Your donation will help WARC upgrade its facilities for furthering research that supports Montana's small-scale agricultural producers. Frontenac Gris Frontenac is a white grape varietal native to North America. It excels in colder, hardier environments that many other white grapes cannot thrive in. Frontenac is a tenacious fruit, and the result is a white wine that takes no prisoners. Frontenac Gris is a full-bodied white that pairs very well with foods beyond fish and light pasta.

For the last few years, flavonoids—especially flavones, flavonols and flavanols—have been investigated as inhibitors of blood platelet aggregation. Flavonoids are capable of reducing blood platelet aggregation and the granule secretion induced by different stimulators. This effect is mediated by inhibition of different pathways, such as phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/PKB (AKT), extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2, p38 and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) ½ [ 40]. Inhibition of the PI3K/PKB pathway is most likely with GSE, because upon stimulation of the P2Y12 receptor the sub-units of the heterotrimeric Gi protein (Gα and the Gβγ dimer) are dissociated and activate different signaling pathways. The Gβγ dimers then activate the PI3K/PKB pathway, which results in activation of the αIIbβ3 integrin (fibrinogen receptor), and subsequent aggregation [ 41, 42].Stay tuned later this week when Linda sends us an update from the third Annual Conference of the Montana Grape and Wine Association. She’ll introduce us to a kilt-and-highland boot wearing winemaker, a wine named Gut Craic (“Good Fun”), and a grape known as Petite Pearl.

LARRY ROBERTSON, a soil conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service, is also a grape grower and vineyard owner in Polson, Montana. He has been working closely with Dr. Miller at the Western Ag Research Center on the technical aspects of cold-hardy grape growing. In addition, he provides technical and financial assistance to Montana grape producers. He advocates careful irrigation and water management in successfully growing grapes in the state’s challenging terroir. His expertise and incessant practice of his craft deems him the SAGE OF SOIL. The grapes that Roxann and Brian McGuire grow here are cold-hardy interspecies hybrids. Nearly all well-known wines — malbec, merlot, chardonnay, and more — are made from Vitis vinifera grapes. V. vinifera is a European grape species that consistently produces great wine but is not amenable to cold environments. In the U.S., you’ll find V. vinifera permeating California wine country, Oregon, and Washington. Chambourcin. Illinois specializes in French-hybrid grapes including Seyval Blanc, Vignoles, Chardonel and Vidal Blanc along with a native red wine variety called Norton. Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Association Today we have a guest post from Linda Coco, CSW. Linda tells use about five specialists—from plant researchers to extension agents to cold-climate grape experts—she dubs the “Divine Wine Super Heroes” of Montana’s growing wine industry. After you read her article, I am sure you will agree! White Raven turns out 12 different wines, four of which headline the selection as being entirely Montana made, from “grape to glass,” as manager Nieman says. The four wines, two reds, a rosé and a white, are made using three specific types of grapes grown in vineyards throughout Montana’s small banana belts like Thompson Falls and the Bitterroot Valley. Their nearest producer is Spotted Bear Vineyards off Finley Point on Flathead Lake.

But even as grapes become more feasible crops in Montana, winemakers like Thaden and the McGuires have legislative obstacles to overcome. As it’s written, the Montana Code Annotated presents certain hurdles to in-state winemakers. The bulk of the code was first written in the 1970s and 80s, before cold-hardy hybrid grapes were prominent on the commercial scene, and certainly before Montana had any kind of notable wine presence. What this means is that the code was first written primarily for the distribution and sale of out-of-state wine within Montana. And just because the in-state wine making industry has grown, doesn’t mean the legislation has caught up. The grape growers and winery owners certainly sing the praises of the FANTASTIC FIVE and I in turn praise the growers’ and winery owners’ dedication and dogged devotion to their dream of nurturing great grapes destined for great wine. Coming from all walks of life and seasons in life, many of them husband/wife dynamic duos, I was duly impressed with their craft. Because my educational focus is more on the “A.D.” side of the industry – ACTUAL DRINKING, I was delighted to macerate in the “B.C.” angle of wine – BEFORE CONSUMPTION.

The only time I feel alive is when I'm painting. Vincent Van Gogh

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Color ChartsWe grow hybrid grapes,” Thaden said. “And we are committed to finding the cultivars [plant varieties produced by selective breeding] that work here, and then experimenting with winemaking techniques to make the best possible wine that can be made with the cultivars that are hardy enough to grow in Montana.”

The acreage of our vineyard lies in the shadow of Columbia Mountain, which is the terminus of the Swan Mountain Range. At an elevation of 3,390 feet, our vineyard gets an average of 18 inches of rain and 57 inches of snow each year—that’s half the rain that the U.S. gets on average annually but twice the snow! Muscadine. What most might consider to be the pinnacle of Muscadine wines from Yadkin Valley to Haw River Valley where European varieties thrive. North Carolina Winegrowers Tied between Merlot and Riesling. Other popular varieties include Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. According to a 2015 CSU Agricultural Sciences survey, there are just over 600 acres of wine grapes in Colorado. Colorado Association for Viticulture and Enology Maréchal Foch, Leon Millot, Chambourcin and Seyval Blanc. There are also a variety of fermented fruit wines, cider and mead. New Hampshire Winery Association This leaves Montana winemakers like Thaden and the McGuires to face the holes in the legal code — and to try to change them. Both Thaden and Brian McGuire have been active in campaigning to update wine laws in Montana. Many attempts like last year’s House Bill 688, which would have created a committee to study wine in the state, ultimately failed.Hence the name of White Raven Winery which officially opened it’s tasting room doors in the old lap-sided auction house located in Columbia Heights, about a mile north of the junction of Highway 2 and 206. Zinfandel and Petite Sirah. Research at the University of Nevada (Reno) started in 2007 to explore the potential for wine grapes in northwestern Nevada. There are now at least 2 wineries in the state. University of Nevada Viticulture Vineyards in Montana are known to cultivate grapes used in making red wine varieties. These grapes include Frontenac, Marquette, Marechal Foch and Petite Pearl. While not as prominent, there are a few white wine varieties available, often made using St. Pepin and Prairie Star grapes. Other grapes found in the region include Frontenac Gris, and Crimson Pearl.