Elmer Swenson
| We have put together this page as a way to honor Elmer Swenson and all the time and effort he invested in his lifetime to bring cold-hardy grapes to grape growers living in climates where quality wine and table grapes could not be grown previously (at least not without herculean efforts).Â
We are by no means experts when it comes to knowing all there is to know about Elmer Swenson, but have attempted to pull together some information about him in the form of a list of the known varieties he has bred, some photographs and links to other websites with information about him. Take a minute to look around. If you have information you would like included here, send us an e-mail at don@bluedoorvineyard.com. |
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Swenson Varieties
Click on variety name for details (we are continually linking more varieties). If you can provide information to fill in some of the missing data, please send an e-mail to don@bluedoorvineyard.com.
| Name | ID | Use |
| Red Wine | ||
| Petite Jewel | E.S. 3-20-36 | Wine - Red/Table |
| Sabrevois | E.S. 2-1-9 | Wine - Red |
| St. Croix | E.S. 2-3-21 | Wine - Red |
| Trollhaugen | E.S. 3-22-18 | Wine - Red/Table |
| - - | E.S. 517 | Wine - Red |
| White Wine | ||
| Esprit | E.S. 4-22 | Wine - White |
| Kay Gray | E.S. 1-63 | Wine - White |
| LaCrosse | E.S. 294 | Wine - White |
| Louise Swenson | E.S. 4-8-33 | Wine - White |
| Prairie Star | E.S. 3-24-7 | Wine - White |
| St. Pepin | E.S. 282 | Wine - White |
| Swenson White | E.S. 6-1-43 | Wine - White |
| - - | E.S. 2-11-4 | Wine - White |
| - - | E.S. 5-4-29 | Wine - White/Table |
| - - | E.S. 6-16-30 | Wine - White |
| Table/Dessert | ||
| Edelweiss | E.S. 40 | Dessert/Wine - White |
| Kandiyohi | E.S. 414 | Table - Blue |
| Somerset (seedless) | E.S. 12-7-98 | Table - Orange |
| Swenson Red | E.S. 439 | Table/Wine - Red |
| - - | E.S. 6447 | Table - Blue |
| - - | E.S. 5-4-19 | Table - Blue |
| Unclassified/Other | ||
| - - | E.S. 56 | - - |
| - - | E.S. 417 | - - |
| - - | E.S. 422 | - - |
| - - | E.S. 2-8-23 | - - |
| - - | E.S. 5-3-89 | - - |
| - - | E.S. 10-18-30 | - - |
Photos
If you have a picture to be added, send us an e-mail at don@bluedoorvineyard.com.
This group of pictures was taken on Saturday, April 17th when a bunch of volunteers went up to Elmer’s to do some maintenance of his vineyards. It was a really gorgeous day and a lot of work was done to help preserve some of the more promising unreleased varieties Elmer has bred.
| A mini-trellis with vines growing in Elmer Swenson’s front yard. (4/17/2004) | ) |
 | A few rows of vines in Elmer’s side yard. (4/17/2004) | ) |
| Elmer’s House. (4/17/2004) | ) |
 | Flowers growing in Elmer’s front yard. (4/17/2004) | ) |
The following pictures were taken in November 2002 when we joined a group who helped to prune Elmer Swenson’s vineyards. It was quite a day - nothing like helping out a living legend!
| Elmer Swenson | ) |
 | Elmer and some guy | ) |
| The pruning crew | ) |
 | Knarly vine | ) |
| More of the pruning crew | ) |
 | Swenson Vineyards | ) |
Links
We have begun compiling a list of links to articles and web pages that discuss Elmer and his impact on grape-growing in the cooler climates of the world. If you have a link to be added, send us an e-mail at don@bluedoorvineyard.com.
The Swenson Grape Preservation Project - Sponsored by the Minnesota Grape Growers Association, the Quebec Winegrowers Association and the Seaway Wine and Viticulture Association
Farmer Became Grape Pioneer (December 2004) - an article from the St. Paul Pioneer Press published shortly after Elmer’s death this past December.
Vintage of a Lifetime - article about Elmer’s life and his beginnings in grape-breeding.
In Search of Elmer Swenson - web page describing the journey by a group of Canadian grape-growers to meet Elmer Swenson and view his vineyards.
Swenson Red - an article about Swenson Red by Lon Rombough.
Roll Out the Barrel - an article about the Minnesota wine industry and how Elmer played a critical role in pushing the U of MN in getting back into viticulture research.
