The Delaware grape is a

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

derived from the

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus '' Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years a ...

species '' Vitis labrusca'' or 'Fox grape' which is used for the table and wine production. The skin of the Delaware grape when ripened has a pale red, almost pinkish colour, a tender skin, and juicy sweet flesh. It has small fruit clusters with small berries that do not have the pronounced 'foxiness' of other ''V. labrusca'' grapes. It is a slip-skin variety, meaning that the skin is easily separated from the fruit. The grapes are used to make wines including dry, sweet, icewine but is famed for spicy sparkling wines that do not have much of the objectionable foxiness character that other ''V. labrusca'' grapes contribute to their wines. The wine is light pink to white in colour. It is a commercially viable grape vine which is grown in the Northeast and Midwest United States, and is vigorous when grafted onto a ''Phylloxera''-resistant root stock. The Delaware grape is susceptible to

downy mildew Downy mildew refers to any of several types of oomycete microbes that are obligate parasites of plants. Downy mildews exclusively belong to the Peronosporaceae family. In commercial agriculture, they are a particular problem for growers of cruc ...

and ripens earlier than 'Concord'. The Delaware grape is also a table grape variety sold in supermarkets throughout South Korea and Japan, where ''V. labrusca'' grape varieties are popular for their fragrance. Delaware Punch is named for the Delaware grape from which its flavor is primarily derived.

History

The Delaware grape was probably discovered in

Frenchtown, New Jersey Frenchtown is a borough in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. Frenchtown is located along the banks of the Delaware River on the Hunterdon Plateau thirty two miles northwest of the state capital Trenton. As of the 2010 United States ...

, but was first brought to public notice by Abram Thomson, of

Delaware, Ohio Delaware is a city in and the county seat of Delaware County, Ohio, United States. Delaware was founded in 1808 and was incorporated in 1816. It is located near the center of Ohio, is about north of Columbus, and is part of the Columbus, Ohio ...

, in the 1850s. Although it is said to be an American variety, its parentage is unknown and is thought to have a significant ''

Vitis vinifera ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, is a species of flowering plant, native to the Mediterranean region, Central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran. There are cur ...

'' component in its background, possibly explaining the susceptibility to fungal diseases and the requirement for grafting onto ''Phylloxera''-resistant root stock for best growth. T.V. Munson believed it to be a hybrid of ''V. labrusca'', ''V. vinifera'', and "bourquiniana", a class of vines now believed to be hybrids of ''

Vitis aestivalis ''Vitis aestivalis'', the summer grape, or pigeon grape is a species of grape native to eastern North America from southern Ontario east to Maine, west to Oklahoma, and south to Florida and Texas. It is a vigorous vine, growing to 10 m or more h ...

''.

References

{{Reflist Table grape varieties American wine Red wine grape varieties