Minnesota wine

Minnesota

Wine region
Official name	State of Minnesota
Type	U.S. state
Year established	1858
Years of wine industry	1977-present
Country	United States
Sub-regions	Alexandria Lakes AVA, Upper Mississippi Valley AVA
Climate region	Continental
Total area	87,014 square miles (225,365 km2)
Grapes produced	Chambourcin, Chardonnay, Concord, Delaware, Edelweiss, Frontenac, Frontenac gris, Geisenheim, Gewürztraminer, Itasca, La Crescent, La Crosse, Leon Millot, Malbec, Marechal Foch, Marquette, Riesling, Sabrevois, Seyval blanc, St. Croix, St. Pepin, Syrah, Vidal blanc, Vignoles, Zinfandel[1]
No. of wineries	40

Minnesota wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Minnesota is part of the largest American Viticultural Area (AVA), the Upper Mississippi River Valley AVA, which includes southwest Wisconsin, southeast Minnesota, northeast Iowa, and northwest Illinois. The state also has a smaller designated American Viticultural Areas, the Alexandria Lakes AVA. Minnesota is a very cold climate for viticulture and many grape varieties require protection from the winter weather by being buried under soil for the season. Minnesota is home to extensive research on cold-hardy French hybrid and other grape varieties.

The Minnesota Grape Growers Association (MGGA) is a statewide organization that promotes grape growing and wine making in the state and also in cold-hardy climates. Minnesota is home to the International Cold Climate Wine Competition (ICCWC) hosted annually in partnership between MGGA and University of Minnesota. This is the only wine competition solely dedicated to the promotion of quality wines made mainly from cold-hardy grape varieties. In 2014, the 6th annual competition saw 284 wines entered from 59 commercial wineries in 11 states. Awards were based on blind tastings by 21 expert judges, who include enologists, wine writers, restaurateurs, retailers, and wine educators.