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Midwest Adding Grapes to Its Grain

Posted Aug 22, 08 5:40 PM CDT in US,  Business 

(Newser) – As farmers seek higher profits and politicians angle for healthier rural economies, vineyards are cropping up across the Midwest, the Economist reports. Michigan and Ohio now have over 100 wineries each, with vintage monikers handily swiped from French-named Midwestern locales like “Marquette” and “Frontenac”—or, less convincingly, “La Crescent.”

The cold weather can be a challenge, but the University of Minnesota is breeding grapes that can live even at -38°F. “Many people, however, want to show that a grape can grow as well in the Midwest as in Montepulciano,” the Economist writes. In some states, taxpayers even help foot the bill through grants and marketing councils. State-subsidized wine? How French.

Source Economist

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Chateau Chantal has 65 acres producing wine grapes on Michigan's Old Mission Peninsula.   (KRT Photos)
Wine casks age in the cellar of St. Julian Winery in Paw Paw, Mich. Michigan now has 112 wineries across the state.   (AP Photo)
Merchant's Fine Wines in Dearborn, Michigan, offers a variety of holiday wines.   (KRT Photos)
This closeup photo of bottles of Karma Vista Vineyards and Winery Starry Starry White table wine are shown in the company store in Coloma Township, Mich., Monday, July 16, 2007.   (AP Photo/James Prichard)
Joe Herman, 52, who co-owns Karma Vista Vineyards and Winery with his wife, looks over his 2007 plantings in Coloma Township, Mich.   (AP Photo)
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