The best hybrid variety for winemaking?

[manvsvine]

If you really need hybrids , I would contact vine nurseries in the UK
Given the wet climate , disease and fungus resistance are sought after characteristics.

Not sure how a grape could be too early , you just make wine in September instead of October . Baccus and Ortega are grown in England and Vancouver island and show good mildew resistance so I wouldn't rule them out , might be worth a few test vines to see how they do.

 

[ohbeary]

Add lots of building rubble to open the soil and add lime(from the mortar), Muller Thurgau for a decent white or Black Hamburg for red.

 

[BobF]

I've had a couple of VERY good Chambourcin wines. They are being grown successfully in zone 6, not sure about the limits.

 

[AKsarben]

Chambourcin

I'm curious about chambourcin as well. I plan to plant a few grapes next spring & it seems it's suitable for the area. It's pretty much at the top of my list right now, but I haven't found much about the wine it produces or the characteristics to expect from actual growers of chambourcin.

I work for Fenn Valley Vineyards as an Associate Winemaker, and we grow Chambourcin grapes here at the winery. Each year we make a "Nouveau" from Chambourcin, 100%. Sells pretty fast and sometimes we keep a bit back and sell as a varietal Chambourcin. www.fennvalley.com is our website. It is the only grape that is still grown in France (to the best of my recollection) that is a hybrid. It is a pretty late ripening grape, about the last we harvest. Makes excellent blend in Lake Shore Red and some others as well. Very solid grape and has great disease resistance.

Of the new hybrids, Traminette ( a Gewürztraminer hybrid from NY) is about as good as it gets. Has high sugar brix at ripening- 22-24 very low pH and decent acid at 0.800 or so, and drops nicely during cold stabilization. You can make a dry, semi-dry or sweet Traminette and it lacks the bitterness you often find with Gewürztraminer.

 

[bellmtbbq]

Sorry, but what country do you live in? That could help us out climate wise.

 

[Chunkiemonkey]

Try the white variety Blanc Du Bois, and the red variety Norton (also called Cynthiana). Both varieties make a wine comparable to European varieties. I have even heard some people call norton the Cabernet of the Ozarks! As far as your powdery Mildew problem, these two varieties are tolerant but, there are some good products that will control the disease with regular sprays. A quick look online for scholarly publications should give you some good answers. Don't worry too much about your soil, with the right adjustments grapes will thrive in high clay and high iron soils.

 

[bonnie49]

hybrid

Norton(Cynthiana) nuff said

 

[bellmtbbq]

Norton is a pretty bad variety in my opinion, but I think opinions are different as its a love-hate variety

 

[JohnT]

I've had a couple of VERY good Chambourcin wines. They are being grown successfully in zone 6, not sure about the limits.

I have tasted a number of Chamborcins from the finger lakes region of NY state. I found that this can be very tempermental. Some turn out great and were more than worthy of a purchase, while others have seemed quite bad indeed.

I am not sure if this particular grape has very special needs.

johnT.

 

[JohnT]

Norton is a pretty bad variety in my opinion, but I think opinions are different as its a love-hate variety

Again, much like Chamborcin, Norton seems to me to be "Hit or miss". I have had some that was off the hook good, while others were equally bad.

One thing I know about this grape is that it is not one for a quick turn around, requiring 5 or 6 years to mature. I currently have a Chrysalis in my cellar. This wine has enjoyed a growing reputation over the last several years. I am just waiting for the proper age to open it.

As far a cold climate and desease resistance, I believe that this vine more than excell in both areas.

We need to get some of the winemakers in Missouri (Norton Central) to chime in here.

 

[bchilders]

I have tasted some good and not so good Chamborcin. I have had some great Seyval Blanc, Traminette, and Vidal Blanc. That said, I planted Chamborcin, Boco, and Seibel 10878 and the last two are know to blend well with Chamborcin. I just recently came across a local bottle of Boco from NC but have not tried it yet. I will keep you posted on that one.

I especially love Traminette and I think it will do well in your area. Here is a fact sheet on it: http://fls.cals.cornell.edu/OCRPDF/149.pdf


Each grape has its own strengths and weaknesses and depending on conditions may not always stand on its own so blending might be the better option.

 

[BobF]

Norton is a high acid, high pH grape that has it's own process for vinification. Done properly it makes excellent wine and a truly outstanding Port.

 

[JohnT]

Norton is a high acid, high pH grape that has it's own process for vinification. Done properly it makes excellent wine and a truly outstanding Port.

Don't you mean high acid, low PH?

 

[bonnie49]

norton

It slipped my mind completely that Norton is an American variety. it has non of the typical american Grapey taste, resemblinga Cab in finished wine. Do a Mal.

 

[BobF]

Don't you mean high acid, low PH?

The high acid/high pH combination is what makes it challenging. High malic and potassium ...


http://viticulture.hort.iastate.edu/cultivars/Cynthiana.pdf

Wine Quality and Characteristics: Produces a medium to full bodied dry red wine,
with some fruity overtones. Main (6) reported that it tends to be high in titratable acidity
(up to 15 g/liter); malate (up to 6 g/liter); and potassium (up to 6 g/liter); and has a high
pH (> 3.5). Soluble solids can run somewhat high around 24°-26° Brix. He noted that it
often has poor color in warm years along with aggressive seed tannin, small clusters,
small berry size and low juice yields. Despite these features, and with proper
management, Main confirms that an excellent wine can be made from ‘Cynthiana’
grapes. He said the primary focus of ‘Cynthiana’ wine production is to keep pH below
3.6 and improve wine structure.

 

[AKsarben]

Don't discount Frontenac. I have tasted some excellent wines made from it. NOTE: When Frontenac sets fruit it also sets a secondary cluster later on and if you don't pay attention, it looks all the while like the primary at harvest with color, except it is very high acid and lacking. SOLUTION: During verasion go through and drop all the "Christmas aka secondary) clusters on the ground It is at that point that you will know what the secondary looks like for sure. Primary will begin to color up and the secondary will still be green. This allows the plant to put more energy into the Primary for ripening and it then does not have an over-abundance of acid.
VERY winter hardy as well.

 

[BobF]

Vern - I've thought off and on about Frontenac. How does it do with warmer weather? I'm in southcentral MO; 6A I believe is a most recent zone.

It gets very warm & dry here during the summer.

 

[GreginND]

In my opinion frontenac is an ok grape. It is high in acid and lower sugar and is harder to balance. It can have some of that hybrid greenness if it is not done properly. It does well as a sweeter red or as a rose. For my money I would look at the most recent red hybrid varieties: Marquette and Petite Pearl. They are far above Frontenac in terms of wine quality.

 

[AKsarben]

It will do fine there. They also grow in back in Nebraska, where I'm from, and it gets really hot there in the summer. Thing is, if you keep it watered enough to sustain good growth up until around the 2nd week of July maybe a bit longer, and then lay off the irrigation, it allows the vine to slow down and start the whole process of getting ready for winter. Just because it is a cold hardy variety does not mean it can't be grown where it is much warmer, as you are, it just means it is going to be riper sooner. Your climate for humidity is one factor to keep in mind. More humid means keeping up with the sprays and that would factor for any grape, not just Frontenac. Also how often you have late spring frosts, and it and Foch have a tendency to break bud a bit earlier. Otherwise, you will get your Frontenac harvest and wine going while the rest of us are thinking about when it's time to pick.

 

[BobF]

Greg - I've thought off and on about Marquette. How does it do with warmer weather? I'm in southcentral MO; 6A I believe is a most recent zone.

It gets very warm & dry here during the summer.