'Good' Grapes for Red Wine
Arandell, too soon to evaluate, initially in 2017 the leaves seem healthy, but the vine died in 2021. It is advertised as a very disease-resistant variety that is excellent for wine making, mid-season, zone 5a. Will try again since it was shaded by a larger vine in the spot where it was planted.
Baltica, very tasty grapes, young vine. Perhaps the clusters may be larger and more abundant next year or thereafter. These were the first grapes to ripen in the vineyard, very early, zone 4. Too soon to evaluate.
17.7 Brix on Aug 23, 2018.
15.2 Brix on Aug 27, 2019.
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Cascade (Rosé wine), productive, tasty, early. Berries are very healthy, This is a keeper, zone 5b. 17.0 Brix on Sept 11, 2017. 14.8 Brix on Sept 5, 2018. 14.5 Brix on Sept 12, 2021. |
Delicatessen, too soon to evaluate, susposedly thin skin that does not crack, early, zone 5.
DM 8521-1, too soon to evaluate, mid-season, zone 3a.
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ES-10-18-20, too soon to evaluate, mid-season, somewhat tasty, zone 4b. 21.7 Brix on Oct 1, 2019. 17.7 Brix on Sept 25, 2021. |
Francis, delicious fresh. Wine is said to have a mild cherry aroma. Although the berries are very tasty, anthracnose destroyed half the berries, mid-season, zone 4. Too soon to evaluate.
13.0 Brix on Sept 16, 2019.
12.2 Brix on Sept 25, 2021.
Frontenac, delicious fresh, reported to make excellent wine. 2019 was not a particularly healthy year for this variety. 2021 was much better. One of the tastiest grapes in the vineyard, ripens mid to late season, zone 3b.
17.9 Brix on Sept 5, 2018
16.7 Brix on Sept 16, 2019.
15.7 Brix on Sept 25, 2021.
Gertruda, too soon to evaluate, makes Rose' wine, zone 4.
Leon Millot, delicious grape, some rotten berries, but many are good, early, zone 5. Birds love these and will eat every one if not netted.
19.0 Brix on Sept 26, 2018.
19.0 Brix on Aug 27, 2019.
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Lomato, too soon to evaluate. So far, the vine is not very vigorous or healthy. The seller said it is slow to get started, but worth the wait; it gets more vigorous as it gets older. Ripens early, zone 5. |
Marechal Foch, delicious fresh. Said to make good wine, but fussy. One of the best tasting grapes in the vineyard, healthy, early, zone 5a.
20.0 Brix on Sept 11, 2017.
18.8 Brix on Sept 5, 2018.
16.3 Brix on Aug 27, 2019.
19.3 brix on Oct 1, 2019.
Mystic Eyes, delicious fresh. It has small clusters and low productivity so far. Using multiple trunks and canes may help. Very early, zone 4. Too soon to evaluate.
15.3 Brix on Sept 5, 2018
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Oberlin Noir, delicious, productive, very healthy vine and berries. This is one of my favorite vines so far. It is said to make a tannic, somewhat rustic red wine, with good aging capability. It is also good for table, jam, juice and freezing. However, it is out of stock at nurseries, so would need to propagate by rooting canes. The trunk died the first winter, but came back a year later and is now very healthy. Originally planted late in 2015, started re-growing in 2017 and had its first grapes 2019, mid-season, zone 5, 19.1 Brix on Sept 16, 2019 Oberlin Noir, leaves are very healthy for Oct 3rd. |
Petite Pearl, very healthy. It is on the tart side when eaten fresh, even at its high sugar level of 20 brix. Said to make excellent wine, mid-season, zone 3b.
17.4 Brix on Sept 11, 2017
20.1 Brix on Oct 10, 2017
Regent, too soon to evaluate. Delicious, but many berries rot. Will try various bags in 2020 to protect it from disease, early, zone 6.
21.1 Brix on Sept 11, 2017.
18.7 Brix on Aug 27, 2019.
Sabrevois, too soon to evaluate, fair taste, reportedly makes decent wine, mid-season, zone 3,
18.7 Brix on Oct 6, 2017
Skandia (TP 2-1-37), too soon to evaluate, young vine, just one bunch that did not do well - berries cracked in first year after planting, more productive in the following years but birds got to them before I could test them, very early, zone 3a.
