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74 WINES&VINES April 2017 GRAPEGROWING WINE EAST G rowing cold-hardy grapes and making wine from them might be the ultimate lifelong learning process, if the sessions at the Cold Climate Conference held Feb. 16-18 in Bloomington, Minn., are any indication. But thanks to the work of researchers and educators, many of whom drew standing-room-only audi- ences for their presentations at the conference, the learning curve has gotten a little less steep. The good news: Between the Northern Grapes Project (NGP) and other research at the University of Minnesota, Cornell University and Iowa State University in particular, new knowledge abounds on topics ranging from spraying and trellising to mouthfeel and marketing. The better news: New grapes such as Itasca and Petite Pearl showed beautifully in seminars, eliciting strong buzz from those who tasted them. The best news: There was a palpable energy and col- laboration during and between sessions, with lively dis- cussions among the 500-plus growers and winemakers in attendance. "I've never seen this group so engaged," said conference director Steve Unverzagt. It helps immensely, he added, that for the sponsoring Minnesota Grape Growers Association, "the Northern Grapes Project's mission is totally in sync with our mission, so we have everything finally aligned." The director of that project, Tim Martinson, passed along some conclusions from the four-year study that wrapped up last summer: • There has been a major shift from vertical-shoot po- sitioning (VSP) to high training systems, with high cordon rising from 34% of the vineyards surveyed in 2012 to 50% in 2016. Part of the reason, he added, is that VSP gets half the yield of high cordon. • Growers are spraying more often, with some using fungicides every seven to 10 days and insecticides from five to 11 times per season. Disease and insect management is "a continuing challenge," Martinson said, "and something that gets missed is early sea- son treatment." • Wine's economic impact in the states studied rose from $401 million in 2012 to $539 million in 2016, and tourism income more than doubled. Another big increase came in labor income, as vineyards and wineries relied less on volunteer work by family and friends and increased the amount of hired labor. Martinson noted that one grower said in a survey, "Growing grapes is a lot more work than I thought." • Northern grapegrowers share several traits, he said: "They're enthusiastic, they're mostly part-timers, and they still are developing skills. They're receptive to technical information but also receptive to folklore and hearsay.…Growing grapes is a knowledge-inten- sive enterprise." Grapegrowers Make Progress with Cold-Hardy Varieties Minnesota's Cold Climate Conference reflects growth of new wine regions By Bill Ward LINCOLN PEAK VINEYARD —continues on page 76