Netherlands Expanding Cold Climate Grapes

Midwest Wine Press has reported about the impact of the craft beer craze on local cider and wine production so it’s interesting to read a wine story from another beer and ‘vine’ industry scenario. The Netherlands is a beer mecca with no real winemaking tradition but AFP reports that the wine industry there is booming thanks to cold climate grapes. The amount of land under vines in the Netherlands has quadrupled in the last decade to about 600 acres (much the same acreage as Kentucky) thanks to new cross-breed grape varieties, mainly from Germany, able to resist the cold and humid conditions. Two of the cold climate grapes being cultivated are Solaris and Johanniter. An issue raised by the article – with resonance in the Midwest where the California wine industry looms so large – is the difficulty making good wine that can compete cost effectively with the neighboring French and Germans who can do it much more cheaply.  For the full report see: http://news.yahoo.com/beer-brewing-dutch-try-hand-making-wine-113514346.html?_esi=1