Aurore (grape)

Last updated
Aurore
Grape (Vitis)
Aurore-gr-2009.jpg
Aurore grape in Poland
Color of berry skinBlanc
SpeciesInterspecific crossing
Also calledSeibel 5279 and other synonyms
OriginFrance, created by Albert Seibel
Notable regions Northern United States, Canada, and United Kingdom
VIVC number 784

Aurore (also known as Seibel 5279) is a white complex hybrid grape variety produced by French viticulturist Albert Seibel and used for wine production mostly in the United States and Canada. Over a long lifetime, Seibel produced many complex hybrid crosses (known as Seibel grapes) of Vitis vinifera to American grapes. The Aurore grape is a cross of Seibel 788 (which is Sicilien × Clairette Dorée Ganzin) and Seibel 29 (a crossing of Munson and an unidentified Vitis vinifera). [1]

Contents

The fruit of Aurore ripens early in the season between late August and early September. Although the vine is resistant of many mildew diseases, is productive and vigorous, the fruit suffers susceptibility from bunch rot and bird attack. Aurore is planted where growing seasons are short like the Northern United States, Canada and the United Kingdom but is also planted in more temperate climates to extend the harvest season. [1]

Aurore may be used as a table or wine grape. It tends not to be used as a table grape due to unsuitability for shipping and is generally used for bulk wine production for blending with wines made Vitis labrusca grape varieties. [2] It is also used to a lesser extent to make fruity and sparkling wines though the wines tend to have neutral flavor and slight "foxy" character typical of many hybrids. [3]

History

Aurore was named after the Roman goddess Aurora (pictured in painting by Giovanni Andrea Carlone). Giovanni Andrea Carlone - Aurora (The Dawn) - WGA04246.jpg
Aurore was named after the Roman goddess Aurora (pictured in painting by Giovanni Andrea Carlone).

Aurore was created by the French viticulturist Albert Seibel, working from grapes varieties grown at his nursery and vineyard in Aubenas, Ardèche in the Rhône Valley. Seibel named the variety after Aurora, [2] the Roman goddess of the dawn who according to legend would announce the arrival of the sun every morning. The name Aurora, itself, is derived from the Latin word for dawn and is today still used as a synonym for Aurore. [1]

The grape was originally bred to be a table grape variety but fell out of favor for table grape growers due to how quickly the freshly picked grapes spoiled and the tendency of berries to fall off the stem in transit. [1]

Aurore was first introduced to the United States, via Ellis Island, in the 1940s and from New York spread throughout the country. Soon it was the most widely planted non-Vitis labrusca grape variety in New York but since the 1970s its numbers have declined as growers began planting more Vitis vinifera and other hybrid varieties. [3]

The first plantings of Aurore in Canada were planted in 1946. [2]

Pedigree

Aurore is known as a "complex hybrid", meaning that within its lineage are grape varieties from a number of species in the Vitis genus--including Vitis vinifera, Vitis rupestris and Vitis lincecumii . The two parent varieties of Aurore, Seibel 788 & Seibel 29, were also Seibel grapes with complex pedigrees themselves. [1]

Seibel 788 was a crossing of the two hybrid varieties Sicilien and Clairette Dorée Ganzin. Sicilien is a crossing of two Vitis vinifera varieties, Bicane and Pascal blanc, while Clairette Dorée Ganzin was an interspecific crossing produced by French grape breeder Victor Ganzin. The two parents of Clairette Dorée Ganzin were the Vitis vinifera variety Bourboulenc and the hybrid Ganzin 60 (itself a cross of Aramon noir and a Vitis rupestris variety). [4] [1]

Seibel 29 is a crossing of an unknown Vitis vinifera variety and the Munson hybrid grape (also known as Jaeger 70) that was created by the Missouri viticulturist Hermann Jaeger. Munson is a crossing of a Vitis lincecumii and Vitis rupestris vine. [1]

Viticulture

One of the viticultural hazards that can afflict Aurore vines are infestations from Japanese beetles. Popillia japonica - Japanese beetle.JPG
One of the viticultural hazards that can afflict Aurore vines are infestations from Japanese beetles.

