University of Minnesota grape cultivars

The development of high-quality, cold-hardy, and disease-resistant wine grape cultivars in the 21st century has been a fruitful one. Recent releases include 7 cultivars bred specifically for use in the wine industry: La Crescent (2002), Frontenac Gris (2003), Marquette (2006), Frontenac Blanc (2012), Itasca (2015), and Clarion (2022). Frontenac blanc, a color mutation of Frontenac which was discovered by growers, has also been widely planted in recent years. General information on these cultivars and others developed at UMN can be found here. 

Growing recommendations for these UMN cultivars are available via fact sheets developed by our breeding and Extension teams.