Petite Pearl in the Bottle at Paralell 44

According to Steve Johnson at Parallel 44 Winery in Kewaunee, Wisconsin, the first commercial wine made from the new Petite Pearl Grape was bottled at the end of April. “You can’t really compare Petite Pearl to vinifera,” Johnson said. “However, the wine does have Syrah like qualities. It also has good tannins and structure and I think there is potential for aging.”

Parallel 44 produced 25 cases of Petite Pearl which retails for $49.99 a bottle. “This wine will go fast,” Johnson predicted. “We’ll save some for aging and some for wine contests.” Johnson said the Petite Pearl vines seem to have overwintered well although there is not bud break yet at his vineyard near Green Bay as of May 5th.

To pre-order, call 888-932-0044.  There is a limit of one bottle per purchaser.

Steve Johnson, co-owner of the winery with his wife Maria Milano, and his father Carl Johnson, who was awarded the 2012 Wisconsin Grape Grower of the Year award by the Wisconsin Grape Growers Association, first discovered this varietal at a cold climate grape conference three years ago. ‘When we tasted the wine, our eyes immediately lit up,” said Steve Johnson. ‘We had never tasted such a complex and well structured red wine grown in the Upper Midwest and immediately bought up all the vines available from the nursery.” The winery has the largest planting of the cold hardy Petite Pearl grapes in the Midwest, with 1,500 vines planted in 2010.

See related story:  Coming Soon,  A New Red Wine That’s a Pearl