making wine from Marquette grapes

[BRD]

I have 8 Marquette vines here in Northwest PA that are about 10 years old. My best harvest years yield a 5 gallon carboy of finished wine. I’d be interested in hearing success stories for blending. My wife doesn’t particularly care for the strong “peppery“ flavor. I have tried Niagara and Catawba blends with the Marquette and also back sweetening without great results. I may try the petite pearl however not certain of local availability. Any suggestions from those that have worked with Marquette?

 

[Ohio Bob]

Viognier is said to be a blending partner with Syrah, perhaps due to it’s sweetness. Maybe this is close to something you could do.

 

[BRD]

Interesting thought. I don’t have ready access to Viognier but maybe will try something similar. I have currently in bulk aging local Diamond, Seyval Blanc, Niagara, Catawba, Vignoles and Traminette. Along with several Chilean reds. Too many to do a bunch of blending bench trials so hoping to narrow options to maybe what others have success with.

 

[ChuckD]

While I’m waiting on a passing shower to get back to raking up rocks I will report on out winery tour yesterday. We visited three in NE WIsconsin that grow their own. Since I’m establishing a hobby vineyard (Marquette and Petite Pearl to start) we focused on those wines. All three Marquette varietals were unique but the Duck Creek was best followed closely by Cold Country. Didn’t even buy one from Parallel 44. The Best northern red of the day was the Petite Pearl from Duck Creek Winery. All of the Brianna’s were nice as well as the only Frontenac Blanc. I have yet to find a Foch that I like nor a Verona. Although I have had good blends with both.


Well the rain is over… back to work.

 

[wood1954]

can you elaborate on the Marquette tannin, acid, flavor, aroma etc.

 

[ChuckD]

can you elaborate on the Marquette tannin, acid, flavor, aroma etc.

I’m not good at this but I’ll try. the Duck Creek Marquette is fruity with light tannin. A little spice too. I opened a bottle for dinner and it’s actually a little sharp at the end (acidic) but good with food. My wife thought it was too acidic. After an hour in the decanter I finished it off and it’s less sharp now.

the Cold Country says it’s “medium bodied with cherry and blackberry notes”. I remember tasting the cherry. Also light on tannin.

I don’t remember that much about the Parallel 44. It was a little bolder but it had an aroma and up-front taste that I didn’t like.

I’d say the blends are still my favorites. I also tasted a petite Pearl rose that I liked.

 

[Steve Wargo]

While I’m waiting on a passing shower to get back to raking up rocks I will report on out winery tour yesterday. We visited three in NE WIsconsin that grow their own. Since I’m establishing a hobby vineyard (Marquette and Petite Pearl to start) we focused on those wines. All three Marquette varietals were unique but the Duck Creek was best followed closely by Cold Country. Didn’t even buy one from Parallel 44. The Best northern red of the day was the Petite Pearl from Duck Creek Winery. All of the Brianna’s were nice as well as the only Frontenac Blanc. I have yet to find a Foch that I like nor a Verona. Although I have had good blends with both.

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Well the rain is over… back to work.

Wisconsin seems to be a hotspot for Marquette grape vineyards
----I enjoyed Sunday 5/22 a 2020 harvest single estate bottle of Marquette wine. The grapes were grown in Michigan east of Port Huron. I harvested, crushed, fermented, the grapes myself. I have to say it's better than many commercial off the shelf wines from California. I've also harvested and made wine from Petite Pearl grapes vintage 2020, and 2021. I'm planning to blend Petite Pearl 75% and 25% Marquette, amd get at least two cases. That seems to be the sweet spot for Petite Pearl wine. Oh yea. I have a quart jar of Brianna jelly/jam. Brianna grapes from the same vineyard.

 

[Vern]

I’m not good at this but I’ll try. the Duck Creek Marquette is fruity with light tannin. A little spice too. I opened a bottle for dinner and it’s actually a little sharp at the end (acidic) but good with food. My wife thought it was too acidic. After an hour in the decanter I finished it off and it’s less sharp now.

the Cold Country says it’s “medium bodied with cherry and blackberry notes”. I remember tasting the cherry. Also light on tannin.

I don’t remember that much about the Parallel 44. It was a little bolder but it had an aroma and up-front taste that I didn’t like.

I’d say the blends are still my favorites. I also tasted a petite Pearl rose that I liked.

