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HOME FRUIT GROWING-- Grape Cultivar lists

Cultivars (cultivated varieties) on the following linked lists were assembled during 2010 for the Fruit Gardener's Bible, however space limitations did not permit most to be included. They represent many of the most common and popular from across North America, as gauged from listing in sources, specialist lists, and Extension publications. Other fruits can be found in the above reference, as well as other tips for choosing cultivars successfully. For sources, please see the links (on the left sidebar).

Choose your cultivars according to both your climate (see section above on the site) and whether you want them for table use (eating fresh), juice and jams, or wine making. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different uses. Just because a grape is listed as a wine cultivar, doesn’t mean it might not be quite tasty too eaten fresh or made into juice. Likewise, some listed as table grapes make good home wines. Muscadine cultivars are sweeter and improved over the species, and although good fresh are often best in jams and making a sweet, dessert wine. You may see all the grapes other than muscadines referred to as “bunch grapes” since their fruit are more in clusters or bunches than most muscadines.

When choosing a cultivar, look for disease-resistant cultivars, especially if you live in a humid area prone to diseases on plants. You may see the term “cracking” or “splitting” which refers to soft fruit skins splitting, allowing diseases to enter and fruit to spoil. Some cultivars are resistant to skins cracking, and you may see this more often after heavy rains. And note during what part of the season a particular grape ripens. Those ripening late often are less prone to eating by birds.

Most grapes are self-fruitful, so cross pollination is seldom necessary. Brighton is an exception, and one of the few common varieties that is not self-pollinating, so it needs a partner to bear fruit. Nursery catalogs will usually state when a pollinator is needed for any cultivar. Some muscadines are female, so will need a self-fertile cultivar nearby. Female muscadines may produce half the yield of self-fertile cultivars.

In the millennia of culture, thousands of kinds of grapes have appeared and disappeared, but at present the list of available named cultivars is more manageable but still extensive. A good policy is to start with a standard cultivar or two. Why not start out with one or two of the old reliable Concords if your season is long enough, one of the newer Minnesota cultivars if you live where it’s cold, or one of the muscadines if you live in the South? Add others one by one, as your skill improves, and then, who knows? You may one day become known as the Bacchus on your block (Bacchus being the Roman god of wine).

The following are usually available and among the best for home gardeners in various parts of the country. You’ll find many more from specialty nurseries.

Table Grapes | Wine Grapes | Muscadines

Ta ble Grapes

The following are good for eating fresh or jams; those best for juice and wine also are noted. Hardy means into zone 5 usually, very hardy into zone 4 (see Wine Grapes below). Season is often listed relative to Concord, its ripening considered mid-season. Cultivars have seeds unless noted as seedless. Many seedless grapes are originally from crosses of Thompson Seedless and Black Monukka. Those marked * are among the most popular. Those listed with blue or black fruit are often more purple or blue-black; those listed as white are often yellow-green.

