VINE BREEDING

  • SUB-TOPICS Of WINE BREEDING
    1. What is Vine Breeding?
    2. Vine Nursery
    3. Rootstocks
    4. Vine Cross Index
    5. Hybrids of the World
    6. Vine Breeders

1) WHAT IS VINE BREEDING?

Deliberate Crossing One Varietal or Species With Another to Produce a New Variety That’s Resistance to Environmental Stress, Bacterial, Diseases, Fungal, Nematodes, Insects.

BOTONY– The Scientific Study of Plants, Including Their Physiology, Structure, Genetics, Ecology, Distribution, Classification and Economic Importance.

  • Important Botanist of the World
    • PIONEERS~ ~Herman Muller~ Swiss, Botanist, Plant Physiologist, Oenologist and Grape Breeder, Known For Breeding the Muller Thurgau Grape Variety.
  • Different Ways to Breed Vines- Propagation, Clones, Massal Selection

PROPAGATION– To Cause to Multiply by Any Process of Natural Reproduction From the Parent Plant. The First Generation After Propagation Will Be Identical to the “Parent Plant”.  As the New Vine Ages it Mutates Over Time and Adapts to the New Conditions and Develops New Characteristics.

  • Asexually- Vegetative Reproduction of Vines by Using Buds or Cuttings From“Parent Plant” to Root and Form Shoot.
  • Sexually- By Seed, Vines Hermaphrodite.

“Left Alone For Thousands of Years to Develop and Adapt Most Grapes Are the Result of Spontaneous Vitis Vinifera Crossings.”

NEW VARIETIES– Term to Describe Grape-Vines Deliberately Developed by Man, From the 1800’s Onward.

  • Different Species of Vitis Contain Genes With Natural Tolerance and Resistance to Disease, Weather, Growing Characteristic and a Myriad of Different Things That Can Be Bred In and Out of Grapes.
  • CROSS-(Natural/ Native/ Indigenous)– Off-Spring of 2 Varietals From Same Species.(Infraspecific) When a Vitis Vinifera is Combined With Another Vitis Vinifera.
    • New Grape Varieties Happen When the Pollen of One Fertilizes the Flower of a Different Grape Variety.  The Berry Forms, Falls to the Ground or is Digested by a Bird or Animal After Which the Pips Germinate In the Soil and  Producers a Seedling Which Grows Long Enough to Produce Its Own Grapes Later.
  • BREED CROSS- 2 Grapes That Are Crossed/ Breed In a Laboratory/ Nursery.
  • HYBRID- Off-Spring of 2 Varietals From Different Species(Interspecific)
    • Vitis Vinifera Species and Non Vitis Vinifera Species Crossed  to Create New One.
  • BENEFITS OF HYBRIDS GRAPES
    • Resistance to Mildews and Fungal Diseases, Requiring Less Chemical Intervention.
    • Increased Vigor
    • Resistance to Heat
    • Resistance to Cold
    • Resistance to Stress
    • Growth Habits
    • Ripening Time
    • Resistance to Native Pest
  • SPECIES- Rootstock/ Varietal/ Clone

“If a Grape is Crossed In a Laboratory it Can’t Be Considered Indigenous or Native to Region or Area.”

MUTATION–  Change of DNA. Sequence In a Gene of an Organism, Resulting In the Creation of a New Character Trait Not Found In Parent.

  • Sometimes a Mutation Occurs In a Bud Which Gives Rise to a New Shoot With Different Characteristics. If These New Characteristics Are Desirable to the Grape Grower or Winemaker New Clones Will Be Used to Plant New Vineyards.
  • Vines Not Genetically Stable, Spontaneously Mutate Over Time, Aquire Viruses.
  • Through the Process of Natural Mutation the Grape Vine May Acquire One or More Characteristics That Make it More Interesting or More Desirable.

VINE MUTATION– Unlike Humans Who Are Stuck With a Set of DNA. For Life, Vines Mutate with Easy. Vine Mutation Happen as a Form of Survival and Plants Will Also Cross With One Another Naturally and Spontaneously.

