Matt Niess is embarking on a unique journey in the world of winemaking. Unlike most California growers and vintners, Niess, the proprietor of North American Press in Sonoma County, is championing hybrid grapes. These aren’t the familiar Cabernet Sauvignon or Chardonnay; they’re crosses between the classic Vitis vinifera and various grape species native to North America.
In a region famous for its esteemed vinifera varieties, Niess’s focus on hybrids might seem unconventional, even irrelevant. However, his work is actually at the forefront of a growing global interest in these resilient grapes.
The wine world is reeling from the unprecedented speed and intensity of the climate crisis. Beyond rising temperatures, regions face more frequent catastrophic weather events like hailstorms, droughts, and damaging spring frosts, alongside severe outbreaks of fungal diseases and insect infestations.
Traditional vinifera grapes are particularly vulnerable to these threats, often requiring intensive interventions such as synthetic herbicides and fungicides, which many top farmers are desperate to avoid. This has led grape growers worldwide to seriously explore hybrid grapes, which frequently possess a much higher natural resistance to diseases and demand fewer chemical treatments.
Beyond the environmental imperative, Niess also embraces hybrids like catawba and lenoir for their cultural significance, as these varieties have been cultivated in the United States for many years. “I’m drawn to preserving the diversity of American grapes and their agricultural history,” he explains. “It’s cool being in North America, using North American grapes.”
While hybrids are far from mainstream, a growing number of scattered farmers in France, Germany, New Zealand, and Virginia are joining those in colder or more humid climates like Vermont, the Midwest, and parts of Canada, where hybrids were already a necessity. Even historically revered regions like Champagne and Burgundy are cautiously beginning to experiment with hybrids as they confront the realities of a changing climate.
Notable examples include Pierre Cotton and Marine Bonnet of Bonnet-Cotton in Beaujolais, who craft an excellent rosé, Piscine Olympique, from muscaris and souvignier gris blended with gamay. The Azores Wine Company also produces a remarkable red wine using the Isabella grape.
Valentin Morel, a natural winemaker in the Jura, is achieving fantastic results with several different hybrids alongside traditional regional grapes. In Germany, 2Naturkinder has made exceptional wines from regent, an older hybrid variety.
Even in San Francisco, Christopher Renfro, founder of the Two Eighty Project, plans to replace Pinot Noir vines at Alemany Farm—a public garden—with hybrid cuttings from Filoli Garden’s historic plant collection. He says of the hybrids, “All the varieties seem resistant to powdery mildew. This is a huge reason why I want them grafted over at Alemany.”
However, those working with hybrids must contend with a lingering stigma. For years, wines from hybrids and native North American grapes were often dismissed as simple, uninteresting, or simply inferior. This perception persisted despite a few dedicated wineries in the Midwest and upstate New York producing very good wines.
This became a self-fulfilling prophecy, as hybrids were often treated merely as workhorses, farmed for quantity with little care, and frequently relegated to cheap sparkling or fortified wines.
In Europe, hybrid and native North American varieties were initially introduced in the late 19th century because they offered immunity to phylloxera, an aphid that devastated vineyards across the continent. Many of these hybrid vines remained in place well into the 20th century, even after farmers discovered that vinifera vines could be safely grown by grafting them onto American rootstocks.
Despite their benefits, the European Economic Community banned the commercial production of wines made from hybrids in 1979. This ban was only partially repealed by the European Union in 2021, a direct response to the escalating severity of the climate crisis.
Between 1979 and 2021, a new understanding of hybrids began to emerge. In the United States, much of this renewed interest stems from the success of La Garagista in Vermont, a small estate owned by Deirdre Heekin and her husband, Caleb Barber.
In the early 2000s, the couple established a farm to supply their restaurant, eventually adding a vineyard. Heekin planted cold-hardy hybrid grapes, such as la crescent and marquette, developed at the University of Minnesota. She also planted two vinifera grapes, Riesling and Blaufränkisch, but these did not survive their first winter.
