Goethe is one of the collection of grape varieties known as

Rogers' Hybrids Rogers' Hybrids are a group of 45 grape seedlings, thirteen of them named as cultivars, developed by Edward Staniford Rogers of Salem, Massachusetts, in the mid-19th century. Although almost entirely gone from cultivation now (except the hybrid A ...

, created by Edward Staniford Rogers of

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem was one ...

, in the mid-19th century, and is the result of a cross of Carter, a selection of

Vitis labrusca ''Vitis labrusca'', the fox grape, is a species of grapevines belonging to the ''Vitis'' genus in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The vines are native to eastern North America and are the source of many grape cultivars, including Catawba, ...

, and Black Hamburg (there are two varieties known by this name, but in this case it was probably

Schiava Grossa Trollinger, Schiava, or Vernatsch, is a red German/Italian wine grape variety that was likely first originally cultivated in the wine regions of South Tyrol and Trentino, but today is almost exclusively cultivated on steep, sunny locations in t ...

), a selection of

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

. It was originally known as Rogers No. 1, until Rogers named it after

Johann Wolfgang Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on literary, political, and philosoph ...

, the German author, artist, and scientist. Goethe is female, and thus requires a second grape variety as a pollen source. Fruit is a pale red, ripens late, and is prone to rot. Hedrick considered it the most vinifera-like of the Rogers' Hybrids, but while of high quality, it rarely reaches full maturity in shorter-seasoned climates, and only achieved a measure of popularity in the Mid-Atlantic and Mid-West United States.

References

Hybrid grape varieties Johann Wolfgang von Goethe {{wine-grape-stub