Cultivar	Fruit color	Season	Comments
Alden	black	mid	Very large berries, high yields, prune heavily and cluster thin, juice, wine with light muscat flavor
Beta	blue	mid	Very hardy, disease resistant, small/tart fruit best for jams
Black Monukka	black	mid	Seedless, hardy, best where summers are long/hot/dry
Bluebell	blue	early	Juice and jam, hardy
Brilliant	red	early	Good for the South, best eaten fresh, large leaves silvery beneath
Buffalo	black	early	Hardy, good yields, disease resistant, juice, high quality, slipskin, originally for wines
Campbell’s Early	blue	early	Like Concord only hardier
Canadice*	red	early	Juice, seedless, hardy, very sweet
Catawba	red	late	Hardy, needs a long growing season
Concord*	blue	mid	Hardy, juice, wine, main juice cv.; also found as a seedless cultivar
Delaware	red	early	Hardy, wine, skin may crack
Einset	red	early	Strawberry-like flavor, resists gray mold, seedless, hardy
Flame	red	late	Large fruit, good for South, the common red in stores, resists cracking
Fredonia	blue	early	Large berries, similar to Concord
Glenora	black	early	Seedless, disease resistant, orange-red fall leaves
Golden Muscat	golden	mid	Best in a hot, dry climate as fruit crack after rain; citrus flavor, large fruit
Himrod*	white	early	Seedless, golden when ripe, hardy, honey-like flavor, cane-prune
Interlaken	white	very early	Seedless, some disease resistance, Thompson seedless x Ontario hybrid
Jupiter	blue	early	Hardy, seedless, disease resistant, mild and sweet Muscat, good for the South
Kay Gray	white	early	Disease resistant, juice, wine, very hardy (MN)
King of the North	blue	mid	Very hardy, juice, vigorous, fruits at a young age
Lakemont	white	mid	Seedless, disease resistant, thin the large clusters, hardy
Marquis	white	mid	Large clusters, seedless, Labrusca flavor when ripe
Mars*	blue	early	Good disease resistance, hardy, vigorous, seedless, good for the South
Moore’s Diamond	white	mid	Hardy, juice, good for dry wine or champagne
Neptune*	white	mid	Good for the South, large clusters, mild and fruity, seedless, resists cracking
Niagara*	white	mid	Hardy, wine, juice, most popular native white
Ontario	white	early	Hardy, disease resistant
Princess	white	late	Sweet, also good for wine, good for the South, seedless
Reliance*	red	mid	juice, seedless, hardy, skins may crack in wet weather, good for the South
Remaily	white	mid	Mild European-style flavor, moderately hardy
Saturn	red	mid	Good for the South, thin clusters, mild flavor
Schuyler	black	late	Hardy, juice, also light red wines, needs cluster thinning, Zinfandel x Ontario cross
Seneca	white	very early	Old cultivar, few seeds, hardy, canes not spurs produce fruit, susceptible to powdery mildew
Sheridan	blue	late	Hardy, vigorous, fruit store well
Steuben	black	mid	Hardy, few problems, juice, wine, stores well
Suffolk Red	red	mid	Loose clusters, may have winter damage, Reliance is better choice
Sweet Seduction	white	mid	Golden yellow fruit, seedless, muscat flavor, good disease resistance
Thomcord	blue	mid	Seedless, cross of Concord and Thompson seedless
Thompson (seedless)	white	late	The standard found in stores, thin for larger fruit
Valiant	blue	mid	Similar to Beta only less disease resistance and larger fruit, hardy, good for juice
Van Buren	purple	early	Early to flower too so good for short seasons, hardy to zone 4, jams, juice, good for poor soils
Vanessa*	red	early	Good on east and west coasts, hardy, resists cracking, seedless, juice, pies, some pest resistance
Venus	blue-black	early	Good for the South, juice, red-orange fall leaves
Worden*	blue	early	Similar to Concord only more hardy (zone 4), vigorous, few problems, good for short seasons

Wine grapes

The following are generally grown for wines, but those also good for table use (juice, jams) are noted. A few often used for wine are in the list of table grapes. Hardy is generally into zone 5; “MN” are varieties from Minnesota (or MN breeder Elmer Swenson), many of which are even hardier (into zone 4). “FH” are French American hybrids, “E” are European cultivars that are often harder to grow and less hardy. Those listed with blue fruit are often more purple or blue-black, and are used for red wines. Those marked * are among the more popular.

