Our portfolio of grape varieties
“Fantastic family and wonderful grapes, many award winning wines have come out of this vineyard!”
— Matthew Erik Scott, lauded winemaker
Northern viticulture has long been a challenge. From the falaises de Champagne of France to die Mosel-Saar-Ruwer Flussen of Germany, viticulture rewards the stalwart winegrower with invigorating wines of vivid fruit, a gothic architecture, and a vinous palate charged with energy.
At 49.5° and over 50° latitude, those regions might rest north of our 45° but Winter here is far more extreme with temperatures plummeting to 40°F below in the depth of the season. Such extremes insist on cold hardy grape varieties ranging from the native Vitis riparia and Vitis labrusca to hybrids based on these that incorporate various Vitis vinifera -thereby showing more of a filial resemblance to those wines we know and love from Europe.
These varieties are distinct however and must be handled differently in the vineyard and in the cellar lest their feral ancestry dominate the aroma and flavor, structure and finish. Every year trial-and-error turns more to trial-and-triumph and only through taking these varieties seriously, respecting each for what they are, will we realize our potential and the great heights the North is capable of reaching.
S A I N T C R O I X
Vitis labrusca x Vitis riparia
Some winegrowers might see this cluster’s profile and recognize this handsome bunch of grapes as ES 2-3-21.
Some might see its leaves and even recognize the familial resemblance to its parents: ES 283 and ES 193. Most winegrowers though simply know it as Saint Croix, the red hybrid bred by the pioneering Elmer Swenson released to growers back in 1983.
While its vigorous habit is typical of hybrid grape varieties, Saint Croix is hardy enough to survive the coldest of winters -at least all of those we’ve endured since the Betker children first gave Ernie a couple vines as a Father’s Day gift in 1993.
As a wine, Saint Croix makes a handsome choice for medium bodied reds with low tannin, expressive of brambly fruit not least black currants. Given some time Saint Croix has the ability to evolve into a complex bouquet of savory, dried fruit.
Fascinated by Saint Croix’s potential as a sparkling wine, we are trialing such press fractions as one might find in the Champagne region. This preserves the verve and fruit but leaves behind the color and hybrid fragrance of the skins. Will this achieve a Blanc de Noirs or more of a Rosé? Only time will tell. Either way we are excited.
For its invigorating structure and brambly fruit we can only imagine what this might make as a brandy or how its skins and marc might express the variety as a grappa.
E D E L W E I S S
Vitis vinifera x V. labrusca x V. aestivalis
Edelweiss... Edelweiss... every morning you greet me...
Ah! Every morning that is until it reaches the desired Brix/ripeness for its destination. We like Edelweiss best at about 7.5 Brix because the phenolic ripeness is pleasant. Much over 9 Brix and the foxy scent notorious to the labrusca heritage seems to rise beyond the primary fragrance we like best.
Be that as it may, many contract for riper and sweeter fruit and make very successful wines so perhaps the Romans were right in that there’s no disputing taste.
Another cold hardy grape developed by Elmer Swenson in collaboration with the University of Minnesota, Edelweiss is fragrant of fruit and floral notes, and it can bear the coldest of winters much like the family tending these vines -even the latest babies who represent the third generation often join the rest tugged along in wagons donning sun hats.
As an aromatic variety it is often used in off-dry varietal wines or in blends with just a wisp of sweetness. Suggestive of sweetness for its lofty fragrance, only a gentle residual sugar is necessary to balance and lend body to off-dry whites and sparkling wines as confirmed by the judges at the International Cold Climate Wine Competition.
For our own household we have especially enjoyed first harvest Edelweiss as a Pet Nat, or pétillant naturel as its floral fruit makes for such a refreshing semi sparkling wine with a gentle effervescence.
S A B R E V O I S
Vitis riparia x Vitis labrusca
Sabrevois is a cold hardy hybrid developed in Osceola Wisconsin by Elmer Swenson as ES 2-1-9. A sister cross to St. Croix, they share parentage but like so many siblings, each came with their own personality -and fortunately for all in the family they get along when blended.
Nicknamed Norway Red by some locally, the cultivar earned a reputation among growers and winemakers alike for its merits in the vineyard and the refreshing wines it could make for its lower sugars, alcohol and body. While many blend in this grape as a modifier to lend complexity to fuller bodied grapes, we find the lighter bodied reds every bit as charming.