  • Naturally Occurring Genetic Mutations Switch Certain Genes On and Off. Variation In Grape Color is Due to the Genes Responsible For the Synthesis of Red Pigments, Also Called Anthocyanins.
    • –Example– Variations/ Varieties of Pinot Noir to Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris
  • If a Mutation is Stable and Reproducible Its Considered a Different Vine.
  • Wild Vines Were Either Male or Female, Cultivated Vines Are Hermaphrodite.

CLONE– Creation of a Plant With the Same Genetic Material as Another, Via Asexual Reproduction. Vegetative Propagation From a Bud or a Shoot From “Mother Vine” Without a Seed. A Clone is an Example of a Grape Varietal That’s Been Selected For Propagation Because of Desired Characteristics Lacking In Other Examples of the Original Varietal.

  • Different Clones Have Different Qualities and Growing Treats But Always have the Same Varietal Characteristics.
  • Since Clonal Reproduction Doesn’t Involve Swapping Genes Like Sexual Reproduction Does, What You Get is a Perfect Genetic Copy of the Plant You Took the Cutting From.
  • Clones Produced to Insure Consistency, Emphasize Vine Attributes, Early Ripening, Cluster Formation, Berry Size, Acid Profile and Tannin Structure.
  • Clones Usually Identified by Number or Name or Name/ Number Combination.
  • Musque– Class of Cones Across Varietals Selected For Their Intensely Aromatic Profile. Musque Clones Are Often Referred to by the Varietal Name Plus the Term Musque After. Most Popular Musque Clone is Gewurztramer Which is a Clone of the Traminer Grape.

COLONIAL SELECTION-  Practice of Selecting a Single Superior Plant From a Vineyard and Use Cuttings For Propagation.
VITICULTURE– CHALLENGES– This Leads to the Spread of Vine Disease and Too Much Vineyard Uniformity.

MASSAL SELECTION- A Clone is a Vine Propagated From One Single Vine, a Mother/ Stud-Vine, and Each Plant is Identical In DNA. and Uniform In Personality. Massal Selection is Accomplished Through Field Selections by Carefully Choosing Cutting From Old Vine. Replanting New Vineyards With Cuttings From Exceptional Old Vines From the Same or Nearby Property Massal Selection Leads to a Vineyard Adapted Completely to It’s Environment and Fully Expresses the Nuances of Its Terroir and is a True Expression of Nature.

CULTIVAR- Specific Plants Selected For Desirable Characteristics, Persistent Under Cultivation That Can Be Maintained by Propagation.  AKA=Stud

  • Husbandry– Cultivating and Breeding of Crops or Animal For Genetic Qualities and Behavior Considered to Be Advantageous.

CUTTING- AKA=Layering/ Provignage– Cane Removed From a Vine In Order to Propagate a New Plant Through Grafting, Rootling or Rootstock.

  • Most Plants Have the Ability to Develop and Process Root Tissue From Any Part of the Original Plant. You Can Take a Cutting or a Piece of the Original Vine, Plant it Into the Ground and it Will Take Root and Grow Into a New Vine.
  • The Vine the Cutting Was Removed From is Considered Parent Vine.
  • Cuttings Usually 12-18 Inches In Length and Ideally Taken From Dormant Vine.

“A Cutting is Just a Piece From the Vine, With 4 Buds On it. You Put the Cutting Half Buried, the 2 Buds Under the Ground Should Grow Roots, the 2 Buds Above Ground Should Push Out Shoots and Leaves.  Keep it Watered and Cared For and it Should Become an Established Grape Vine.”

SUITCASE CLONE- Historic Name For Cutting Taken from Grand Cru/ Prominent Vineyards In Europe and Smuggled to the USA. In Suitcases. AKA=Samsonite Clones.

  • It’s Illegal to Import Agricultural Material Into USA. Without Proper Quantity.
  • Foreign Quarantine Notice of 1948- Prohibited Importing of Clonal Plant Material to Stop the Spread of Infected Virus Clones.
  • HISTORY– Many Pinot Noir Cuttings Were Entering the USA. In the 1930 &40’s, Although Abundant In Numbers These “Suitcase Clones” Were Infected With Viruses.
  • USDA. Quarantine Station In Geneva New York.
  • PIONEERS~ ~Gary Pisoni~ Smuggled In a Set of Cutting For His Santa Lucia Highlands Vineyard.