Cultivar	Fruit color	Season	Comments
Aurore	white	early	hardy, tends to split, hardy; good for sweet wine, blending, FH
Baco Noir	red	very early	hardy, needs cluster thinning, good for short seasons and heavy soils; light wines, FH
Black Spanish	black	mid	One of best for South, good disease resistance, also table uses
Cabernet Franc	red	mid	E, better adapted than the next to the East and Midwest
Cabernet Sauvignon*	red	late	E, needs a long season, susceptible to disease, the famous red wine of France
Cascade	blue	early	Hardy, FH
Catawba*	white	late	Hardy; sweet wine or champagne, native, FH
Cayuga*	white	mid	hardy, late bloom avoids most frost, vigorous, high yields; light, dry wine, FH
Chambourcin*	black	mid	Tart, red claret wine with peppery and spicy flavors, FH
Chancellor	red	mid	Hardy, mildew susceptible, FH
Chardonel	white	late	Hardy, Seyval x Chardonnay Ny state hybrid; dry wine, FH
Chardonnay*	white	early	E, famous European grape, fruit may crack after rain, good on west coast, top white wine grape
Chenin (blanc)	White	Mid	Good in cool areas where sweeter, fruity
Corot Noir™	blue	late	Hardy; red wines with cherry and berry aromas
De Chaunac	red	mid	hardy, needs cluster thinning, similar to Chambourcin, FH
Delaware	white	early	Native, best on fertile soils, fruit may crack with rain, mild flavor
Frontenac*	blue	mid	MN, good disease resistance, large clusters of small fruit
Frontenac Gris	white-pink	mid	MN, similar to Frontenac and from a bud mutation of it; fruity flavor white or blush wine
Gewürztraminer*	white	early	E, good in cooler regions, also good table use; sweet wine
Horizon	white	mid	hardy, high yield, fruity wine, FH
LaCrescent	white	early	MN, golden when ripe; apricot flavor sweet wine
LaCrosse	white	early	MN, Seyval parent; spicy aroma wine
Leon Millot*	black	early	Similar to Marechal Foch only more productive, FH
Louise Swenson	white		MN, very hardy, good table too
Malbec	Black	Mid	Needs sun, hot days and cool nights; plum notes to wine
Marechal Foch * (Foch)	black	very early	hardy, hardy; fruity, light wines or burgundy type, FH
Melody	white	mid	Hardy; fruity (apricot hint) wine, one of best native white hybrids
Merlot*	Black	Mid	Berry notes to wine, good for blending, popular
Müller Thurgeau	white	early	E, popular in northern European wine regions and in the Pacific Northwest; for Riesling type wine
Muscat Ottonel	white	late	For sweet wines, one of several Muscats available
Pinot Gris*	white	late	Thought a mutant clone of Pinot Noir, Italian clone is Pinot Grigio
Pinot Noir	red	late	E, classic red French grape, best in Pacific Northwest drier regions
Prairie Star	white	mid	MN, very hardy, also good fresh; non-foxy flavor, use to fortify lighter white wines
Riesling*	White	Late	For dry to sweet wines, flowery aroma, best on west coast; top white wine grape
Rougeon	red	mid	Hardy, high yields; mainly for blending, FH
Sabrevois	black	mid	MN, very hardy, vigorous
Sauvignon Blanc*	White	Mid	Good flavor, may get gray mold, top white wine grape
Seyval*	white	mid	FH, high yields, prune heavily, disease resistant
Seyve	white	mid	Hardy; wine with fruity aroma, Seyve-Villard 5-276 syn.
St. Croix	blue	mid	MN, very hardy, large clusters of large sweet fruit, good red wine
St. Pepin	white	early	MN, similar to LaCrosse only earlier, plant with it for pollination, table uses too; wines similar to Riesling
Swenson Red	red	mid	MN, stores well, also good table, may get downy mildew
Swenson white	white	late	MN, very disease resistant; flowery taste to wine
Syrah (Shiraz)*	red	early	E, popular in France, Australia and California
Traminette	white	late	Good yields, offspring of Gewurztraminer, hardy, FH
Vidal (blanc)*	white	late	FH, heavy yield, mildew resistant; good wine aroma
Vignoles (Ravat)*	white	mid	FH, late to flower; sweet wine with high acidity
Viognier	White	Late	May get powdery mildew, must pick ripe for best wine
Zinfandel	red	mid	E, also good table, best where mild winters and summers; fruity wine

Muscadines

Most are self-fertile, but some are female (F) so need a self-fertile cultivar with male flowers for cross pollination—these may be seen listed in catalogs as just male. Those with pink or red to bronze skins are often called “Scuppernongs”. Those marked * are among the more popular.

Cultivar	Fruit color	Season	Comments
Black Beauty*	Black	mid	Large fruit, edible skin, good black, F
Black Fry	Black	early	F, disease resistance, similar to Fry
Carlos	bronze	early	Good for wine/juice
Cowart	blue-black	mid	Disease resistant
Darlene*	Bronze	mid	Large uniform fruit, one of best bronze, F
Dixie	red-bronze	early
Fry	bronze	early	F
Granny Val	Bronze	Mid	One of highest for yields
Higgins	bronze	mid	F
Hunt	black	early	F
Ison*	Black	Early	Good pollinator, large clusters, good yields
Jumbo	black	mid	F, large fruit, good disease resistance, sweet
Late Fry*	Bronze	Late	High yields, large clusters, vigorous
Loomis	black	late	F
Magnolia*	bronze	mid	Good fresh/wine/juice
Nesbit	black	mid	One of “hardier”
Noble	black	early	Some cold tolerance, good cv. for red wine
Pam*	bronze	early	F, large clusters, edible skin, heavy yields
Regal	black	early
Scarlett	red	mid	Vigorous, high yields, disease resistant
Southland	black	mid	Good disease resistance, very sweet
Summit	bronze	mid	F
Supreme*	black	mid	F, very large fruit, edible skin, resists disease
Tara	bronze	mid
Triumph	bronze	early	some hardiness, fresh or for wine

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