used this characteristic to breed the mixed species hybrid red cultivars for California's Central Valley, where heat makes development of adequate color particularly problematic. There, Olmo bred hybrids Rubired and Royalty (Robinson, et al., 2012) to address this concern. Part two of this series will examine at hybrid grape cultivars in Michigan and the challenges and opportunities for the future of hybrid viticulture. WE Hemstad, Peter Reisch, Bruce Swenson, Elmer University of Minnesota NYAESGeneva Wisconsin z Cold hardiness rating: 5 = Super hardy tolerates winter minimum to -35°C; 4 = Very hardy tolerates -29°C; 3 = Hardy tolerates -25°C; 2 = Moderately hardy tolerates -20°C; 1 = Tender vines are damaged or killed below -18°C. Table 4. Breeding location of key North American mixed species of wine cultivars released and evaluated in Michigan. 142 W in es & V i ne s JANUARY 20 14 Dr. Stan Howell is professor emeritus of viticulture and enology at Michigan State University. After arriving at MSU in 1969, Howell focused on cool-climate viticulture with the goal of assessing which cultivars were compatible with Michigan's climate and evaluating the wines from those cultivars. Since he retired, he has been working with the VESTA (Viticulture and Enology Technology and Science Alliance) program to develop viticulture and enology courses. Dr. Paolo Sabbatini is an associate professor of horticulture at Michigan State University with research (60%) and extension (40%) responsibilities in viticulture. His primary objective is to identify environmental, physiological and cultural factors that limit vine growth and development, fruit maturity and quality of grapes grown in Michigan. Sabbatini received his Ph.D. in 2002 from the University of Ancona (Italy). See us at Unified booth #24094