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w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m N o v - D e c 2 016 | V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T 1 9 focused on developing high-quality, cold-hardy and disease-resistant cultivars. During the 1970s, when the program was just getting started, Patrick Pierquet was a graduate student doing research on grape- vine cold hardiness at the univer- sity's Horticulture Research Center (HRC). One of his projects was to survey the wild grapes (Vitis riparia) growing in parts of Minnesota and southern Manitoba. "I selected a number of the ' b e s t ' r i p a r i a s e l e c t i o n s a n d brought them back to HRC to use for breeding purposes," Pierquet says. "I initiated the University of Minnesota's wine grape breeding project, hybridizing selected riparia with different wine grape variet- ies. There's significant variability he birth of a celestial star is a drawn-out and violent pro- cess that begins with inter- stellar clouds of dust and gas, and ends with the new star's fiery emergence into a dark universe. By contrast, the birth of a grape vari- ety that's headed for stardom is a comparatively quick and peace- ful event. To the people involved, however, the development of a new variety can feel like a long and, sometimes, demanding journey. Itasca is just such a grape. Itasca was introduced to the world in April 2016, but its con- ception dates back to when the University of Minnesota began its wine grape breeding program. Today, the university is recog- nized as one of the top wine grape research programs in the country, + Itasca is a new variety conceived at the University of Minnesota in the 1970s and introduced to the public in April 2016. + With its complex pedigree and low acidity, Itasca can be vinified dry and is more disease-resistant and cold- hardy than other Minnesota cultivars. + Its development will expand the opportunities for viticulture and winemaking in the Northeast, and also add diversity to the small gene pool associated with the wine grape industry. + Grapegrowers and wine- makers seem to be eagerly anticipating Itasca's 2017 release. AT A GLANCE Itasca: A Star Is Born This new variety from University of Minnesota shows promise for growers of cold-hardy grapes. in wild grapes for characteristics such as cluster size, productivity and fruit quality." Was Itasca the offspring of one of those wild grapes? "The story of Itasca is a bit complicated," Pierquet says. "It may take many decades to hybridize and test new seedlings, and a number of people are usually involved with the devel- opment of any new fruit variety. One of the grandparents of Itasca is Riparia #89, which was one of the best wild riparia specimens I col- lected. Riparia #89 was also a par- ent of the Frontenac variety." One of the people involved, in this case, was James Luby, who took over as the new fruit breeder in 1982 when Pierquet and Cecil S t u s h n o f f m o v e d o n . ( S t u s h - noff was the faculty member at UMN in charge of the fruit breed- ing programs and Pierquet was his graduate student and techni- cian. Pierquet is now an enology The University of Minnesota's Itasca cold-hardy grape EAST WATCH MARGUERITE THOMAS