While classified as a white grape varieties and only used to produce white wines, clusters of Aurore blanc often will have a pink tinge to them (similar to Pinot gris and Gewürztraminer though not as dark as those two varieties can be). Aurore is known to be a very vigorous and productive vine, capable of producing high yields and expansive foliage if not kept in check with winter pruning and summer leaf-pulling. It is a very early ripening variety, coming to full ripeness even before varieties such as Chasselas in cold climates. [1]

The variety is moderately winter-hardy, able to sustain winter freezes down to −20 °F (−29 °C). [5] While Aurore has good resistance to downy mildew, the variety is very susceptible to the viticultural hazards of Eutypa dieback, [2] powdery mildew, black rot and botrytis bunch rot. [1] The smooth leaves of the vine also makes it susceptible to angular leaf scorch as well as infestation from the invasive Japanese beetle. Growers practicing organic viticulture will often use diatomaceous earth as a dusting spray to help deter the beetle but this method is only effective if the dust comes into direct contact with the beetle and gets easily washed off by rains. [5]

Aurore berries can be very thin skinned and prone to splitting if rainfall happens too close to harvest. Very mature berries also have a tendency of falling off the stem. [2]

Wine regions

While Aurore originated in France and in the early 20th century had around 288 hectares (712 acres) planted in the northeastern reaches of the country and in the southwest, today it is hardly found in France. Outside France it is found in several states in the United States (most notably the cool-climate states of Minnesota, New York, New Hampshire and Nebraska). In 2009, wine producers in New York crushed 3,530 tons of the Aurore for both blended and varietal white wine. In New Hampshire, Jewell Towne Vineyards is noted for producing an Aurore varietal. [1]

Other states in the US with plantings of Aurore include: Connecticut, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan (in the Leelanau Peninsula AVA), Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio (in the Lake Erie AVA), Pennsylvania, Washington (in the Puget Sound AVA), West Virginia and Wisconsin. [3]

In Canada, Aurore was once widely planted throughout British Columbia but since the 1980s have seen its number of plantings drop drastically along with other hybrid varieties as producers in regions such as the Okanagan Valley transition away from hybrid varieties to international varieties such as Pinot noir and Chardonnay. In Ontario, between 2007 and 2012 around 200 tons of Aurore in total was crushed in the province as the numbers of plantings there also decline. In Québec, producers such as Domaine des Côtes d'Ardoise are still producing varietal examples of Aurore. [1]

Styles

Aurore is used to produce a wide range of both blended and varietal white wine styles at a variety of sweetness levels from dry to off-dry. Some producers also use the grape to make sparkling wine. [3] While the grape does not travel well for commercial table grape production, it can be a favorite eating grape for home gardeners due to its soft, juicy flesh. [5]

According to Master of Wine Jancis Robinson, Aurore tends to produce light-bodied floral wines that are relatively neutral in flavor but often exhibit the characteristic "foxy" note typical of many hybrids. [1] This "foxy" aroma note tends to be more pronounced from examples produced in the eastern United States than in the west. [5] Very ripe examples of Aurore also tend to exhibit more "foxy" flavors. [2]

Synonyms and confusion with other grapes

Over the years Aurore has been known under a variety of synonyms including Aurora, Feri Szőlő, Finánc Szőlő, Redei, S-5279, and Seibel 5279. [6]

Aurore is often confused with a South American table grape known as Aurora that was produced at the Instituto Agronomico de Campinas in Brazil. [7] This confusion stems in part to Aurore's history of being originally bred to be a table grape itself and Aurora being one of the known synonyms for the Seibel wine grape. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert Seibel</span> French physician and viticulturist

Albert Seibel (1844–1936) was a French physician and viticulturist who made hybrid crosses of European wine grapes with native North American grapes. His crosses are known as Seibel grapes.