18.5 Brix on Sept 16, 2019
St-Croix, too soon to evaluate, sister to Sabrevois, leaves fairly diseased by Oct 7th, early, zone 3.
St. Paul, too soon to evaluate, tasty, reportedly makes good wine, diseased leaves, mid to late, zone 4.
16.6 Brix on Oct 1, 2019
Verona, healthy, productive, too soon to tell, although a red wine grape it made a delicious jam so I will buy more vines, supposedly "late" but on our site it seems mid-season, an unusually feature is even at a low brix of 11.3 it is tasty, zone 4b.
15.4 Brix on Sept 16, 2019
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Wine King, delicious, healthy vine and berries, vigorous and very productive. This vine propagates easily from cuttings. Said to make a fine red wine. It is also good for table, jam, juice and freezing. Early, zone 5. 19.5 Brix on Sept 16, 2019. 16.4 Brix on Aug 30, 2021. Wine King, leaves are very healthy, even on Oct 3rd when other leaves on most varieties in the vineyard look terrible. |
'Rejected' Grapes for Red Wine
America, very healthy plant and berries. Too bad it has an unpleasant taste resulting in rejection. There are reports of it tasting better in warmer states, mid to late, zone 4a.
Castel 19-637, reported as disease-resistant, highly productive, and great wine; however on our site, most berries rotted, leaves were stunted and diseased, early, zone 4b.
Corot Noir, diseased, stunted growth, all leaves died, mid to late, zone 4.
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Crimson Pearl (TP 2-1-17), I had great expectations for this early variety and planted 3 vines, however it has diseased leaves, and most berries rot before they ripen. Unripe on Sept 15 the berries looked good, but when they were ripe in Oct most rotted away. "Early", zone 4a, 16.3 Brix on Oct 1, 2019 
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DeChaunac, stunted growth with diseased leaves, I learned this is one of the cultivars that is susceptible to Tomato Ring Virus and can spread it (as does Ventura). It is spread by nematodes. Do not plant this, mid-season, zone 5.
Geneva Red, fair bland vegetative taste, healthy berries, heavy mildew on leaves, reportedly makes good wine, however does not ripen on my site in most years - probably due to the diseased leaves, mid-season, zone 4.
17.0 Brix on Sept 11, 2017.
10.3 Brix on Aug 25, 2018
Jukka (ES 5-4-16), as you can see, the berries did not do well in plastic bags in 2019, mid-season, zone 4. This was rejected because the berries do not ripen on our site.
12.1 Brix on Sept 16, 2019.
8.0 Brix on Sept 19, 2021.
Landot Noir, lacked vigor, after two years, two vines were only a foot high. Did not want to waste the space so pulled them out, early to mid-season, zone 4b.
Laurot, all berries rotted, leaves very diseased, I now understand the "rot" in Laurot, early to mid-season, zone?
Marquette, disease develops and varies each year from mild to heavy. Grapes are very tasty and said to make good wine, more bad years than good years, so pulled it out. mid-season, zone 3b.
Michurinets, most of the berries rotted, eaves diseased, early, zone 4b.
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Noiret, healthy berries but diseased leaves which contribute to it not ripening on our site, mid to late, zone 4. Leaves are virtually gone by Oct 7, so grapes do not ripen. 12.6 Brix on Sept 16, 2019; 11.9 Brix on Oct 1, 2019; 10.7 Brix on Oct 28, 2019 |
Norton-Cynthiana, taste is fair, somewhat diseased. Said to make good wine, late, zone 4. Although very late for our site, the leaves stayed healthy enough to ripen berries to 21.4 Brix on Nov 1, 2017. However, since the taste is bland and uninteresting, it is very late, and many of the berries rot, this was rejected.
St Vincent, some berries rot, zone 5, ripens too late for our site, taste is bland and uninteresting.
Vincent, diseased, all leaves died, no growth, late, zone 5.