On the surface, it sounds like sour grapes... but Minnesota is tired of living in the shadow of Napa Valley.
Heck, we make good wine here too.
On Tuesday, 15 judges took the measure of 300 entries at the first ever Cold Climate Wine Competition. 60 Wineries from 16 states submitted entries in 34 different catagories. The one thing they 'all' had in common was a foundation of hearty cold climate grapes, many of them engineered in labs at the University of Minnesota.
"We've been working for a lot of years to develop varieties that can produce good wines in this kind of a climate," reflected U of M Horticulture professor Jim Luby. "We continue to evaluate new ones each year, and hopefully we'll identify others that will have flavors and characteristics that will even broaden the pallet of what's available for wine makers to work with."
Judges seemed impressed by the quality of the entries, as carts carrying dozens of glasses rolled back and forth. By day's end, they expected to sample 60 different wines, a sequence of sniffing, sipping, and spitting.
"We're having a good time, tasting a lot of great wines," shared Jim Trezise of the New York Wine and Grape Foundation. "Even people in our industry who know what's going on all over the country are surprised at what's going on in Minnesota, Iowa, and other parts of the midwest, it's really, really exciting."
Cold weather grapes, like those that grow in Minnesota, yield a different type of wine than those you usually buy from South Africa, South America, or California. "Generally speaking, cold weather grapes will have more acid to them, which makes them more refreshing, and more food friendly by and large," explained Trezise. "The grapes grown in California, where you have a hot climate, they ripen more fully so there's less acid, more sugar... so you get fuller, rounder wines than the midwest and the northeast. "
Organizers of the contest hope to raise the profile of wine made in Minnesota, and other cold weather regions. That could pump more money into the state economy, and encourage more wine makers to make their passion a profession. "Maybe it'll push the standards up," competition organizer Gordon Rouse ventured. "That's really what we're trying to do, push the standards up... the quality of wine in Minnesota.
The winners of the Cold Climate Wine Competition will be displayed at the Minnesota State Fair, and some entrants will offer samples.
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