Posts Tagged ‘ Upper Mississippi River Valley ’

Marguerite Barrett
Contributing Writer

Congratulations to the winemakers of America’s newest – and largest – viticultural area, the Upper Mississippi River Valley, which officially becomes an AVA tomorrow, July 22nd, 2009!  Wines that include at least 85%  grapes grown within the region can include the AVA designation on the label.

As I reported in a previous post, back in 2005 winemakers in Iowa got together and began the process of proposing a new AVA.  They teamed with winemakers in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois, and submitted a proposal for a the Upper Mississippi River Valley Viticultural Area.

At 29,914 square miles (just over 19 million acres), America’s newest AVA is also the country’s largest (surpassing the Ohio River Valley AVA by 3 million acres) and totally encompasses the Lake Wisconsin AVA in Columbia and Dane Counties, Wisconsin.

The topography and soil are impacted by being part of the “driftless” Paleozoic Plateau, and as a result do not have the strong mineral deposits (such as clay and silt) of other areas that experienced glaciation.  With the melting (rather than receding) of the Wisconsin Glacier 15,000 years ago, the region was left with deep bedrock channels that provide natural irrigation & drainage systems through interconnected rivers, including the Upper Mississippi River which runs through the middle of the AVA.   The region also has multiple micro-climates unique to the area which directly affect viticultural production.

Native grapes were grown in this region as early  as the 16th and 17th centuries, and wine was produced through the early 20th century.  ”In 1919, Iowa produced the sixth largest grape crop in the United States.” .  Prohibition, which became law in 1920, and strong weather events (severe freezes, crop disease, etc.) sounded the death knell for the area’s wine production until the late 20th century, when hardier cold- and disease-resistant hybrids were introduced.  Since the late 1970s, wineries and wine production has grown throughout the region, and today there are dozens of wineries scattered across the four states covered by the AVA.

For lists of wineries in the area, you can check out the following state wine trail websites:

The Iowa Wine Trail

Minnesota Grape Growers Association
(wineries in the Southeastern portion of the state, below St. Paul, fall within the new AVA).

Wisconsin Winery Association
(wineries in the Southwestern portion of the state, below Stockholm, fall within the new AVA).

Northern Illinois Wine Trail
(the Western-most wineries, near Galena, Illinois, fall within the new AVA).

Wineries of the Upper Mississippi River – From Big River Magazine (list dates from 2005)

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Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

When thinking about the Midwest I think of alot of words. Conservative. Cautious. I have always heard that folks from either coasts don’t think about us at all. We are just the people who follow their leads. But for some reason this week, Midwesterners have been labelled “AUDACIOUS”. Why? Well, as Marguerite explained to us last week, because of the newly proposed Upper Mississippi River Valley AVA.

Last I checked (at my new favorite online word website, Wordnik) audacious means bold, unconventional, adventurous… even insolent! Those are certainly not the words that I think about when I consider Midwestern farmers and winemakers.

I am not entirely what exactly is audacious about the proposal. American Viticulture Areas are supposed to be designations of identifiable geographic areas in which wines are produced. Nothing particularly out of line or bold in the Upper Mississippi River Valley that stands out that in regard. Is it the size? At 29,000 square miles, the AVA would be the largest, but the Ohio River Valley AVA is 26,000 square miles. Additionally both of these AVAs cover four states.

The only thing that I can think is audcious is the idea of wine being produced in the Midwest. But frankly, the joke is on the writer from McClatchey. There has been wine in the Midwest since Europeans began to settle here. Iowa has 75 wineries. Illinois has 70. Wisconsin has 42. Minnesota has 17. Who would have thunk it? Anyone who lives around here, that is who. What kind of people are surprised? Those folks that still think that all wine comes from California or Europe or Australia… or some place equally foreign and far away. For those people, I say this: Open your eyes and explore the wine all around you. Marguerite and I sure are!

Oh and Marguerite? Here is your map! I am looking forward to being able to visit some of these over TWO HUNDRED wineries in the near future.

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