Years after Elmer Swenson gifted this to the world, the grape took on the name Sabrevois after villagers of Sabrevois along the Richeliu River in southern Quebec took a shining to it as a vine and a wine.
In the vineyard, Sabrevois is among the best for sustainable viticulture as it is incredibly cold hardy and resistant to the mildews of wet years. While early harvests might forego a few degrees of Brix, the reward is better aromatics that don’t take its smoky nuance out of proportion toward a heady bacon that might overwhelm its other charms.
In the cellar, whether red or rosé, Sabrevois is fragrant with some similarities to the Cabernet Franc of Saumur for its brambly fruit profile, a currant leaf complexity and some gently smoky spice.
F R O N T E N A C G R I S
Vitis riparia x Landal Noir x Villard
Among the favorite local varieties for cold climate winemaking, Frontenac Gris is a beautifully balanced grape for sparkling and white wines as well as playing a part in rosé and lighter red blends lending a depth of flavor and a fragrant nuance.
It is bright and balanced with juicy acidity and enough body and sugar content to ferment into complex dry and off-dry wines.
Frontenac Gris bears a fragrance and flavors that range from stone fruit (apricots, Mirabelle plums, and peaches) to citrus with tropical nuances rising when allowed long hang time but over the years our trials have found Frontenac Gris wines are more dynamic when harvested before those more exotic scents and flavors take center stage.
This rosy skinned variety is a pink skinned mutation of Frontenac Noir -much like Pinot Gris came from Pinot Noir or Gewürztraminer from Traminer. This means that every Frontenac Gris vine came from cuttings of that first mutation or else cuttings from those cuttings -which is the case for most clonal selections in viticulture but worth noting.
Extraordinarily cold hardy, Frontenac is also a pleasure to work with for good fruit set and balanced ripeness even at relatively higher yields.
Hardly drawbacks, the only challenges we encounter is how delicious the bluebirds find them and how vigorous they grow but this provides a steady supply of cane cuttings to craft vine wreathes for seasonal workshops and decorating throughout the year.
L A C R E S C E N T
St. Pepin × Elmer Swenson 6-8-25
First released from the University of Minnesota in 2004 as a cross developed by horticulture professor James Luby and Dr. Peter Hemstad, La Crescent is a post millennial cross of two hybrids bred by the historic Osceolan grape breeder Elmer Swenson. It is a cross of an unnamed hybrid and the illustrious variety called St. Pepin whose wines have been compared at different times to Riesling and even White Burgundy.
St. Pepin is a rather sophisticated cross of an ancient Minnesota grape variety and the French hybrid Seyval Blanc -a grape variety common across New York’s Finger Lakes, Canada, England, and Wales -although the EU gave the last two all sorts of grief for not being pure Vitis vinifera.
Altogether the La Crescent hybrid combines the genetics of Vitis vinifera, Vitis rupestris, Vitis aestivalis, and Vitis licencumii to great effect with cold hardiness to -40° F/C, early ripening, and yet none of the dried hay aromas of Vitis riparia and none of the foxy notes of Vitis labrusca. Instead it is fragrant, fruity, structured and balanced. With some Muscat of Hamburg up the family tree, it is no wonder it shows some of the floral, citrus, and lush stone fruit such as peach and apricot that one might find among the Muscat family.
A versatile wine in the cellar, La Crescent can be off-dry, semi-sweet or even bone dry, still or sparkling. It can take time in oak and even be softened by malolactic fermentation, stands solid as a varietal wine or take part in a blend. Some sweet versions even carry a wisp of Noble Rot in the warmer, wet years when conditions are right thanks to the Botrytis cinerea fungus behind the rare nectar of Tokaji, Sauternes, and Trockenbeerenauslese.
All its merits make La Crescent one of the broadest, agreeable and appetizing expressions – from blind tastings to the dinner table.
F R O N T E N A C N O I R
Vitis riparia x Landal Noir x Villard
One of the great cold hardy hybrids that set the stage for better red wine production, lively rosés, and exceptional fortified wines in the style of the vintage and tawny Ports of the Douro, Frontenac has many friends among winemakers and wine drinkers alike.
An invigorating structure permits winemakers to fortify their Frontenac wine during ferment using potent young brandy and thereby retain some sugar while maintaining balance when it comes out of barrel.
