Vitis acerifolia

Last updated

Maple-Leaf grape
V. acerifolia.jpg
Male vine flowering at Caprock Canyons State Park and Trailway in Briscoe County, Texas
Status TNC G4.svg
Apparently Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Vitales
Family: Vitaceae
Genus: Vitis
Species:
V. acerifolia
Binomial name
Vitis acerifolia
Synonyms

Vitis longii W.R. Prince & Prince

Vitis acerifolia is a species of grape native to the south-central part of the Great Plains of the United States (Kansas, Oklahoma, northern Texas, eastern Colorado, and northeastern New Mexico). [1] [2] Its leaf shape is the origin of its name, which is Latin for maple-leaf grape, but it is widely referenced in literature by the synonym, Vitis longii.

Contents

Cultivation and uses

Maple-Leaf grape V. acerifolia 2.jpg
Maple-Leaf grape

Vitis acerifolia provides many potential benefits for the breeding of hybrid grapes. Vitis acerifolia is second in cold-hardiness among grapes only to Vitis riparia . Unlike other cold hardy grapes, it will grow long into fall if weather is clement, but can harden off remarkably fast in a cold snap. This makes it ideally suited for North American winter weather which often include sudden fluctuations in temperature, and is superior in this regard to its rival for second place in cold hardiness among grapes, Vitis amurensis , which is notorious for coming out of hibernation during a warm spell only to be damaged by a sudden frost. Aside from cold hardiness, it strongly resists drought, is resistant to phylloxera, is easy to root, has seeds that germinate all at once and it has good to excellent general resistance to other common grape diseases.

Vitis acerifolia yields strongly colored juice. While berries and clusters are generally small and seedy, it lacks the 'off flavors' of many other North American Vitis species, having neither the harsh labrusca aftertaste nor the characteristic herbaceous flavor of Vitis riparia, nor the blackcurrant-like flavor common to post oak grapes or the harsh peppery taste of many other native Texas grapes. Low acidity and very early ripening are also important characteristics for potential grape breeders.

One varietal that owes its parentage to Vitis acerifolia is the Canadian variety 'Vincent'. This varietal seems to have more anthocyanin than other grape cultivars. Since red wines are fermented on the skins and this is the source of 'off' flavors in hybrid wines, it is notoriously difficult to produce cold hardy, quality red wine grape varieties. There are even fewer capable of adding strong coloration to weaker-colored juice varieties. Vitis acerifolia hybrids show much promise in this area.

Although it has no inherent resistance to Pierce's disease, it seldom suffers from this disease due to being almost totally unpalatable to the common insect vector of the disease, the glassy-winged sharpshooter (Homalodisca vitripennis). This is apparently due to the pubescence of the leaves repelling the insect.

Related Research Articles

Phylloxera Species of insect that plagues grapevines.

Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. Grape phylloxera ; originally described in France as Phylloxera vastatrix; equated to the previously described Daktulosphaera vitifoliae, Phylloxera vitifoliae. The insect is commonly just called phylloxera.

Aurore (grape) Variety of grape

Aurore is a white complex hybrid grape variety produced by Albert Seibel and used for wine production mostly in the United States and Canada. Over a long lifetime Seibel produced many complex hybrid crosses of Vitis vinifera to American grapes. It is a cross of Seibel 788 and Seibel 29.

Marechal Foch (grape) Variety of grape

Maréchal Foch is an inter-specific hybrid French red wine grape variety. It was developed at the Oberlin Institute in Colmar-Alsace, at the beginning of the 20th century, by Eugène Kuhlmann, then known as Kuhlmann 188-2. The variety arrived in the U.S. in 1946, where it was subsequently renamed Marechal Foch in honor of Marshall Ferdinand Foch, Supreme Allied Commander during the First World War. Some believe it to be a cross of Goldriesling with a Vitis riparia - Vitis rupestris cross. Others contend that its pedigree is uncertain and may contain the grape variety Oberlin 595. It ripens early, and it is cold-hardy and resistant to fungal diseases. The berry size is small, which makes it prone to bird injury. The quality of wine produced by Marechal Foch vines is highly dependent upon vine age, and the flavor profile associated with many new-world hybrid varietals is much reduced in examples made with fruit picked from older vines.

Chambourcin Variety of grape

Chambourcin is a species of grapevines belonging to the Vitis genus in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. It is a French-American interspecific hybrid grape variety used for making wine. Its parentage is uncertain. The hybrid was produced by Joannes Seyve who often used Seibel hybrids produced in the 1860s. The grape has only been available since 1963; it has a good resistance to fungal disease, and is one of the parents of the new disease resistant variety, Regent, which is increasing in popularity among German grape growers. Chambourcin is considered a very productive grape with crop yields reported ranging from 11.1 tons per hectare to 17.3 tons per hectare in a study performed by Ohio State University.