Seibel grapes are a group of wine grape varieties which originated with the work of French viticulturist Albert Seibel crossing European wine grape with American grape species to increase disease resistance. They were planted widely in France during the 1950s but have seen decline in recent years because French wine law prohibits hybrid grapes in appellation wine. The grapes are still commonly used as blending grapes in table wine and mass commercial wines. New Zealand, England, and Canada also have plantings of Seibel grapes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vidal blanc</span> Variety of grape

Vidal blanc is a white hybrid grape variety produced from the Vitis vinifera variety Ugni blanc and another hybrid variety, Rayon d'Or. It is a very winter-hardy variety that manages to produce high sugar levels in cold climates with moderate to high acidity.

<i>Vitis rupestris</i> Species of grapevine

Vitis rupestris is a species of grape native to the United States that is known by many common names including July, Coon, sand, sugar, beach, bush, currant, ingar, rock, and mountain grape. It is used for breeding several French-American hybrids as well as many root stocks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chelois</span> Variety of grape

Chelois is a variety of hybrid grape used in the production of red wines. The fruit are small blue-black berries, which appear in compact, medium-sized clusters. Chelois is among the less hardy hybrids of red-wine grapes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hybrid grape</span> Variety of grape

Hybrid grapes are grape varieties that are the product of a crossing of two or more Vitis species. This is in contrast to crossings between grape varieties of the same species, typically Vitis vinifera, the European grapevine. Hybrid grapes are also referred to as inter-species crossings or "Modern Varieties." Due to their often excellent tolerance to powdery mildew, other fungal diseases, nematodes, and phylloxera, hybrid varieties have, to some extent, become a renewed focus for European breeding programs. The recently developed varieties are examples of newer hybrid grape varieties for European viticulturalists. Several North American breeding programs, such as those at Cornell and the University of Minnesota, focus exclusively on hybrid grapes, with active and successful programs, having created hundreds if not thousands of new varieties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aramon (grape)</span> Variety of grape

Aramon or Aramon noir is a variety of red wine grape grown primarily in Languedoc-Roussillon in southern France. Between the late 19th century and the 1960s, it was France's most grown grape variety, but plantings of Aramon have been in continuous decline since the mid-20th century. Aramon has also been grown in Algeria, Argentina and Chile but nowhere else did it ever reach the popularity it used to have in the south of France.

Villard grapes are French wine hybrid grape created by French horticulturist Bertille Seyve and his father-in-law Victor Villard. They include the dark-skinned Villard noir and the white-wine variety Villard blanc with both being members of the Seyve-Villard grape family. Villard noir is a cross of two other French hybrids, Siebel 6905 and Seibel 7053 created by physician and viticulturist Albert Seibel. Like Villard noir, Villard blanc was produced as a crossing of two Seibel grapes, in this case, Le Subereux and Seibel 6468.

Couderc noir is a red wine hybrid grape that was formerly grown primarily in the South West France wine region and around the Gard département in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. The vine produces high yields and ripens late, creating a wine that is deeply colored with a distinct, earthy flavor. Couderc noir is normally used for mass commercial and table wines.

Black Spanish is a variation of grape that was originally assumed to be a seedling of an American hybrid grape which resulted from the crossing of the American Vitis aestivalis species with that of an unknown Vitis vinifera. The vinifera is suspected to have been the pollen donor.

Alicante Ganzin is a red French wine grape variety. Unlike most Vitis vinifera wine grapes, Alicante Ganzin is a teinturier with dark flesh that produces red juice. Most varieties used to produce red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, etc., have clear color flesh and juice with the wine receiving its color through a maceration process where the color seeps out of the grape skins for as long as they are in contact with the juice. Alicante Ganzin can thus produce light red and rose colored wine without maceration. It is believed that Alicante Ganzin is often described as the progenitor of all French teinturier grapes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olmo grapes</span> Variety of grape

Olmo grapes are wine and table grape varieties produced by University of California, Davis viticulturist Dr. Harold Olmo. Over the course of his nearly 50-year career, Dr. Olmo bred a wide variety of both grapes by means of both crossing varieties from the same species or creating hybrid grapes from cultivars of different Vitis species.

