New study to look at potential for 'dark' fruits

Montana State University Extension Agent Pay McGlynn is taking the economic development potential for local fruit a step further with a new study of “dark” fruit.

Dark fruit includes a number of noncommercial fruits, many of which already have put down roots in the Flathead Valley. Blackberries, chokecherries, black currants, elderberries, honeyberries and Saskatoons (similar to service berries) are among the alternative fruits that will be the focus of the new study.

Aronia, a North American “super berry” said to have numerous health benefits, also will be studied.

Production of dark fruit for commercial purposes may be a way to supplement the income of property owners with small acreages.

“Mixing them [dark fruits] with wines will be fantastic,” McGlynn said. “It will be a real benefit for wineries and we can be growing our own fruits for made-in-Montana products.”

Paddy Fleming, owner of Flathead Lake Winery in Columbia Falls, said his business would benefit from increased local dark fruit production. Flathead Lake Winery produces wines made exclusively with fruit grown in Montana.

“With my niche, I can only expand to the level of Montana-grown fruit,” Fleming said. “I used to make a Montana-grown black currant wine, but I can’t get those any more. I can’t get blackberries or blueberries ... I can’t find a source of pears in Montana any more with enough volume, and apples are somewhat difficult to come by.”

Even with supply challenges, business is good, Fleming said. Flathead Lake Winery is at capacity, producing 1,000 cases of wine per year.

The winery gets commercial quantities of chokecherries from Hutterite colonies near Lewistown and uses Flathead cherries and huckleberries for wine, too.

McGlynn is seeking a grant from the USDA Specialty Crop program for the dark fruit study. Flathead Valley Community College has agreed to supply a plot of land for dark fruit production.

It’s not only wineries that would benefit from increased dark fruit production. The fruit can be used in jams, jellies and juices. Local distilleries also are interested in dark fruit for cordials and other products.

North Dakota has an evaluation project for dark fruit that started in 2006 and McGlynn plans to look at that data.

Cold-hardy grape research trials are in their third and final year in Montana. Trial plots were established at area vineyards to test a dozen hybrid grape varieties in Kalispell, Yellow Bay, Missoula and Eureka.

“We lost one of our research plots in Ronan,” McGlynn said. “It was in a low spot ... I’m curious what will happen with the subzero temperatures we had over the winter.”

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.

While the funding for the cold-hardy grape trials ends this year, McGlynn anticipates that growers will continue caring for the hybrids for several years after that unless there’s one that’s doesn’t produce and has to be replaced.