By Forrest Adams

Vines that could produce the next great wine were reported stolen from the University of the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum on October 20.

Carver County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Bob VanDenBroeke said the theft took place between October 8 and 19 overnight from one of seven research vineyards outside the Horticulture Research Center in Victoria.

New prune marks were found where the vines were missing, and the fence guarding the vineyard was manipulated to allow somebody to access the vines, according to the crime report.

Peter Hemstad, research scientist at the center, described the incident as “irritating.”

“This is intellectual property that has real value. It is essential for the continuation of our project. A new grape variety is potentially a revenue stream for our project for years to come,” he said.

The university uses the royalties that are generated from sales of the fruits that are patented by its horticulture research center. Honey crisp apples were developed by arboretum scientists in 1991 in a similar fashion to how the grapes are being developed. The patent on the honey crisp lasted for 17 years, bringing in about $8 million.

Scientists in the arboretum’s grape breeding program cross pollinate good-tasting grapes with hardy grapes that can survive a Minnesota winter in an attempt to create grape breeds that can be used by cold-winter vineyards. Frontenac, Frontenac gris, La Crescent, and Marquette grapes are four cold hardy grape vines they have developed and brought to the market since 1996. The most recent, Marquette, a cousin of Frontenac and grandson of Pinot noir, was introduced in 2006.

Peter Moe, director of operations at the Arboretum, described breeding grapes and developing new wines as a “very labor intensive and expensive process.” Hemstad claimed researchers spend upwards of 15 years developing a new type of grape.

Damaged vines

The university’s grape breeding program encompasses over 10 acres of research vineyards with approximately 10,000 experimental vines. Over 1,000 vines are planted each year and subjected to high standards of evaluation. Each year scientists winnow the vines down to “the most promising” selections.

“We have a big investment in these because the time and effort is very substantial,” said Hemstad. “My whole purpose in life is to develop new grape varieties.”

Hemstad made six new selections this year. It was from these, “the cream of the crop,” that wood was stolen. Wood, part of the vine that fruit grows on, can be used to propagate new vines.

“Someone came along with pruning shears and chopped off a bunch of the wood that had grown this year on those six vines. It’s frustrating, and it’s irritating,” said Hemstad. “We need that wood because that’s how you propagate a new vine. That’s what we do here. We also needed that for fruiting wood for next year. This year’s cane is next year’s fruit. Some of the vines are damaged because they no longer have the fruiting wood that we would have left. That’s chopped off now, maybe mutilated is a better word for it. They’re not dead. The vines are still there, but they’re definitely damaged.”

Ongoing problem

This fall isn’t the first time vines have been stolen from the Arboretum’s seven vineyards, Hemstad claimed.

“I spend a lot of time with these vines, so I am very familiar with them. The selections, the most important ones, I’m really familiar with. People might think that I wouldn’t notice if someone chopped off a piece or two, but I have noticed,” he assured.

The first time was about 10 years ago. It has happened sporadically since then. He didn’t notify the authorities previously because he said the thefts weren’t as prevalent as they have become. Last winter “there was a lot,” he said. Staff found damage to the fence surrounding one of the vineyards where somebody appears to have used a bolt cutter to get in. Most recently, authorities found a spot in the fence where somebody had wedged the fence open to make a hole in the fence big enough to crawl under.

“It seems to be a continuing, ongoing issue that we need to stop,” he said. “There is tremendous interest in grape growing in this area. The Minnesota Grape Growers Association has over 800 members. Interest is high, which is great, except when it’s reflected in people who get a little too excited and take it to the extreme where they’re willing to commit felonies to get the newest breeds of grape.”

To prevent further horticultural theft, security at the research center will be upgraded “on several levels,” Hemstad said.

The incident remains under investigation by the Carve County Sheriff's Office.

Readers can contact Forrest Adams at fadams@swpub.com.