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Review by Dr. Andris Dishlers

Excerpt from “Enjoy Northern Grapes”
Original review by Dr. Andris Dishlers in the Proceedings of the Latvian Academy of Sciences

This book is a gift to grape-growing enthusiasts who live in northern countries. It is dedicated to Elmer Swenson, a pioneer of hybrid cold-resistant grapes for North America.

Reading this book you will be surprised about the rich experience in grape cultivation that has been accumulated during about half a century in North America, Germany, Scandinavia, Belarus, Estonia, Latvia and Russia. Latvians are happy to see that Latvian grape growing experience and achievements in grape breeding are also described in the book and that they are becoming known to Western readers. In 1998 the authors traveleled around Northern Europe and the Baltic States to study the grape-growing situation in this region.

Tom Plocher is a dedicated grape grower and a writer. For seven years he has been making grape crosses and recently he has even made some crosses for his Baltic friends. You can find many books about winemaking, but this book stands out by its style. “Style is everything” Bob Parke says about wine. Here we see a perfect sense of style has produced an excellent guidebook where everything is balanced as in good wine: practical instructions along with recommendations, and the philosophy of wine.

The book concentrates on the most important topics for the grower on the northern fringes of viticulture, physiology of cold hardiness, site and variety selection, experience in vine winter protection, and different training systems. The focus is on fruit quality, a crucial issue for the quality of wine. In the book you will find answers to many questions concerning technology of these wines. Minnesota, where both authors live, is one of the best places for gaining experience about wine making using hybrid grapes.

Click here to download Dr. Dishler’s complete book review as it appeared in the Proceedings of the Latvian Academy of Sciences. The complete review includes interesting historic information on grape growing in Latvia. (PDF Document 915 Kb)