Cascade is a red complex hybrid grape variety that was created by French viticulturist Albert Seibel in the early 20th century in Aubenas, Ardèche, in the Rhône Valley. It has been commercially available in North America since 1938 and has since been planted in Canada and the United States. However, in warmer climates, the grape is highly susceptible to a number of grapevine viruses, which has discouraged plantings of the variety.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ives noir</span> Variety of grape

Ives noir is a red hybrid grape variety that is grown throughout the United States. Named after its propagator, Connecticut wine grower Henry Ives, the grape's pedigree and exact origin are unclear. After Prohibition in the United States, Ives was a popular grape used in the production of sweet port-style wines but saw its plantings steadily decrease throughout the 20th century as the vine's susceptibility to air pollution took its toll.

Landot noir is a red hybrid grape variety that is a crossing of Landal and Villard blanc. Created after a series of trials between 1929-1949, the grape was introduced to Canada and the United States in the 1950s and today can be found in Quebec as well as New Hampshire where a varietal is produced by Jewell Towne Vineyards.

Ravat blanc is a white hybrid grape variety that is a crossing of Chardonnay and a Seibel grape. While the Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC) maintained by the Geilweilerhof Institute for Grape Breeding list Seibel 5474 as the second parent, Master of Wine Jancis Robinson notes that other authors list Seibel 8724 as the parent. The grape is often confused with the white hybrid grape Vignoles that is often called just Ravat.

Seyval noir is a red hybrid grape variety that was created in the late 19th century by French horticulturalist Bertille Seyve and his father-in-law Victor Villard from a crossing of two Seibel grapes. The pair used the same two variety to create the white wine grape Seyval blanc making the two siblings rather than color mutations of one or the other. The name Seyval comes from a combination of the two men's names.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muscat bleu</span> Variety of grape

Muscat bleu is a red Swiss wine and table grape variety that is a hybrid of Garnier 15-6 and Perle noire. The grape was developed in Peissy in the Canton of Geneva by Swiss grape breeder Charles Garnier in the 1930s. Today the grape is used as both a table grape and for winemaking, producing wines that Master of Wine Jancis Robinson describe as "soft and grapey". Outside Switzerland some plantings of Muscat bleu can also be found in Belgium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">L'Acadie blanc</span> Variety of grape

L'Acadie blanc is a white Canadian wine grape variety that is a hybrid crossing of Cascade and Seyve-Villard 14-287. The grape was created in 1953 by grape breeder Ollie A. Bradt in Niagara, Ontario at the Vineland Horticultural Research Station which is now the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre. Today the grape is widely planted in Nova Scotia with some plantings in Quebec and Ontario. Some wine writers, including those at Appellation America, consider L'Acadie blanc as "Nova Scotia’s equivalent to Chardonnay".

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours pgs 66-67, Allen Lane 2012 ISBN   978-1-846-14446-2
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lisa Smiley "Aurore Archived August 29, 2015, at the Wayback Machine " Iowa State University, 2008. Accessed: April 13th, 2008
  3. 1 2 3 4 Appellation America "Aurore" Accessed: April 13th, 2013
  4. Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC) Clairette Dorée Ganzin Accessed: April 13th, 2013
  5. 1 2 3 4 Lon Rombough The Grape Grower: A Guide to Organic Viticulture pgs 128, 181, 202 Chelsea Green Publishing (2002) ISBN   1890132829
  6. Aurore Blanc, Vitis International Variety Catalogue, accessed 2010-11-24
  7. Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC) Aurora Accessed: April 13th, 2013