2) VINE NURSERY– Place For Nurturing Young Vines.

  • Cuttings are Taken In Winter and Planted In Moist Sand Usually Over a Heated Bed Until They Become 1 Year Old “Routings” Which Have Developed Young Roots.
  • 16 Root Stocks to Match With Different Varietals, Soils, Climate, +Alt.
  • Vitis Vinifera Often Grafted With Hardier American Rootstock to Form New Living Plant, Resulting Plant Possesses Qualities and Properties of Both.

VINE NURSERIES

  • Alexander Grape Vine Nursery     @Zamora, California
  • Casa Cristal Nursery, Inc.     @Delano, California
  • Duarte Nursery      @Hughson, California
  • Grey Creek     @Geyserville, California
  • Guillaume Grapevine Nursery     @Knighs Landing, California
  • Herrick Grapevines     @Sacramento, California
  • Inland Desert Nursery, Inc.     @Benton City, Washington
  • Novavine      @Santa Rosa, California
  • Sunridge Nurseries     @Bakerfield, California
  • Wonderful Nurseries, Llc.     @Wasco, California

3) ROOTSTOCK– Lower Portion of Root and Corresponding Growth Buds.

  • Certain Rootstock Has Proven to Be Resistant to Phylloxera, Nematodes, Environmental Factors.
  • You Can Cut the Top Off the Roots of One Varietal and Graft to Another While the Plant is Still In the Ground. This Lets You Keep the Expanse Root System a Plant Has Developed and All the Benefits That Come With the Mature Roots.
  • **Refer to “VITICULTURE/ CHOICES & DECISIONS/ Rootstock Selection” For Additional Information.
  • **Refer to “THE GRAPE ITSELF/ Root System” For Additional Information.
  • BENEFITS OF UN-GRAFTED/ OWN-ROOTED VINES
    • Increase Sap Flow
    • Greater Intensity of Flavor
    • Darker In Color
    • Better Resistant to Disease and Weather
  • TYPES OF ROOT-STOCKS
    • 039-16
    • 5BB  (Kober)
    • 5C  (Teleki)
    • 44-53M  (Malegue)
    • 99R  (Richter)
    • 101-14
    • 110R  (Richter)
    • 125AA  (Kober)
    • 140Ru  (Ruggeri)
    • 161-49C  (Couderc)
    • 420A Mgt. (Millardet et de Grasset)
    • 1103P  (Paulsen)
    • 1616C  (Couderc)
    • 3309C  (Couderc)
    • Freedom
    • Riparia Gloire
    • Ramsey
    • Schwartzman
    • SO4-(Selection Oppenheim)
    • St. George  (Rupestris du Lot)

BACK STORY- ~How American Rootstock Saved Europe From the Phylloxera Outbreak~

  • By Mid 1800’s New World and Old World Vintners Were Exchanging Cutting Across the Atlantic to See How Native American Vines Would Develop In Europe. This Exchange of Vine Lead to the Phylloxera Louse to Be Imported to Europe Where It Very Much Wiped Out the Vineyards of Europe. The Phylloxera Out Break Started In the Rhone Valley In France and Over the Next 3 Decades Spread to Italy and Germany and Eventually the Majority of Vineyards Across Europe Were Wiped Out. This Epidemic Was Solved With the Innovation of Grafting Vitis Vinifera Vines With American Root Stock. (ARX1)
  • To Combat Phylloxera Vine Growers Graft Euro Vines to American Rootstock. This Works Because America Vine Rootstock Had Already Adapted to the Louse by Developing a Tolerance Mechanism That Allows Formation of a Layer of Corklike Tissue Around the Root Lesion and Developed Thicker Root Surface.
  • REGIONS WITH UN-GRAFTED/ OWN ROOTSTOCK
    • Atacama, Chile   |   Barossa Valley,  Australia        
    • Columbia Valley, Washington   |   Salta, Argentina
    • Santorini, Greece   |   Canary Islands, Spain
    • Colares, Portugal   |   Mt. Etna, Italy
    • Armenia   |   Georgia

GRAFTING GRAPE VINES– Connecting Two Pieces of Living Tissue So to Unite and Grow as One. The Process of Placing a Shoot System or Scion of One Species on the Root System or Another.