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

Vitis labrusca, the fox grape, is a species of grapevines belonging to the Vitis genus in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The vines are native to eastern North America and are the source of many grape cultivars, including Catawba, Concord, Delaware, Isabella, Niagara, and many hybrid grape varieties such as Agawam, Alexander and Onaka. Among the characteristics of this vine species in contrast to the European wine grape Vitis vinifera are its "slip-skin" that allows the skin of the grape berries to easily slip off when squeezed, instead of crushing the pulp, and the presence of tendrils on every node of the cane. Another contrast with European vinifera is the characteristic "foxy" musk of V. labrusca, best known to most people through the Concord grape. This musk is not related to the mammalian fox, but rather to the strong, earthy aromas characteristic of the grapes that were known by early European-American settlers in the New World. The term "foxy" became a sort of catchall for the wine tasting descriptors used for these American wines that were distinct from the familiar flavors of the European viniferous wines.

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

Vitis riparia Michx, with common names riverbank grape or frost grape, is a vine indigenous to North America. As a climbing or trailing vine, it is widely distributed across central and eastern Canada and the central and northeastern parts of the United States, from Quebec to Texas, and eastern Montana to Nova Scotia. There are reports of isolated populations in the northwestern USA, but these are probably naturalized. It is long-lived and capable of reaching into the upper canopy of the tallest trees. It produces dark fruit that are appealing to both birds and people, and has been used extensively in commercial viticulture as grafted rootstock and in hybrid grape breeding programs.

Vidal blanc 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.

Chelois 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.

Frontenac (grape) Variety of grape

Frontenac is an interspecific hybrid grapevine that is a result of research and cross-breeding by the University of Minnesota. It was grown from a crossing of the complex interspecific hybrid Landot 4511 and a very cold hardy selection of Vitis riparia. It was released in 1996.

Onaka is one of a number of hardy hybrid grape cultivars produced by the prolific breeder Nels Hansen at South Dakota State University. It is a product of a cross of Beta and Salem. Although never widely cultivated and today largely forgotten, it has contributed to the cold-climate grape-breeding efforts of breeders such as Elmer Swenson and is a likely parent of his variety Kay Gray.

Noah (grape) Variety of grape

The Noah grape is a cultivar derived from the grape species Vitis labrusca or 'fox grape' which is used for table, juice and wine production. Noah has berries of a light green/yellow and has medium-sized, cylindrical-conical, well formed fruit clusters with thick bloom similar to those of Elvira.

<i>Vitis</i> Genus flowering plants in the grape family Vitaceae

Vitis (grapevines) is a genus of 79 accepted species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus is made up of species predominantly from the Northern hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, both for direct consumption of the fruit and for fermentation to produce wine. The study and cultivation of grapevines is called viticulture.

Iowa wine Wine made from grapes grown in Iowa, United States

Iowa wine refers to wine manufactured in the U.S. state of Iowa. Iowa presents many challenges to viticulture including very warm summer days that can promote fungal vine diseases, and extremely cold winter nights that can kill many varieties of grapevines. Most commercial viticulture in Iowa focuses on French hybrid and native American grape varieties, with relatively few plantings of Vitis vinifera grapes. Many Iowa wineries also import grapes and juice from other states and countries in order to produce wine varietals otherwise not possible due to Iowa's harsh winter months that will not permit such grapes to survive. Iowa is home to 100 commercial wineries and more than 300 vineyards covering 1,200+ acres. Northeastern Iowa is included in the Upper Mississippi Valley AVA while the western part of the state is in the new AVA designation named Loess Hills.

Solaris (grape) Variety of grape

Solaris is a variety of grape used for white wine. It was created in 1975 at the grape breeding institute in Freiburg, Germany by Norbert Becker.

Black Spanish was originally assumed to be a seedling of an American hybrid grape which resulted from a crossing of the American Vitis aestivalis species of grape with an unknown Vitis vinifera pollen donor. However, just recently it has been revealed from microsatellite DNA analysis, that the American wild grapevine parent of Black Spanish is Vitis berlandieri and not Vitis aestivalis. This hybridization is not known to have been purposeful, and may have occurred naturally, as was the case with many of the early American grape cultivars. Riaz et al. (2019) have now published the genetic profile of the Jacquez grapevine as follows (percentages): V. vinifera: 69% V. berlandieri: 21% V. rupestris: 7% V. riparia: 3%.

Léon Millot Variety of grape

Léon Millot is a red variety of hybrid grape used for wine. It was created in 1911 in the Oberlin Institute in Colmar, Alsace, by the French viticulturist Eugène Kuhlmann (1858–1932) by crossing the hybrid grape Millardet et Grasset 101-14 O.P. with Goldriesling, which is Vitis vinifera. The variety was named after the winemaker and tree nursery owner Léon Millot.

Olmo grapes 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.

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.

LAcadie blanc 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. Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
  2. Great Plains Flora Association. 1986. Fl. Great Plains i–vii, 1–1392. University Press of Kansas, Lawrence