2013 Cultivar X Region Tasting Summary
By Denise Gardner
Penn State Extension Enologist
August 2013
Research findings with regards to the NE-1020 project have been distributed regularly throughout the
state of Pennsylvania in the past several years. NE-1020 was developed as a national project to
evaluate wine grape varieties and clones, which had been listed as a high research priority per the
National Grape and Wine Initiative (www.ngwi.org) in the early 2000’s. Therefore, approximately 15
universities that focused on viticulture-based research organized and developed a standardized
viticulture protocol to evaluate the performance of existing and emerging wine grape varieties across
the Mid-Atlantic. Initially, this project was funded through the Viticulture Consortium via the USDA, and
its on-going evaluation is currently supported by a USDA/NIFA Specialty Crops Research Initiative (SCRI)
grant led by Dr. Tony Wolf at Virginia Tech (http://www.arec.vaes.vt.edu/alson-hsmith/grapes/viticulture/research/scri-index.html). Throughout 2014, several research summits will be
held throughout the Mid-Atlantic to inform industry members about the SCRI project and its findings.
For more information on these summits, please keep checking with extension.psu.edu/enology and
http://pawinegrape.com/.
Penn State is currently a part of the SCRI project through the
continuation of the NE-1020 variety trial. There are two Penn
State research vineyards: one in North East, PA and one at the
Fruit Research and Extension Center (FREC) in Biglerville, PA.
There are 20 varieties planted at each location. Variety
plantings were determined by the growing season and
dormant season temperatures. The North East planting is
listed as a “Warm, Cold” site (i.e. warm growing season with a
cold dormant season). The Biglerville vineyard site is listed as
a “Warm/Hot, Mild” location (i.e. warm/hot growing season,
mild dormant season). These designations also dictate which
core varieties are harvested and processed annually for siteto-site comparisons as well as vintage-to-vintage variations.
The core varieties processed from North East include
Chambourcin and Vidal Blanc, while Merlot and Cabernet
Sauvignon are annually processed from Biglerville. More
information on yearly processing initiatives at Penn State can
be found at www.facebook.com/PennStateExtensionEnology.
In mid-August Cornell University hosted a one-day tasting to evaluate several wines from the NE-1020
project that had been grown in Connecticut, New York, and Pennsylvania. Tasting flights were arranged
by variety (white Vitis vinifera, white hybrid, red Vitis vinifera, and red hybrids) as well as by processing
trials (e.g. yeast trials). In totality, 9 flights of 45 wines were tasted throughout the day including new
clonal varieties like NY81 (white), Aromella (white), and Arandell (red). Tasters were given the
opportunity to provide sensory input including likeability of the various wines and whether or not the
variety was considered to have “commercial potential.” Wines from Pennsylvania included the 2012
varieties of Grüner Veltliner, Albariño, Pinot Grigio, Vidal Blanc, Cabernet Franc rosés, Cabernet
Sauvignon, and Chambourcin. Tastings of these
and other Pennsylvania wines were also held at
the 2013 Wine Marketing and Research
Symposium.
Wines produced at Cornell also looked at several
wine yeast trials, including wines fermented with
Vin 13, which is known for its ability to release
thiol-related volatile compounds (which can be
important to aromatic varieties like Sauvignon
Blanc). Other yeasts evaluated throughout all
locations included Cross Evolution, Elixir, EC 1118,
Top Floral, GRE, ES 488, Rhone 4600, ICV Opale,
and NT 116. Additionally, the Cabernet Franc rosé
trials produced in Pennsylvania evaluated differences between a monoculture (single commercial yeast
strain) and dual culture (inoculation with two commercial yeast strains at one time).
Those varieties that looked at site-to-site comparisons from the 2012 harvest season included:
Grüner Veltliner: Connecticut and Pennsylvania (North East vineyard)
Vidal Blanc: Connecticut, New York and Pennsylvania (North East vineyard)
Cabernet Franc rosé: Pennsylvania (both North East and Biglerville vineyards)
Chambourcin: Connecticut and Pennsylvania (both North East and Biglerville vineyards)
Additionally, Cornell brought Arandell wines produced with various vineyard treatments (own rooted
versus grafted, VSP versus HWC) for tasting and evaluation.
Future tastings for the 2013 harvest season are scheduled to take place during the 2014 program year.
Please state tuned via Penn State’s Extension Enology News and Wine Grape Information listservs.