Looking for recommendation for mid-north vendor

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efBobby

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Hello everyone,

I have another project I’m working on that is close to fruition.

The idea is to bring back “Old American Cultivars”.

sadly I only have 1 as of now but the acquisition of material is not my immediate goal.

my immediate goal is to find a vendor to distribute the varieties and I wish to have one for every corner of the country.

I already have sent samples for evaluation to the west coast(wa), the East coast(va), mid south(tx) and the missing placard is mid north.

Im looking for someone like around mi or somewhere in that area since all of these areas represent completely different grape growing ‘cultures’ they could be overlooked as well as having it available to be shipped to anywhere in the continental us within 3 days.

the terms are as simple as you can get. The vendor agrees to evaluate, propagate and distribute a sample I send. I’ll pay shipping. If the vendor wishes to send me something that is completely optional.

no money, no royalties, no contracts, no bullshit.

initially the offering I have is Vitis Noah and it’s a tough vine with some unique qualities. Allegedly it has a strawberry flavor but I do know some ppl use that in reference to foxiness too.

On its own unless you love strawberry wine is not where it shines. In my opinion it’s a wine makers grape. It has the ability to hold its acidity throughout the brix range. So if you have a flat, sweet wine, harvest it earlier and vice versa if you have a flat bitter wine harvest it later.

also the acidity I presume could add longevity to a young wine.

it’s unique in its name which is a biblical reference to after the flood when Noah planted grapes and got drunk, aka it is famous for producing wines of high abv.

that’s about as hard of a Marketing pitch one can produce in the 1800’s. Lol

It’s also the only American grape allowed to be planted in France albeit restricted to the Armagnac appellation. It was both directly and indirectly used for brandy production in both Europe and the states up until the early 2000’s initially as Noah but after its progeny Baco Blanc until it was replaced with ugni blanc.

Europe wanted to add it back to the ban list but the opposition won and wanted to preserve it for its historical significance so it is still allowed to be planted In Armagnac but I do not believe many actually do.

so if you want a diy brandy grape that will literally grow almost anywhere this is it! That being said it will start to degrade past -10 and does not tolerate limey soils.

other than that it’s seems quite resilient and perfectly happy to grow in most soils. My best looking one is the one I suspected would be the worst. I planted it in a mix of decayed plant matter and calcareous clay nearly overtaken with weeds.

some of my true native species are showing pest pressure but not this one! Handsome grape to boot!

It’s parentage is taylor(Riparia x labrusca) x Hartford(labrusca x Riparia).

Anyway I have a lot more specs on it. Once I complete the initial 4 I will change focus to pipelining more American varieties out especially the better ones like Empire State, Bacchus, etc... gradually adding more well known distributors as I go but not a necessity.

lastly with more and more levels of acceptance to hybrid no or hardly no spray grapes, some of these American varieties may be the ticket. 1 maybe 2 crosses and done instead of starting from scratch or waiting 25 years for Cornell or UC Davis.

here it is thrown to the wolves

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