St. Charles researcher looking for the perfect grape

Bill Shoemaker is looking for the perfect grape. Well, he's actually trying to create the perfect grape.

Shoemaker is the superintendent of the St. Charles Horticulture Research Center on Peck Road and he spends a fair amount of time crossbreeding grapes in order to find those that could readily grow in the Midwest and produce terrific wine at the same time.

“The industry kind of came out of nowhere, as prior to the 1970s there was no grape and wine industry, not just in Illinois, but in most of the Midwest,” said Shoemaker, who has been growing and breeding grapes since 2003. “It was partly because you can't grow the European wine grape varieties here without seeing them die in the winter time.”

Shoemaker said grape growers in the Midwest had great interest in a French breeding program in which European grapes were combined with those from the U.S. to address the specific problem of phylloxera, an insect that resides in the leaves and roots of grape plants and had been imported with North American grapes.

“The hybrids are the key,” Shoemaker said of the French research. “When they create these hybrids, they create grapes with a high level of hardiness. Our part of the world is too cold for European grapes, but not for the hybrids.”

In providing research for the 90 licensed wineries in Illinois and others throughout the Midwest, Shoemaker is working with other University of Illinois researchers in crossing local wild grapes with other proven varieties to create a hybrid that can withstand colder weather.

“Our goal is to create varieties with traits that will allow it to grow successfully,” Shoemaker said. “There are two main goals: that they be disease resistant and improve the quality of the wine.”

Shoemaker said there is a lot of potential with the native grape species, but admitted it is a slow process in determining “which grapes stay and which ones go.”

The research calls for plenty of hours roaming local forest preserves and prairies, but Shoemaker already has found “an uncommon species” in the Norris Woods of St. Charles, giving him confidence that he will find more.

That uncommon grape is called “vitis aestevalis bicolor” and to Shoemaker it basically means he has found a local grape that is likely to meet the standards as a wine breeding grape in the Midwest.

But it's the offspring of the bred grapes that will be the key, Shoemaker said, as each generation of grapes shows more potential.

Only two of the 100 acres at the St. Charles research center are designated for the grape research, said Shoemaker, who is part of the University of Illinois crop sciences department that provides data and new discoveries for all facets of the state's horticulture.

“Consumers really respond well to locally-produced wine,” Shoemaker said of the growing Midwest industry. “They like going to the see the nearby winery and tasting the product.”

Sign says it all:

I recently mentioned that Monterey Place is the new restaurant at the former Sanfratello's site at 7 W. State St. in Geneva and that its sign boasted of “Great Pizza.”

After eating some honey-crust thin pizza and some stuffed pizza at this new eatery owned and operated by Tony Andrews, I can safely confirm that the pizza delivers what the sign claims.

Behind the skilled hands of chef Rich Mancini, this is an excellent pizza parlor, and the other menu items looked quite tempting as well. It's well worth a visit before or after your holiday shopping sprees.

Smooth sailing:

You appreciate a newly paved street, like portions of Fabyan Parkway, when you compare it to those that remain like washboards something like Route 38 just east of Geneva and heading into West Chicago.

Those rail fares:

Folks hopping on the Metra train daily to get to work were likely pleased to see the commuter newsletter on board that recently informed riders there will be no fare increase next year.

Probably a good move for Metra as well. The last thing the railroad industry needs is for people to have the perception that driving to work would be a cheaper alternative.

Is it better?:

Even though I was in a partial sleep coma, my wife dragged me out on Black Friday around 6 a.m. My assessment of this crazy phenomenon? There were so many people out and about and jamming into stores that I find it almost impossible that some reports say it wasn't a particularly great Black Friday for retailers.

Basically, things were so deeply discounted that the retailers had to take a hit in hopes that people would buy a lot of other stuff as well.

Welcome to the new economy. Everyone has become a savvy shopper. And that means if overall spending during this holiday season is considered bleak, then it is being compared to spending models that won't return for years.

dheun@sbcglobal.net