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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Corvallis, Oregon » Horticultural Crops Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #296345
Title: Lesser-known European wine grape cultivars in southwestern Idaho: cold hardiness, berry maturity and yield

Author
item Shellie, Krista
item CRAGIN, JACOB - Boise State University
item SERPE, MARCELO - Boise State University

Submitted to: HortTechnology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/13/2013
Publication Date: 2/1/2014
Publication URL: https://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/59700
Citation: Shellie, K., Cragin, J.J., Serpe, M.D. 2014. Lesser-known European wine grape cultivars in southwestern Idaho: cold hardiness, berry maturity and yield. HortTechnology. 24:138-147.

Interpretive Summary: The high economic potential of the wine industry has stimulated expansion of wine grape production into regions previously considered unsuitable due to winter cold and its restriction of growing season duration. National grape acreage is dominated by a few widely planted cultivars, such as ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’ and ‘Merlot’ , and fruit produced in new production regions must compete for winery contracts against fruit grown in more established, well-known areas. Lesser-known wine grape cultivars of European origin that are not currently grown commercially in established production regions may provide an economic opportunity for growers located in nontraditional growing regions. However, little information is available about how these lesser-known cultivars perform in regions where the growing season is delimited by winter cold. The practical goal of this research was to identify novel planting material with potential to enhance the competitiveness of wine grape production in less traditional production regions. Wine grape cultivars from production regions in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Austria, Chile and France were grown in a commercial vineyard in southwestern Idaho and their viticulture performance was compared to the well-known cultivars ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’ and ‘Merlot’. Variability among cultivars was detected for cold hardiness, onset of phenological events, yield and fruit maturity. The variability among cultivars observed in this study can be used to guide cultivar selection for growing sites differing in heat unit accumulation, frost exposure and cold winter temperature.

Technical Abstract: The cold tolerance, phenology, yield and fruit maturity of lesser-known red and white-skinned wine grape cultivars (Vitis vinifera, L.) of European origin were compared to that of ‘Merlot’ and ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’ over two growing seasons in southwestern Idaho. Variability among cultivars was detected for cold hardiness, onset of phenological events, yield and fruit maturity. Cultivars with low production potential due to cold injury were ‘Montepulciano’ and ‘Tinto Cão’. ‘Aleatico’ and ‘Aglianico’ were cold sensitive and required more heat unit accumulation to ripen fruit to maturity than the leading cultivars 'Merlot' and 'Cabernet Sauvignon'. ‘Grüner Veltliner’, ‘Sauvignon Gris’ and ‘Trousseau’ acclimated early, had low mid-winter hardiness, yielded similar to or higher than the leading cultivars, and ripened fruit to maturity. ‘Grüner Veltliner’ had greater cluster weight than the leading cultivars due to more berries per cluster. ‘Trousseau’ ripened early and had greater berry and cluster weight than the leading cultivars. ‘Sauvignon Gris’ had fewer berries per cluster and greater berry weight than the leading cultivars. The variability among cultivars observed in this study can be used to guide cultivar selection for growing sites differing in heat unit accumulation, frost exposure and cold winter temperature.