Hybrid grapes aregrape varieties that are the product of acrossing of two or moreVitisspecies. This is in contrast to crossings between grape varieties of the same species, typicallyVitis vinifera, the European grapevine. Hybrid grapes are also referred to as inter-species crossings or "Modern Varieties." Due to their often excellent tolerance topowdery mildew, other fungal diseases, nematodes, andphylloxera, hybrid varieties have, to some extent, become a renewed focus for European breeding programs. The recently developed varieties (Rondo andRegent) are examples of newer hybrid grape varieties for European viticulturalists. Several North American breeding programs, such as those at Cornell and the University of Minnesota, focus exclusively on hybrid grapes, with active and successful programs, having created hundreds if not thousands of new varieties.
Hybrid varieties exhibit a mix of traits from their European, Asiatic, and North American parentage. Those varieties which derive fromVitis labrusca parentage (such as those still used in the production of AustrianUhudler) can have a strong "candied" or "wild strawberry" aroma depending many factors, while those that derive fromVitis riparia often have a herbaceous nose with flavours reminiscent of black currants. However, modern hybrid varieties often contain multiple species in their parentage and are inter-crossed many times, so some distinctive flavors and aromas disappear or evolve into new, unique expressions due to their combination with others. Institutional and private breeders continually develop new hybrids around the world, so it is difficult to generalize about "hybrid traits," and many of the old stereotypical descriptions are outdated and apply only to some of the older hybrids.
During the first half of the 20th century, various breeding programs were developed in an attempt to deal with the consequences of globalization, which resulted in Europeans and European-Americans bringing thePhylloxera louse from North America to Europe, as well as several North American parasitic fungi - like black rot (Guignardia bidwellii), downy mildew (Peronospora), and powdery mildew (Erysiphe necator). Phylloxera devastated European vineyards throughout the late 1800s. While many hybrids were able to successfully resist Phylloxera, as well as the novel fungal pressures, European producers chose tograft their susceptible traditional, single-species European varieties onto North American resistantrootstock.
However, hybrid grape varieties were introduced as a solution to many of the viticulture problems of shorter-season, cooler and more humid wine regions, such as those in the northeast and Pacific Northwest of North America, as well as to many other temperate, sub-tropical, and tropical climates in South America and Asia, such as in Columbia, Brazil, India, and China. From the 1950s onwards, grape varieties such asDe Chaunac,Baco noir,Marechal Foch,Vidal, etc. have been a staple of the wine industries inOntario,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 whereVitis 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 fromVidal blanc orVignoles inOntario andNew York.
The most planted grape in the world by area,[1]Kyoho, is a hybrid, and the most planted grape in Brazil is a hybrid (Isabella).[2] Hybrid grapes are expanding in traditional vinifera wine regions as well, because they can be easier to grow and can ripen earlier than vinifera (which reduces bird predation and reduces the risk of fruit hanging into the Fall rains), and because they typically have much more disease resistance (thereby requiring less spraying, which lessens tractor fuel usage and the volume of spray applications). Therefore, hybrid grapes are considered a "Green" (ecologically sustainable) alternative to vinifera grapes.
The best-known grape species in reference to viticulture include:
While rare, interspecific hybrid vines can result in the wild from cross-pollination. Due to the abundance of AmericanVitis species one finds such natural hybrid vines on the American continent. The majority of the well-known hybrid vines however, have been artificially created. The earliest named hybrid in America was theAlexander grape, discovered around 1740 near a vineyard planted for William Penn along the Schuylkill.
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