March 18, 2024
Marquette
Our Marquette wine is a dry, oaked red best enjoyed as a slow sipper or with dinner. It pairs well with grilled red meats, roasts, and rich chocolate desserts. You can enjoy it at our winery, join our wine club, or have it shipped to your door.
The Rise of Marquette
A Double Gold winner with the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition and a top seller at Rolling Forks Vineyards, our Marquette has become the face of the winery. It has a bold red color and moderate tannins with notes of cherry, black currant, and a peppery finish. If you’re a drinker of darker reds, there’s no better wine to have waiting for you on the dining room table.
But hold on a minute, how is Marquette such a star?
It’s not unknown that Minnesota wines have had an unflattering and overly sweet reputation in the past, but things have changed a lot in the past decade. At an exhibition, we overheard a few Minnesota winemakers talking about how we have so many new grapes coming to the market that our winemakers are like kids in a candy store. And they’re right!
There are many aspects to winemaking and grape growing that differ greatly in Minnesota compared to warmer climates. While this gave us quite a learning curve, it is also what has led to some genuinely amazing wines. Traditionally, blends were “the leftovers,” the random grapes, the bottom of the vat, all tossed together, but that isn’t true anymore. Certainly not with Minnesota grapes and definitely not at Rolling Forks Vineyards (but we’ll touch on that more when we get to the blends).
Versatility and Challenges of the Marquette Grape
I bring them up now because Marquette makes an excellent blending wine. It offers rich color, takes to oak, and pairs well with a variety of flavor profiles from decadent chocolate, to roasted walnuts, to grilled meats. On top of drinking and pairing, Marquette lends itself to other uses, as well. A good cooking wine is always nice to have on hand and Marquette adds a wonderful depth of flavor to tomato sauces, roasts, and fudgy brownies.
Introduced to the market by the University of Minnesota in 2006, the Marquette grape isn’t without its troubles. The rose bush of grapes, Marquette is prone to diseases and fungi, sensitive to weather changes, and all around challenging to cultivate. Our first Marquette crop faced an unfortunate demise because of drought and a polar vortex that passed through. The warmth of Spring encouraged sap movement and then, when the cold hit again, the sap froze and burst the vines.. We’ve since replanted and now you can enjoy a stunning view of the vineyard from the patio while enjoying a glass of Marquette or one of its creative blends.
Our terroir, which is the blend of soil, climate, and environmental factors, contributes unique and distinct flavors to the grapes. Our winemakers have perfected the methods to accentuate this and create delightful, unforgettable, and award-winning wines. Explore our selection by chatting with our staff and sampling various wines. Come discover a new kind of wine that might just amaze you!