Just curious, how do these wines compare to my blend?

 

[VillaVino]

My Marquette are in full bloom and shoots are about 6-10”. We had a light frost last night. I’ll know by tomorrow if they were bit. I did not shoot thin them yesterday because of the threat of frost. They looked the best they ever did. The 5 year olds are finally ready. The Brianna’s are looking good too. Lost about 10 Louise Swensens and a couple Prairie Stars. About 75% of my cuttings from last year survived then winter. Concords, Sabrevois, PS and Brianna’s cuttings show promise. Sitting on about 40 gallons of 2020 Marquette wine in the basement. I should bottle it.
thinking about grinning out the Louise Swensens and putting in either more Marquette, Brianna or give a shot at the Petite Pearl. That would be a next year project. Anyone coming down the interstate I-90/94 in west central Wisconsin stop in. We’re 3 miles off right where the”I divides”.

 

[Vern]

I'm just south of lake geneva, dropped to 35 last night, but no frost. My marquette are about the same stage as yours. They're looking really nice.

 

[ChuckD]

Just curious, how do these wines compare to my blend?

I was really focusing on the varietals with this tasting. The two Marquette’s were pretty good but they all had blends that were better. None of them grow Verona.
Your 2017 was still better as I remember it… I’ll need another bottle or two to be sure

ETA. Maybe that’s what all of the ones I tasted need… a little more aging to smooth them out! They were al 20 and 21.

We may have had a touch of frost here last night but the asparagus and apple blossoms looked ok this morning.

 

[sour_grapes]

Wisconsin seems to be a hotspot for Marquette grape vineyards
----I enjoyed Sunday 5/22 a 2020 harvest single estate bottle of Marquette wine. The grapes were grown in Michigan east of Port Huron.

I didn't think that there WAS any Michigan east of Port Huron!? Simple typo, or is there a more interesting story?

 

[wood1954]

I’ve learned a lot since I started this post. Most important is growing good grapes. My 2022 crop is way better than my previous ones, my spray program really protected the grapes, I think I only left 2or 3 small clusters,however I went thru every day picking out non ripening or off looking grapes. I also was fanatic about looking for stink bugs and their eggs. Not one stink bug in the must this year. I also let the grapes hang two weeks longer than I ever had. The must right now is way darker and more flavorful than past harvests. Finding research about how protein in the must binds tannin was really important, I now add tannin at crush to help stabilize color and after I press I’ll add more tannin. I’m also using Bravo yeast which is supposed to add a lot of glycerol for mouth feel. I’m using VP 41 Malolactic bacteria which I think adds some nice cocoa hints. Then it’s into oak barrels for a year. So as my plants have grown they make better fruit and I’ve learned a lot in the last two years. I have to reassess my opinion of Marquette wine, I think it can make a good full bodied wine with it’s own unique flavors and with proper wine making the main concerns can be rectified, high acid and low tannin. That’s my take this year.

 

[RonObvious]

I've had similar experiences as yours. I think Marquette will always feature prominently in our vineyard, as it grows abundantly and produces beautiful wine. Ours tends to be a little more exotic than others I've tried - I'm not sure if this is our "terroir" speaking or something we're doing in the winery, but I'm not complaining. It's spicy, but not in a peppery sort of way - more like exotic middle eastern spices or something along those lines. It truly is a unique and interesting grape, especially since it's so easy to grow. Our 2022 crop was excellent as well, despite it being an incredibly rainy summer.

Mind if I ask what type of tannin are you using at crush? FT Rouge? I think I've read the same articles you have about adding tannins to stabilize color, but thus far I've taken a light touch, only adding a little. This year I'm going to add French oak dust during primary instead of tannin complex.

I only have 2 issues with Marquette: First, we've never had our grapes reach target 23.5 brix in the field. We always end up chaptalizing a little bit. Not the end of the world, but I'd love to see them get there on their own for once. Second, Marquette seems to be more likely to experience H2S during MLF, especially in the first month or so. I don't know if others have experienced this with Marquette, but I've learned to check it almost daily for H2S smell and take evasive action if necessary.

 

[wood1954]

This was the first year my grapes reached 24 Brix. I use chestnut tannin in the primary because it’s cheap and will get bound up. I use a tablespoon per twelve gallons of must. I use a grape tannin after pressing. I use Renaissance yeast and haven’t noticed any h2s from MLF.