The University currently has one of the top wine grape research programs in the country. While our grape breeding program has been developing new cold-hardy varieties for more than 50 years, a state-of-the-art research winery and lab facility was completed in 2000. Here, a winemaker makes hundreds of wines each year in order to identify hybrids with superior wine quality potential and to develop styles of wine unique to Minnesota. The program also supports the rapidly expanding grape and wine industry in Minnesota through teaching and extension activities.

Currently, the University has over 10,000 experimental vines growing on about 10 acres. While the emphasis is on developing high quality wine varieties that are both cold hardy and disease resistant, work is also under way to create seedless table grapes suitable for our area.

The most widely planted red-wine variety in Minnesota is 'Frontenac,' bred specifically for red wine production in the Midwest. It has caught on quickly and is grown from the Dakotas to Maine and down to Texas. The grapes have a high sugar and acid content at harvest, making a red wine with characteristic aromas of cherries, berries, and plums. In addition to excellent red wines, Frontenac rosés and ports have garnered international awards.

Only at the U

A new red wine grape is currently being propagated by commercial nurseries and will be available to the public in the near future.