History of the Grape: La Crescent

We are proud to announce the release of Suhru Wines's 2022 La Crescent, released March 15, 2023, the first La Crescent produced on Long Island. The launch of this wine marks Assistant Winemaker Brad Ulrich's debut as a winemaker and a very promising start to his career. “I was drawn in by the flavor. This varietal has very strong citrus notes and a fruity aroma. After using it in blending for Suhru’s 2021 Rosé I believed it could be made into a very nice stand alone wine.” 

A Brief History of the Grape

A new wine varietal, La Crescent is a Hybrid variety developed at the University of Minnesota and released to the industry in 2002. The grape was named “La Crescent” (pronounced like crescent moon), after a town along the Mississippi River in Minnesota. It has shown strong promise and is well suited to the cool and cold climates of the Northeast. Its winter hardiness, vigor and climate adaptability make it a natural fit for a Sustainable minded winemaker. 

This grape is often characterized by its fruitiness due to high levels of aromatic, phenolic compounds like terpenes. Known to have floral, fruit forward flavors, rich tropical and citrus notes, La Crescent is a descendant of Muscat. Another key characteristic of the grape is high acidity, making it well suited to a variety of winemaking styles. 

A Note from Assistant Winemaker Brad Ulrich

I am very excited to release our 2022 La Crescent. It is a variety that caught my attention during the 2020 and 2021 harvests and that I have been looking forward to working with more closely. One of the reasons I was so excited to work with La Crescent as a single variety wine, is because it is a new grape variety to the wine world; there are very few examples and no real road map to follow. There are only a handful of other La Crescent wines out there that are currently being produced. Because it is such an “unknown” grape it allowed us the freedom to get creative in the winery and experiment with a number of winemaking techniques and blending options to accentuate the natural citrus flavors of the varietal.

A Closer Look at Suhru La Crescent

The release of our 2022 La Crescent marks the start of a new collection of Suhru Wines, designed to highlight some of the lesser known grape varietals being grown across New York State. Gone are the days when wine lovers only reach for the classic European grape varieties. As evident by the success of our Teroldego, which we first produced in 2019. Wine enthusiasts are excited by and interested in trying something new. “We are finding this particularly true with the younger generation of wine drinkers, making it the perfect grape for Assistant Winemaker Brad Ulrich debut wine, as he continues to express and define his personal winemaking style,” said winemaker Russell Hearn.

A refreshing, bright, approachable wine with dynamic fruit notes and a big burst of flavor. This easy drinking white is light bodied with a soft, refreshing finish and a touch of sweetness.

Learn More About La Crescent