  • DORMANT BENCH GRAFTING- (Done In an Indoor Nursery.) This Process is Done In Mass-Production  and is Achieved by Attaching  a “Sion” or Budwood On the the Roots of Another Species and Dip In Wax, and Grown For 1 Year Before Planting.  This Grafting is Usually Done to a Dormant Scion Wood and is Grafted to a Rootstock That is Either Dormant or Starting to Grow.  These Newly Grafted Vines Are Held at Temperatures of 60°- 70° From 2 Weeks to Give the Wounds Time to Start Healing.
    • Grafting Machine- Cut In Rootstock, Scion Pieces With Mirror Shape For Snug Fit. The Newly Attached Section is 1) Wrapped With Paste and Beeswax. or
      • 2) Put In a Bag With Damp Peat Moss and Let Sit to Allow the Newly Form Connection to Calis Over and Start Growing as One.
  • FIELD GRAFTING- (Done In the Vineyard.) AKA=Top Grafting. Technique For Changing the Type of Grape Variety With Out Replanting the Vine/ Roots. The Top of the Old Variety is Cut Off at the Truck and the New Variety is Grafted On the Existing Trunk or Just the Bud of the New Variety is Sliced Into the Existing Vine/ Root System.  This Process Saves Time. (The Lose of Only One Year of Fruit and Also the Vine Does Not Have to Establish a New Root System.)

4) VINE CROSS INDEX

LIVING LIBRARY/ COLLECTIONS OR GRAPEVINES

  • Around the World Countries Have Living Collections of Vine. You Can’t Preserve Grapes From Seeds Because They Need Pollen to Reproduced. The First Pioneering Organization to Start This Practice was Montpellier Grape Library In Provence. This Urgency to Protect Indigenous Grape Vine Was Brought On by the Phylloxera Outbreak of the Late 1800’s, and Since This Many Countries Have Followed.
  • REASONS To BREED NEW GRAPE VARIETIES
    • Make Better Wine
    • Grow Better In Extreme Weather
    • Resistant to Disease
    • Drought Tolerant
  • WINE & PHILOSOPHY? “With +3,250 Different Grape Varieties to Choose From Should We Try to Breed New Grapes?”
    • “There is Always a Chance to Find New Quality Grapes.  Grapes With Greater Resistance and Lessor Susceptible to Viticulture Challenges.  And the Chance to Find a New Grape Just Taste Better.”

AUTOCHTHONOUS- Refers to Grape Varieties That Are Almost Exclusively the Result of Natural Cross-Breeding or Mutation Ina Particular Growing Area, and Have a Long History In That Area.

4) HYBRIDS Of The World

FRENCH GRAPE HYBRIDS

  • Group of Hybrids Bred In France In 1870 to 1920’s, Crossing French Vines With American Vines (Desirable Characteristics of the Parents Natural Tolerance to Mold, Mildews, Disease, Fungus, Heat, Climate)Refers to Crossing French Species (Vitis Vinifera Grapes, Indigenous to France) With American Grape Species
  • ACADEMIC~ ~Montpellier~
  • ACADEMIC~  ~NRA, Bordeaux~
  • WHITE= Arriloba, Perdea
  • RED= Portan, Caladoc, Chenanson, Ganson, Gramon
  • Hardy Productive Hybrid Grapes Were Banned by All French Appellations for Fear of Altering Previous Grape History and Culture. Some Hybrids Did Find a Home In Eastern USA. Where Hardiness is a Perpetual Issue.

FRENCH-AMERICAN GRAPE HYBRIDS

Refers to Crossing American Species, Indigenous to America With Vitis Vinifera Grape Species.

