WineMaking FAQ's

Grape Blossoms What do grape blossoms smell like?

Walking through the vineyard when it is in full bloom is a unique experience. The scent is slightly more subtle than other fruits. Each flower blossom will develop into a separate berry. The flowers are wind pollinated. Most people assume that our honeybees pollinate the vineyard, but I rarely see a honeybee in the grapes during full bloom

More grape bloom images....

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Barrels Do you recommend oak barrels for winemaking?

Oak barrels can be very useful in winemaking, but they can be problematic and I prefer glass carboys.

Oak barrels are excellent for large amounts of wine such as 55 gallons. The ration of air to wine is just right. When you use smaller barrels the wine may easily become over-oaked and oxidized. They also take a lot of care to make sure you do not create vinegar bacteria.

I much prefer gallon glass carboys, they are much easier to clean and sanitize.

You can make multiple batches of different kinds of wine. Each wine is unique. If you make 55 gallons of one wine and it does not turn out the way you want it - you are stuck with it. Our more than 20 varieties of wine make small batch winemaking very interesting. See All Grape and Wine FAQ's...

Frost Do grapes need a frost to ripen?

Absolutely not. There are early and late season varieties, an early season grape left on the vine until frost will be mushy and overripe. Once a frost hits the vine and all the leaves are burned off, any further photosynthesis or ripening will cease. Due to the high sugar level in the grape it may not be damaged by the frost but will soon start to decay, just like any other fruit not refrigerated.

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American Heritage

The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.' )

Ronald Reagan (1911-2004

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Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free. )

Ronald Reagan (1911-2004

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Entrepreneurs and their small enterprises are responsible for almost all the economic growth in the United States. (1911-2004)

Ronald Reagan

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America will never run... And we will always be grateful that liberty has found such brave defenders.

George W. Bush (1946 - )

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Frontenac Grape

A Blue-Black Wine Grape
Similar Varieties: Dechaunac, Foch, Baco Noir

Ripens mid September -- A new hardy red wine variety from Minnessota- very popular with winemakers, has a slight "cherry" overtone.

Usage Notes -- I have not made a lot of Frontenac wine since it is so new in our vineyard and our customers pick it all. What I have tasted so far has been excellent!

Click here for Frontenac winemaking info .....

Harvest Notes:

Ripening Information for Week 7 (and Last), Oct 14, 15 & 16, 2011

There is still some Frontenac left!

Click here for a ripening summary and grape prices for the whole vineyard .....

Variety Info -- More vines of Frontenac are growing in MN than of any other variety, due to overall viticultural performance and excellent wine quality.

Frontenac is a very cold-hardy vine and has borne a full crop after temperatures as low as -30° F. The small black berries are produced on medium to large clusters that are usually slightly loose. As a result, berry splitting and bunch rot have been rare, even in wet years. Frontenac has been a consistently heavy producer and sometimes requires cluster thinning. Frontenac is vigorous and usually becomes established quickly.

Frontenac ripens in late midseason, and it is important to let the fruit hang long enough to fully mature, to reduce the acidity to workable levels. This is less of a problem when Frontenac is grown further south, under warmer conditions.

Fortunately, the pH does not often rise to dangerous levels. Frontenac is a good sugar producer with 24-25 Brix not uncommon.

Frontenac wine typically has a pleasant cherry aroma with berry and plum evident in many cases. The herbaceousness of its wild riparia background is almost entirely absent.

The color is usually a garnet red, but can become excessively dark with long periods of skin time. Malolactic fermentation is essential to reduce the wine’s high acidity. Tannin levels are usually relatively low.

Frontenac is very disease-resistant, with good resistance to powdery mildew and near-immunity to downy.

Where are the Frontenac vines located in the vineyard?

Rows 73 to 77

Each row has about 50 vines.

Frontenac in one of the more recent plantings in our vineyard and it is becoming established quite well.

Rows 73 to 75 were planted in 2004 and rows 76 & 77 were planted in 2007.

The Frontenac rows are trained to a "Geneva Double Curtain" trellis, which means there are 2 top wires 4 feet apart (like utility poles) This gives the vines more room to grow.