Recently we attended the Cold Climate Conference held yearly in Minnesota. This conference is geared towards grape growers and wine makers. During the conference we learned a ton about cold climate grapes, challenges in wine-making and tried some excellent wines.

You might ask, why do cold climate or hybrids grapes need to exist? Grapes like Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon have been tried and failed in areas like Minnesota even when the vines were buried during the wintertime. It's simply too cold. Even in places like Vermont and parts of New York state, the large swings in winter temperatures can easily damaging those vines, making it extremely risky to grow and profit from.

Much to our surprise, the cold climate wine industry is starting to boom. A 2014 study found that the cold-climate grape-growing and winery industry is estimated to have a $401 million economic impact nationwide. That number will continue to grow so it's only fitting that we dive a little deeper into this up-and-coming wine industry.

In this episode we discuss:

• Brief History of American Hybrids
• Where Northern Hybrids came from
• Challenges in wine-making with cold-climate hybrids
• Wine Characteristics and Styles
• Our biggest take-aways from the conference