Hybrid grapes

Hybrid grapes refer commonly to those grape varieties which are the product of a crossing between two different vitis species. This is in contrast to crossings between grape varieties of the same species, typically vitis vinifera. Hybrid grapes are also referred to as inter-specific crossings.

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The best-known grape species in reference to viticulture include:

• Vitis vinifera, the so-called European or wine grape, indigenous in the Eurasian area. Classed within this species are the best-known table and wine grape varieties such as Riesling, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Gamay.
• Vitis aestivalis, native to eastern North America.
• Vitis rupestris, native to North America.
• Vitis riparia (also sometimes known as Vitis vulpina), the "river bank grape", native to northeastern North America.
• Vitis amurensis, the Asiatic grape variety, native to Siberia and China.
• Vitis rotundifolia, the muscadines, native to the southern half of the United States
• Vitis labrusca, native to northeastern North America. Concord and Niagara are two prominent domesticated offshoots of this species.

While rare, inter-specific hybrid vines can result in the wild from cross-pollination. Due to the abundance of American Vitis species one finds such natural hybrid vines on the American continent. The majority of the well-known hybrid vines however, have been artificially created.

During the first half of the 20th century, various breeding programs were developed in an attempt to deal with the consequences of the phylloxera louse, which was responsible for the destruction of European vineyards from 1863 onwards. After extensive attempts, grafting European varieties onto North American rootstock proved to be the most successful method of dealing with the problem.

Hybrid varieties exhibit a mixture of traits from their European, Asiatic, and North American parentage. Those varieties which derive from Vitis labrusca parentage (such as those still used in the production of Austrian Uhudler) have a strong "candied" or "wild strawberry" aroma, while those which derive from Vitis riparia often have a herbaceous nose with flavours reminiscent of black currants. Most hybrid grape varieties struggle to produce adequate tannin for red wine production, and usually display a level of acidity that exceeds what consumers of wines produced from vitis vinifera are accustomed to. These attributes proved unpopular in Europe, and were one of the factors which led to the prohibition of the commercial growth of hybrid vines in many countries in Europe.

However, hybrid grape varieties were introduced as a solution to many of the viticultural problems of cooler and more humid wine regions, such as those in the northeast of North America. From the 1950s onwards, grape varieties such as De Chaunac, Baco noir, Marechal Foch, Vidal, etc. have been a staple of the wine industries in Ontario, New York, Pennsylvania, etc. Only since the 1970s and 1980s have vinifera varieties begun to displace hybrid grapes in this area. Even in those areas where vitis vinifera now predominates, hybrid varieties still have "cult following" with some wine consumers. Furthermore, in some cases hybrid grapes are used to produce unique and exceptional products; for example, ice wine produced from Vidal blanc or Vignoles in Ontario and New York.

Due to their 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, Rondo, and Regent are examples of newer hybrid grape varieties for European viticulturalists.

Some of the best-known hybrid grape breeders include:

• Francois Baco: responsible for the development Baco noir
• Eugene Kuhlmann: Originating from Alsace and known for the varieties Lucie Kuhlmann, Marechal Foch and Leon Millot
• Albert Seibel: Probably the best-known breeder, who developed an immense number of breeding between 1886 and 1936 in Aubenas. The well-known Seibel grapes include De Chaunac, Chelois, Chancellor, Cascade, Rosette, Rougeon and Aurora.
• Villard: Father of the Villard Blanc
• Bertille Seyve: His best-known crossing being Seyval Blanc.
• J.F. Ravat: known for Vignoles (Ravat 51)
• Elmer Swenson, of Wisconsin, breeder of St. Croix, St. Pepin, La Crosse, Esprit, Edelweiss (grape), Swenson Red, and Kay Gray among others.
• Bruce Reisch from Cornell University's New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, the breeder of Noiret, Corot noir, and Valvin muscat.
• T.V. Munson: often cited as the savior ^[1] of European viticulture and the father of rootstock breeding, released dozens of cultivars and contributed greatly to the knowledge of wild American grape species.

References

1. ^  Archie P. MacDonald. All Things Historical. Dr. Thomas Volney Munson and the French Wine Industry.

See also

• List of grape varieties