All August long, the
Eat Local Challenge is taking place at local co-ops. And for local-food lovers and game geeks it’s more than a tempting dare--it’s a thrill. As part of Eat Local America, the annual challenge encourages Minnesotans to try to make four meals a week come from local farms and growers. And for the true “localvores”—folks who try to eat mostly food that is grown or produced within 200 or so miles—the challenge is even more demanding: Make at least 80 percent of your diet local.
As someone who relishes challenges, local food, and good wine (I will win this thing!), I decided to accept the Eat Local challenge and go for the full 80 percent. The only problem: How can I feed my wine cravings while also totally throwing down the gauntlet to the Eat Local challenge? Easy math and logic tell me that, in order to follow the rules, 80 percent of my wine must be from Minnesota. Yet a scan of my local liquor store reveals just a smattering of local grape and fruit wines. Which begs the question: Are there truly any good Minnesota wines?
The short answer: Sort of. “There are good ones, but they are different,” says Mitch Spencer, wine buyer for
Haskell’s Wine and Spirits in the Twin Cities. “And they’re well-priced, between $10 and $15. But the real benefit is that you’re supporting local growers.”
Sure, there might be better varieties out there, Spencer say. But keep in mind that most of those well-known grapes have been around for centuries, and award-winning vitners have the added benefit of being bequeathed recipes and growing techniques that have been perfected for generations. It’s only due to constant experimentation and refinement, after all, that the perfect Pinot was born.
Here in Minnesota, cold-hardy grapes are like newborn babies. The University of Minnesota first introduced
Frontenac grapes, a French hybrid, to Minnesota in 1996. And the Marquette, a grandson of the Pinot Noir grape and considered an “outstanding” red grape, wasn’t introduced to Minnesota until 2006. In other words, whereas Spain and Italy and France have the benefit of perfecting their wines since not long after the Greeks began gathering grapes as gifts to the gods, Minnesota has barely entered the Renaissance. Instead, Minnesota wines are like the beginnings of an idea, the tip of a tradition, or like fourth-round draft pick in training.
So when it comes to eating local and, in this case, drinking local, it’s not necessarily about taste—that’s still being refined--as much as it is about giving back to the community, economy, and local artisans. “It’s no different than if you purchase Summit or Schells,” Spencer says. “You're supporting your local brewery. Here you're supporting a local winery.” In fact, while most of our food comes from more than 1,500 miles away, thanks to the prominence of factory farms and processed foods, our wines come from even more far-flung places, both to the detriment of the community and the environment. (You know how much gas and C02 it takes to bring you that wine?)
Sure, it’s not easy to shun a French Beaujolais for a Minnesota Marquette. But Spencer says there are some wine makers who, in just a few short years, have excelled at creating savory Minnesota wines. “
Alexis Bailly and
Saint Croix Vineyards do a really nice job,” he says. And most, if not all of the Minnesota growers, farm responsibly.” They might not be certified organic, he says, which is an expensive and arduous process, but nearly every Minnesota vitner cares about sustainable, organic, and healthy farming.
Because wine grapes are so difficult to grow in Minnesota—some growers have to cover their grapes with mounds of dirt just to protect them from the death grip of sub-zero temperatures—some wine makers opt to either have the grape juice shipped in or use native and cold-hardy fruits and vegetables instead. “I’ve been judging Minnesota wine at the State Fair for years,” Spencer says. “And I can remember when people were trying anything. There was dandelion wine and onion wine. And they were terrible.”
Yet Spencer says, like the grape wines in Minnesota, the fruit wines have improved, too. “
Forestedge does really decent fruit wines,” he says. “And they make for good paring wines, too. If you’re going to have a raspberry torte, for example, there’s a great raspberry rhubarb wine to pair it with.” In other words, it’s about showcasing the true Minnesta-ness of Minnesota: Rhubarb, raspberries, and strawberries can be turned into the perfect wine for sipping along the shores of Lake Wobegon on crisp, fall days when the sun casts long shadows across the strawberry fields.
So can we ever compete with Oregon and California? Maybe not. But we can try. “It’s always going to be an experiment,” Spencer says. “But that is going to apply to everywhere, Napa, Oregon, here. And it’s getting a lot better. People are experimenting. Sources are getting better. People are learning through trial and error. That’s what wine making is about.”