Vitis Frontenac noir - grape - vine (seedless)

🌿 General Description

• Type: Deciduous climbing vine
• Origin: University of Minnesota
• Use: Red wine grape (primarily)

👉 It is a variety widely used in Quebec vineyards.

📏 Growth

• Length: 3 to 6 m +
• Vigor: Strong

👉 Requires:

• sturdy trellis
• annual pruning
• foliage management

🍇 Fruits

• Color: Black / dark blue
• Size: Small to medium
• Taste:
  • Very sweet
  • High acidity (grape's signature)

👉 Use:

• red wine
• fortified wine
• ice wine (very interesting)

🍷 Wine Quality

👉 Very distinctive:

• Aromas:
  • black cherry
  • plum
  • sometimes chocolate / spices
• Color: very intense
• High acidity → solid structure

➡️ Produces powerful wines, but often require adjustment (blending or sugar)

🌸 Flowering / Harvest

• Flowering: early summer
• Harvest:
  👉 late September to October

💡 Comparable to Marquette, sometimes a little later.

☀️ Exposure

• Full sun required
  👉 Minimum 6-8 h

🌱 Soil

• Well-drained
• Tolerates poor soils
• Avoids:
  • heavy clay
  • soggy areas

❄️ Hardiness

• Zone 3
  👉 Ultra hardy (very well suited to Quebec)

💧 Maintenance

• Annual pruning essential
• Trellising mandatory
• Vigor management

👉 It is a productive vine → needs to be managed

🛡️ Resistance

• Very good disease resistance
• Good tolerance:
  • downy mildew
  • powdery mildew

👉 Fewer treatments required than European grape varieties

🌳 Use

👉 In your context:

• Red wine production
• Agritourism project
• Productive pergola
• Branding (customer experience)

👍 Advantages

• Ultra hardy
• Very productive
• Reliable year after year
• Strong color and structure