High acidity is also preferred by northern distillers capturing the spirit of Frontenac -as this leads to better microbial stability which in turn requires less or no sulfur during winemaking. Sulfur can wreak havoc on copper stills over time and the fewer outside adjuncts the cleaner the distillate. Frontenac’s loose clusters and natural resistance to downy and powdery mildew are also preferred not only for sustainable, low impact viticulture but to ensure a pleasant, fragrant, and clean brandy.
Take Cognac for example; across the region distillers double-distill their brandies. Grapes are harvested at 13 to 15 Brix yielding wines that reach a modest 7 to 8% alcohol-by-volume. Known as the brouilli, the first distillate, aims for a fairly low level of alcohol between 28 and 32%. In Cognac the maximum alcohol-by-volume for the initial wine is 10.5% after fermentation which means grapes would be harvested at no higher than 18.5 Brix. Higher acidity also lends more complexity to the final Cognac as acidity contributes to the hydrolysis of certain components during distillation -not least terpenes.
To this end, Frontenac seems true to task as our northern grape variety for immediate pressing and distilling. It can be harvested long before autumn rains, kept at a lower pH and higher acidity, and makes for a fine brandy all its own.
M A R Q U E T T E
Vitis vinifera x Vitis riparia
With both Pinot Noir and Frontenac found among the branches of its family tree, Marquette has proven a lovely wine grape from its cold hardiness in the vineyard to its depth of flavor and range of expression.
Since Marquette was released in 2006, its rich red wines have made judges sit up in their seats to take notice across cold climate wine competitions.
With a fragrance more akin to vinifera with, at its core Marquette conveys a complex fruit profile of dark cherries and brambly fruit from red currants to blackberries. Black pepper and brown spice nuances throw the fruit into relief and make for a delicious varietal wine although it also blends well.
On the palate it is nicely structured with what the French oft describe as charpente -a framing fullness of textured tannins, integrated acidity, and a rounded body and mouthfeel thanks to good Brix at harvest.
Certainly a grape for the those wanting serious dry reds without the feral notes of the wild northern grape varieties, Marquette proves a delightful red wine.
P R A I R I E S T A R
ES 2-7-13 x ES 2-8-1
While Prairie Star might be a capricious prima donna, given the soils and slope it prefers best, it is capable of some of the most beautiful local wines around. When grown in the right conditions, it is cold hardy, sets fruit, and ripens to a full bodied white wine that complements a spectrum of others such as La Crescent, Frontenac Gris, and Louise Swenson.
Given its proclivity towards Vertical Shoot Positioning, we find Prairie Star requires more labor, is less of a guaranteed fruit set, and thereby proffers lower yields but what we get, we love so we carry on as a labor of love as one cannot help when it involves the best ingredients.
In the glass Prairie Star is lovely not merely for its lack of hybrid fragrance or foxiness but for its mouthfeel and fulsome presence on the palate. Few hybrids are up to such a task and fewer still when the aromatics are so much like Vinifera even through the finish.
Named for town or village of Star Prairie just 20 miles northeast of here in St. Croix County, this is a true Elmer Swenson cross from the land of the Apple River and named with a nod to this land he knew and loved. Though neutral in all but the best, floral vintages, Prairie Star is a charming white variety for working into a white or sparkling cepage when a blend could benefit with a bit more flesh on the midpalate and through the finish.
L O U I S E S W E N S O N
E.S. 2-3-17 x Kay Gray
A cultivar we love to grow for its charming spectrum of floral notes, a core of pear fruit, a chirping impression of minerality and its telltale honeyed nuance that makes for a lovely fragrance, this moderately acidic white grape was named for the wife of noted grape breeder Elmer Swenson.
In the vineyard we have the utmost respect for its cold telerance and stamina against the typical pressures of viticulture hereabouts. Small clusters bear less volume prove the greatest gifts often come in small packages. A cross of Elmer’s very own Kay Grey and one of his other his thousands of hybrids ES 2-3-17, Louise Swenson has a family tree that includes Seyval Blanc right up the branch and more remotely Cayuga White and Brianna.
We were smitten from the first wine we encountered and have enjoyed this is a number of sparkling trials for its fragrant orchard aromatics and a textured charm unique to Louise Swenson. Generally preferred harvested at 18 Brix, it is complete in character and keeps its verve and trembling tension. Over the years we aim to plant more because Louise Swenson beguiles as a varietal deserving its own limelight but it is also a certain blending variety for the charming spectrum of aromatics, flavor, and texture.