“I said, ‘Why am I bothering with Riesling and Blaufränkisch,’” she recalled in a recent interview. “Many people make great Riesling, but who’s making great la crescent and marquette? I really wanted to grow vines that were meant to be here.”
Heekin decided to cultivate her hybrid grapes with the same meticulous care traditionally reserved for precious heirloom vineyards. Her holistic approach treats each vineyard as a self-sustaining ecosystem, where her role is to foster harmony between the vines and the local flora and fauna. She applies the same careful, hands-off philosophy to winemaking, allowing each wine to express its unique character rather than forcing it into a preconceived style.
Her wines proved revelatory, showcasing the true potential of hybrid grapes. She demonstrated that hybrid wines could be not only absolutely delicious but also capable of aging and evolving in fascinating ways. La Garagista’s success has since inspired countless others to explore hybrids.
In Virginia, many winemakers have come to terms with the fact that they cannot organically farm vinifera grapes due to the pervasive downy mildew and black rot in the state’s humid climate. Those committed to organic practices, like many producers at Common Wealth Crush Company—a cooperative wine space in Waynesboro—have embraced hybrid grapes.
Brothers Ben and Tim Jordan, who spearheaded the Common Wealth project, along with partner Lee Campbell, a New York sommelier, are all crafting exceptional wines with hybrids. Ben Jordan highlights Loving Cup in North Garden, Virginia, as the state’s only fully organic vineyard, planted entirely with hybrid grapes.
Mr. Jordan is actively involved in a project to breed disease-resistant hybrid grapes specifically suited for Virginia’s environment. He collaborates with Emily Hodson, winemaker at Veritas in Charlottesville, and Agriculture Department researchers Dr. Surya Sapkota (grape breeder) and Dr. Lance Cadle-Davidson (plant pathologist). Unlike Vermont, cold-hardiness isn’t a priority for Virginia, and while Jordan currently produces enticing wines from hybrids like chambourcin and chardonnel, he notes they are not perfectly ideal for the local climate.
“It makes sense to grow grapes that are adapted to our climate and growing conditions,” he affirmed. “It makes a lot more sense than growing chardonnay all over the world.”
Mr. Jordan estimates it will take 10 to 15 years for specific Virginia-adapted grapes to become widely available. He prefers the term “disease-resistant” over “hybrid” to bypass the lingering negative connotations. “I think the whole language of talking about these grapes, there’s plenty of work to do,” he admitted.
Meanwhile, Mr. Niess in Sonoma isn’t seeking cold-hardy grapes. His focus is on varieties that thrive in long growing seasons, resist powdery mildew, and require no irrigation. “There are grapes that you don’t have to spray at all,” he explains. “There’s no need to talk about organic or biodynamic preparations; they need fewer tractor passes and are less labor-intensive. That’s the ideal of regenerative agriculture. You don’t have to do anything.”
Niess works with growers he’s convinced to plant small blocks of hybrids in areas where vinifera vines struggled. He’s also uncovered older vineyards, like one farmer growing Baco Noir, an heirloom hybrid from which Niess has crafted excellent wines.
He particularly favors catawba and lenoir, the latter a hybrid developed by the renowned Texas viticulturist T.V. Munson, who passed away in 1913. Niess’s 2024 Hero’s Journey, made entirely from Lake County-grown lenoir, is described as a lovely, fresh, graceful, and floral wine.
However, Ms. Heekin offers a word of caution, reminding us that hybrid grapes are not a complete panacea for all environmental challenges. “Hybrids have natural resistance to a lot of things, but they are not immune,” she states. “A lot depends on your farming.”
Farming, she emphasizes, now requires vigilant observation and adaptability, as methods that once worked are no longer as effective. “Climate change has erased conventional wisdom,” she concludes. “Nothing is as it was. You have to be able to pivot — it’s all about the pivot.”