  • WHITE= Aurore, Cayuga, Ravat, Seyval Blanc, Traminette, Verdelet, Vidal Blanc, Villard Blanc
  • RED= Chambourcin, Chancellor, De Chaunac, Chelois, Isabella, Landot Noir, Rouge, Vignoles

AMERICAN HYBRID VARIETIES

  • Black Spanish= X=Vitis Aestivalis & Vitis Cinerea
  • Herbemont=  X=Aestivalis & Vitis Cinerea
  • Catawba
  • Concord
  • Delaware
  • Noah
  • Othello

GERMAN GRAPE CROSSINGS

  • ACADEME~ ~Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute~      @Geinenheim, Rheingau
        • Specialization~ Grape Research For the Practical Advancement of Wine.
    • ~Geilweilerhof AKA=Julius-Kuhn-Institute~     @Siebeldingen, Pfalz
      • Specialization~ BreedingVine Varieties Which Combine Resistance to Fungal Disease With  Quality.
  • WHITE= Albalonga, Bacchus, Ehrenfelser, Faber, Freisamer, Gutenborner, Huxelrebe, Juwel, Kanzler, Kerner, Morio Muskat, Nobling, Optima, Ortega, Perle, Phoenix, Regner, Reichensteiner, Riesliner, Scheurebe, Wurzer
  • RED= Schonburger, Siegerrebe

AUSTRIAN GRAPE CROSSINGS

  • ACADEMIC~ ~GKlosterneuburg Viticulture Institute~     @Klosterneuburg
  • WHITE= Neuburger= X=Roter Veltliner & Sylvaner
  • RED= Blauburger= X=Blauer Portugieser & Blaufrankisch
    • Zweigelt= X=St. Laurent & Lemberger

RUSSIAN GRAPE CROSSINGS

  • WHITE= Saperavi, Severny, Stepniak, Fioletouy Ranni, Cabernet Severny
  • RED=

AUSTRIALIAN GRAPE CROSSINGS

  • WHITE= Goyura, Tarrango, Tullilah, Taminaga, Tyrian, Cienna
  • RED=

5) VINE BREEDERS

IMPORTANT VINE BREEDERS

TV. MUNSON-

  • Established TV. Munson Memorial Vineyard In 1974 In Denison, Texas, On Grayson College’s West Campus.
  • Experimented With and Developed 300+ Varieties of Grapes and Currently Over 60 Original Varieties and Grown and Monitored.
  • Each Fall Cuttings Are Propagated and Shipped Across the USA.
  • CROSSING INCLUDE
    • Albania, Amerbonte, America, Armalaga, Atoka, Bailey, Beacon, Bell, Ben Hur, Brilliant, Captain, Captivator, Carman, Champanel, Cloeta, Delago, Delicatessan, Delicious, Dog Ridge, Dr. Collier, Edna, Ellen Scott, Elvicand, Ericson, Extra, Fern Munson, Gold Coin, Hilalgo, Hopkins, Krause, Ladano, Last Rose, Lomanto, Longfellow, Lukfata, Manito, Manson, Marguerite, Mathilda, Mericadel, Minnie, Mrs. Munson, Muench, Neva Munson, Nitodal, Olita, President, Presly, Rommel, Ronaldo, Ruby, RW. Munson, Salamander, San Jacinto, Sanmonta, Valhallah, Volney, Wapanuka, Wetumka, Wine King, Xlnta

ELMER SWENSON- Grape Breeder Working With/ Through University of Minnesota (and 120 Acre Vineyard In Osceola, Wisconsin.  Revolutionized Grape Growing In Cold Weather Upper Midwest United States.

  • CROSSING INCLUDE
    • Aldemina, Alpenglow, Brianna Delisle, Edelweiss, Espirit, Kandiyohi, Kay Grey, Laura’s Laughter, Minnesota 78, Norway Red, Petit Jewel, Prairie Star, Sabrevois, Summersweet, St. Croix, St. Theresa, St. Pepin, Swenson Red, Swenson White

Dr. Harold Olmo- Grape Breeder Who Worked to Improve Yields, Resistant Grapes and Clones. Olmo Was Perhaps the Most Prolific and Successful Grape Breeder in the History of the United States.

  • CROSSING INCLUDE
    • Early Muscat, Emerald Riesling, Perlette, Symphony

**Refer to “BEGINNING/ Study of the Vine/ Wine Institutes” For Additional Information.

**Refer to “BIBLIOGRAPHY/ Sources” For Details On Scholarly Works Referenced.