Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/591609
November 2015 WINES&VINES 119 WINE EAST WINE INDUSTRY NEWS H ugo, Minn.—It's common knowledge that it gets cold—very cold—in Min- nesota every year, and not just during winters with unusual polar vortexes. Yet wild grapes such as Vitis riparia survive temperatures that drop to -30° F and lower with- out suffering from dead buds and split trunks. The challenge to growers has been to breed new varieties with resistance to ex- treme cold as well as the ability to produce grapes that can be made into high-quality wines. Tom Plocher, a grape breeder living northeast of Minnesota's Twin Cities, recently named two red varieties: Crimson Pearl and Verona. While both are cold hardy and have excellent wine potential, they have different attributes in the vineyard and the winery. Crimson Pearl is noted for its early wood ripening and great winter hardiness. According to Plocher, it is "the most rugged vine from my work; very reliable in Zone 4b and has performed well in the Zone 4a test sites as well." The vines have a relatively late bud break and a neat growth habit with moderate vigor. Like its sister grape Petite Pearl, Crimson Pearl has good disease resistance and little rot. It ripens 10 days earlier; the grapes have less tannin in the skins, and the juice is not as dark. Typical harvest parameters are 22°-23° Brix, pH between 3.4 and 3.8, and total acidity of less than 0.8 grams per liter. Originally known as T.P. 2-1- 17, the name Crimson Pearl was the overwhelming choice of wine consumers who participated in a Facebook poll conducted by Carlos Creek Winery of Alexandria, Minn. Plocher told Wines & Vines, " We h a d 8 0 0 - p l u s v o t e s o n Facebook." Verona, formerly known as T.P. 1-1-34, is a 1997 cross between Troubador (a cross by David Mac- gregor of Vitis riparia 89 x St Croix) and E.S. 5-4-16, one of Elmer Swenson's unnamed variet- ies. While the vines have good winter hardiness, some injury has occurred during the worst win- ters. One advantage is Verona's late bud break in the spring, and the fact that it has good produc- tion on secondary buds. Verona's leaves have some re- sistance to fall frost, which allows the fruit to hang and ripen later into the fall, with harvest often taking place 10 days after Petite Pearl. Grape parameters are 22°- 24° Brix, pH of 3.25 and total acid- ity of less than 1.0 grams per liter. Both Crimson Pearl and Ve- rona are in the second year of virus testing at Foundation Plant Services at the University of Cali- fornia, Davis, and Plocher expects to have certification for the vari- eties in 2016. He also is applying to TTB for name approval of both grapes. —Linda Jones McKee Wine East Covering Eastern North America New Cold-Climate Grapes: Crimson Pearl and Verona Fans of Minnesota's Carlos Creek Winery helped name the cold-hardy variety Crimson Pearl.