Grape, apple studies also under way

Montana State University Extension Agent Pat McGlynn had economic development in mind when she decided to find out if there are varieties of cold-hardy grapes that could sustain a number of wineries in the Flathead Valley.

What has happened in Nebraska impressed her.

That state had no wineries in 1994, but by 2006 had 18 wineries producing about 49,000 gallons of Nebraska wine using cold-hardy grapes, at an average of $10 per bottle. That translates into a $5.3 million annual economic impact, including $1.6 million in worker wages.

McGlynn has been following the cold-hardy wine grape trials being conducted by Cornell University on the Canadian border. Cornell, from which she earned her Ph.D. in agriculture education, just got another $2 million grant to further the cold-hardy research.

And there’s a multistate Northern Grapes Project under way to study new grape varieties in states from Nebraska to New York.

McGlynn grew up in the Finger Lakes area in New York that has a thriving local wine industry using cold-hardy grape varieties. She’s seen the success of that area’s wine industry firsthand.

So why not the Flathead Valley, she wondered.

Spurred by a $30,000 state grant, four research trials have been established at area vineyards that are testing 12 hybrid grape varieties in Kalispell, Yellow Bay, Missoula and Eureka.

The grapes were planted last year.

Red wine grape trial varieties include Leon Millot, Petite Pearl, Baltica, Rondo and Castel. White wine grapes include Louise Swenson White, Espirit, La Crescent (MN 1166), Frontenac Gris (MN 1187) and Osceola Muscat. Table grapes include Somerset Red and Brianna White.

Several area growers have had good luck growing grape hybrids in this area, she noted. Those being tested in the trials are a cross between the European Vitis vinifera and the native American grape.

“This cross makes the grape vine much more winter-hardy and disease-resistant,” McGlynn said.

Hybrid grapes as a rule have a higher acid content at maturity and lower sugar content. As the trial grapes mature, local winemakers will weigh in on which ones work best for them.

Funding for the cold-hardy grape trial runs through 2014, but McGlynn anticipates that growers will continue caring for the hybrids for several years after that unless there’s one that’s a dud and has to be replaced.

Kalispell Chamber of Commerce President Joe Unterreiner said both the commercial hops and cold-hardy research projects have significant economic development potential for the Flathead Valley.

The Chamber’s online libation trail map featuring Flathead wineries, distilleries and breweries has become of one the most-searched areas of the website.

“Research that supports these expanding businesses and makes them more competitive can only add to our efforts,” Unterreiner said.

McGlynn just returned from a Western Extension Leadership Development training course in San Diego. She was selected to represent Montana in developing innovating programs for the state. Her focus will be on agri-tourism.

NEXT UP for the Flathead is participation in a project to test apple, pear and plum trees across the state.

Lewis and Clark County MSU Extension Agent Brent Sarchet wrote a successful specialty crop federal block grant, to be administered by the state Department of Agriculture, that will establish test orchards in Columbia Falls, Power, Helena, Bozeman, Colstrip, Hinsdale and Billings.

Thirty-nine fruit trees will be planted near Columbia Falls Junior High School. Three trees of each variety will be researched. Apple varieties will include Goodland, Honeycrisp. Sweet 16, Northern Lights and Zestar. Pear varieties are Flemish Beauty, Park, Golden Spice, Patten and Luscious, and plum varieties include Mount Royal, Toka and Pipestone.

Students will participate in the research and eventually the fruit will be used in the school’s lunch program. Columbia Falls is the only test site that will be incorporated into a school project, Sarchet said.

The last fruit tree research conducted in Montana was done in the late 1970s and early 1980s, he said, adding that since then the climate has changed to some extent.

Establishing more fruit production in Montana also falls in line with a national “locavore” movement to eat food that is locally produced.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.