Check Out This New Site if Looking for the Best Grape Varieties To Grow

There’s a need for a single website where grape growers can go to find out what varieties are available, and so Matthew W. Fidelibus of the University of California-Davis has created one.

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The website, grapevarieties.info, was recently launched by Fidelibus, an Extension specialist and American Fruit Grower™ magazine columnist, began at UC-Davis in 2002. He conducts research aimed at reducing production costs and improving yields and quality for raisin, table, and wine grapes. His research interests include environmental physiology, plant growth regulation, and cultivar and clone selection.

Fidelibus explains that grapevine variety selection is becoming an increasingly complex decision, considering potential marketability, yield, quality, environmental adaptability, ripening time, pest and disease resistance, and other traits. Importation and grape breeding programs have increased the diversity of grape varieties available to growers in the U.S., but reliable descriptive information, and quality and agronomic data, may be limited or spread among many websites. The aim of this website is to compile science-based information on wine, table, and raisin grape varieties and provide search tools to help growers find varieties that meet their needs.

“People are considering varieties they have never grown before, but there’s not a central storehouse in the U.S. for people to find the info that they need — data that’s been vetted by researchers,” he says. “People can find grape varieties based on their purpose, whether wine, table grapes, or raisins. Or they can search for only black grapes, or seedless, or something like that.”

Fidelibus says he saw the need as he and his colleagues have been trialing hot-climate varieties from other parts of the world to determine their suitability for growing in California. Some are ancient selections; some are newer from variety programs. But that’s just the start. They plan on a comprehensive guide to all the grape varieties available.

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“These varieties have different traits, and by searching through the site, users can get some idea whether they will meet their needs or not,” he says. “There’s a lot of info on the web, but not a lot of data, and not scientific. We want high-quality pictures, descriptions, and data — data is the main thing.”

Fidelibus says he welcomes all growers and others in the industry to visit the site and provide feedback.

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