Advice needed: cold hardy variety to blend with black raspberries

[Delaney]

Hi,

I have experience making several fruit wines, most of which I would not repeat. Black raspberries (rubus occidentalis) make a particularly excellent wine, and I intend to advance with a business proposal for the production of such a wine.

I am here seeking advice as to what grape cultivar(s) to consider growing, with the intention of blending them with black raspberry wine. Due to regulations for fruit wine production in this region, I am required to produce and cultivate 100% of the fruits used in the wine at the winery, therefore I cannot blend me BR wine with externally sourced grapes/must.


What I need is:
-Cold hardiness
-ultra-early or early ripening
-compatability with black raspberries for wine making purposes. (I have previously used ~5% Merlot + ~5% Cab. Sauvignon + ~5% riesling with excellent results)

Below is climatic data for the area in question.
-annnual mean temperature = 5.2 Celcius/41.36 Farenheit
-annual mean rainfall = 625 mm
-"The frost free period averages 125 to 129 days from about May 26 to the
end of September, however, frosts have been recorded in all months." note that these frost dates are >50 years old, and the frost free period is presumably slightly longer now.



Is it possible to grow even cold tolerant grape cultivars in these conditions??? I am currently researching varieties that seem most suitable for this environment, but I will post them back here for expert review on their suitability for my operation shortly. If you have suggestions in the meantime, please feel free to go at it.


Thank you.

 

[Delaney]

It seems to me that Marquette would be a suitable candidate for growing in my climate, assuming it lends well to a BR wine...Am I missing something here which renders it unsuitable??

http://www.grapes.umn.edu/Marquette/MarquetteViticulture/index.htm

 

[grapeman]

Marquette would be a great grape to grow to blend with the Black Raspberries. They would compliment each other quite well. It should yield very well for you there and thrive in the climate.

 

[blumentopferde]

I had a quick search in google and one of my first shots was this:
http://kyttalanviinitila.com/english/varieties.shtml
A wineyard in finland, 61°N (!!!!)

and one grape producer from Estonia, 59°N:
http://www.hot.ee/roogoja/inglise grapes.htm

Keep in mind though that European winters are not as extreme as American winters due to the strong influence of the atlantic ocean.

Both mostly use eastern european and russian varierties. Might be interesting for you...

 

[Delaney]

Thanks kindly,

I know that this would involve an experiential learning process, but I would like some advice on whether it would be advisable to integrate multiple grape cultivars with BR wine for added complexity, or whether it would perhaps be advisable to keep things simple.

-It seems to me that Marquette is the most promising variety (that I've come across), but intuitively I would think that diversifying the cultivar selection would be wise...this would allow for different blends, and reduce the risk of crop failure should a particular variety become affected by an environmental factor. Am I correct in this assumption?

-Would a white grape cultivar lend well to a blend including other reds, or would it be preferable to stick with reds?

-At <20% grape content, is a white cultivar likely to produce a desirable product. I am thinking in terms of diversity of final products, to have a wine which is more of a rosee.

-Are the following cultivars also suitable to these conditions?

• • La crescent: http://www.grapes.umn.edu/LaCrescent/LaCrescentViticulture/index.htm
• • Frontenac: http://www.grapes.umn.edu/Frontenac/FrontenacViticulture/index.htm

Thank you again for your time and assistance, it is much appreciated.

~Delaney

 

[grapeman]

LaCrescent could be interesting with it. It would hold up to the BR without overpowering it.

On the other hand Frontenac would way overpower the BR. Frontenac has intense aromas and tastes and can be screamingly high in acid. I would shy awy from that one.

Petite Pearl might be another good one, but I am not sure if it is available in Canada yet.

 

[Delaney]

Excellent, I think that gives me enough to work with.

Thank you very much!

Delaney

 

[spaniel]

You also need to look at what the coldest 3-4 day stretches have been in the past 10-15 years. That's all it takes to kill a vine down to and including the root. I planted one variety which probably would have done fine here 9 years out of 10, but when they were 2 years old we got one of those bitter 3-day stretches and come spring they were done.

I'm glad I knew in year 2, versus when I depended on them for significant production in a commercial winery.

Minnesota varieties should work fine. Marquette would be the best red I have read about, you will find more options with whites. I love black raspberry wine and just did a port with them....I bought a couple commercial blends with Merlot/Cab and thought the both ruined 2 very good base wines. Personally, I'd make both and keep them separate. YMMV of course.