Grape Breeding and Enology

Welcome to the Grape Breeding and Enology project website!

Located at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, we conduct research in the Department of Horticultural Science and at the Horticultural Research Center. Our focus is on grapevine cultivar development which includes: wine grapes, table grape varieties, and ornamentals that survive and thrive the cold-climate conditions. We also focus on understanding the mechanisms of disease and pest resistance so that we incorporate these traits as a way to improve sustainability for Minnesota growers. In addition to developing grapes, we focus on developing and teaching enology best practices for cold-hardy grapes.

Itasca Wine Making: New report

Sensory Analysis of Itasca Wines

preliminary findings of industry sensory evaluation of Itasca winemaking practices

September 11, 2019

Presented by Matthew Clark and Andrew Horton

Read more about Itasca Wine Making: New report

2019 Fall Open House

Join in celebrating the fall grape harvest with an open house hosted by the University of Minnesota Grape Breeding and Enology project.

This annual event is a great time to meet other grape growers and enthusiasts. You will get to taste about 50 different grape varieties and learn about research being conducted on enology, viticulture, and grape genetics.