Swenson, Elmer

Edelweiss White (MN 78 X Ontario) Elmer Swenson, C. Stushnoff, P. Pierquet... 

Another white wine cultivar developed by the University of Minnesota is La Crescent (St. Pepin X (V. riparia x Muscat of Alexandria)) (Figure 17.1(h) Table 17.1), which was introduced and patented in 2002 (Hemstad and Luby, 2003). La Crescent was the result of cooperation between Elmer Swenson and the University of Minnesota. The University of Minnesota was a source of pollen for Mr Swenson on several occasions, so it was not unusual for Peter Hemstad to request pollen from an interesting (U riparia x Muscat of Alexandria) selection he noticed on a visit to Elmer s vineyard in Wisconsin (E.S. 6-8-25). Rather than sending pollen, Mr Swenson kindly offered to use the pollen on a pistillate cultivar (St. Pepin) the following spring. It was from these seeds that Hemstad selected MN 1166, which was eventually named La Crescent. 

Tom Plocher of Hugo, MN worked with the late Ehner Swenson for many years, starting in the 1980s (Plocher and Parke, 2001). In the 1990s, Mr Plocher and his friend Bob Parke tested the suitability of several of Swenson s selections for wine production. As a result of their studies, Plocher and Parke encouraged fellow breeder Elmer Swenson to release Prairie Star and Louise Swenson in 2000 and 2001, respectively (Table 17.1). 

In addition to his work with Elmer Swenson and Bob Parke, Mr Plocher has also made numerous crosses of his own. The one cultivar he has formally introduced to date is Petite Pearl (Table 17.1). Petite Pearl is a half sister of the well-known cultivar Marquette, and it comes from a cross of (MN 1094 x ES 4-7-26). Petite Pearl is notable for its cold hardiness, good wine quality, early ripening, and moderate acid levels. There are several commercial plantings of Petite Pearl, and time will tell if its popularity will reach that of the similar cultivar Marquette. 

Elmer Swenson (1913-2004 Eigure 17.3) is considered the father or grandfather of grape growing in the Upper Midwest He, in turn, was partially inspired by his own grandfather Larson, who had a small planting of grapes on his dairy farm near Osceola,... 

In later years, several of Elmer s selections were named by others with his permission. Notable examples of this include Prairie Star, Louise Swenson, Brianna, and Osceola Muscat, which are all described elsewhere in this chapter. Swenson also released a seedless table grape he named Petite Jewel in 2000 and another seedless selection Somerset Seedless in 2002 (Table 17.1). Somerset Seedless has become fairly popular, since it is one of the very few seedless grapes that can be grown in the Upper Midwest. It has a pleasant flavor and an attractive appearance, but the seed remnant can be noticeable in some years. 

Mr Mark Hart has a vineyard situated in northern Wisconsin, within sight of Lake Superior, making it one of the coolest sites in the Midwest Understandably, Mr Hart is breeding for early ripening in both wine and table grapes. He has used material from Elmer Swenson and the University of Minnesota as the foundation for his woik. While he has not yet released anything from his own crosses, he was instrumental in the introduction of the Swenson selection ES 8-2 3 as Osceola Muscat in 2010 (Table 17.1). 

While (technically speaking) an amateur breeder. Hart has visited vineyards and research institutes around the world and has a very extensive knowledge of the viti-cnltnral literature. He also worked with Elmer Swenson for a number of years before his death in 2004. 

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