Swenson Elmer

The American vine breeder Elmer Swenson (1913-2004) took over his grandfather's farm near Osceola in the US state of Wisconsin. He was inspired by the work of the Texas botanist Thomas Volney Munson (1843-1913) and began breeding vines here in 1943. Among other things, he used French hybrids from Seibel as a basis for this. One of his most important breeding goals was to create frost-resistant varieties that were suitable for the cold and harsh winters as well as for the relatively short ripening times in the northern Midwest of the USA, especially in Minnesota and Wisconsin. During the period 1979 to 1989, he also worked part-time at the University of Minnesota (Twin Cities), where he also created several new varieties. The others were created on his farm in Wisconsin.

Swenson Elmer - Porträfoto E.S., Rebsorten Swenson Red und Edelweiss

He created around 30 new varieties, these included Adalmiina, Brianna, Delisle, Edelweiss, Espirit, La Crosse, Louise Swenson, Muscat Swenson, Pionnier, Prairie Star, Sabrevois, St. Croix, St. Pepin, Swenson Red and Swenson White. Because of his achievements, he was given the honorary title "The Godfather of Midwest Winemaking". See also under winemaking personalities.

Grape variety pictures: Ursula Brühl, Doris Schneider, Julius Kühn-Institut(JKI)

Voices of our members

In the past, you needed a wealth of encyclopaedias and specialist literature to keep up to date in your vinophile professional life. Today, Wine lexicon from wein.plus is one of my best helpers and can rightly be called the "bible of wine knowledge".
Prof. Dr. Walter Kutscher
Lehrgangsleiter Sommelierausbildung WIFI-Wien

Welcome back!

Swenson Elmer

Voices of our members

The world's largest Lexicon of wine terms.

EVENTS NEAR YOU