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2 0 V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T | N o v - D e c 2 016 w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m quet had collected, Luby singled out one in particular that seemed supe- rior to the others. Given the name Frontenac and released in 1996, this red grape turned out to be the first of the university's successful cold-hardy wine grape varieties. Peter Hemstad, who'd been hired by Luby in 1985 to expand the grape breeding effort, discov- ered a color mutation among the Frontenac vines. Christened Fron- tenac Gris for its distinct grayish skin (gris: French for gray), this new variety was introduced as a white wine grape. Another white grape, La Crescent, was introduced in 2002, and Marquette, a red grape, in 2006. (All of the grape varieties from the university's breeding pro- gram have names related to places in Minnesota; Itasca is the name of the state park that surrounds the headwaters of the Mississippi.) Several independent breeders also developed new cold-hardy grapes, among them Tom Plocher (Petite Pearl, Crimson Pearl, Verona) and Elmer Swenson (Louise Swenson, Edleweiss, St. Croix, St. Pepin, Bri- anna), whom Luby has dubbed "the pioneer who started it all." UNRAVELING GENEALOGY During 2002, the Minnesota team crossed Frontenac Gris with a grape known as MN 1234. The result of this cross was (drumroll, please) Itasca. I turned to Matt Clark, the HRC's assistant profes- sor of grape breeding and enol- ogy, to help me unravel some of Itasca's genealogy. My understand- ing is that MN 1234 has Seyval, a Vitis vinifera hybrid, in its lineage. I asked Clark if this means Itasca's ancestors include several different Vitis species and if that's an unusu- al situation. "There's something about the unique pedigree of this cultivar," research associate at Ohio State University.) During the course of maintaining the seedling populations that Pier- James Luby discovered Frontenac, the University of Minnesota's first successful cold-hardy grape variety. Premier Quality from North america's leadiNg ViNe Nursery leaders raise the bar in everything they do and that's why Vintage Nurseries continues to set the industry standards for vine cleanliness, improved irrigation methods and product selection. in the last year alone, Vintage has begun work on a new, state-of-the-art greenhouse facility, changed from wood to eco-friendly recycled plastic storage bins and callous boxes, and introduced new sanitization techniques. from our 2010 Protocol mother blocks, to our advanced testing lab, the innovative new Vintage root sock and more, Vintage Nurseries strives to provide the cleanest, healthiest vines in the industry. it's how we lead. it's how we grow. Eco-friEndly plastic storagE bins plastic callous boxEs for VinE clEanlinEss VintagE nursEriEs' adVancEd nEw tEsting lab Serving the Wine, table grape, and raiSin induStrieS 800.499.9019 VintageNurseries.com wasco 661.758.4777 santa rosa 707.542.5510 paso roblEs 805.237.8914 EAST WATCH MARGUERITE THOMAS