Good morning, everyone, First of all, I want to thank the folks in this community for helping me keep our grape vine alive a couple of months ago, when the leaves were turning yellow. I'm happy to say that the vine recovered somewhat, and was able to mature four small clusters of grapes for harvest. A great result, as far as I'm concerned. My hope is that we can harvest the seeds to grow seedlings next spring. However, I'm hoping to create a 'failsafe' on this process by having someone identify the exact variety of grape vine that we're working with. That way, if all else fails, I can go out and purchase a plant of the same variety in the future. So, I'm attaching a couple of photos of the grapes and vine. If someone would like to take a shot at identifying them, I'd really appreciate it. I can even take a few to a seasoned expert in the Lower Mainland for a tasting, if that would ensure the accuracy of the assessment. As you can see from the photos, the grapes ar a very dark purpleish-blue, with a light grey patina that can be rubbed off with a cloth. The grapes are perfectly round, and grow to about 2cm in diameter, at most. The liquid between the skin and the flesh is sweet, but the flesh itself is fairly sour. Happy to answer any other questions that may help in the process. And thanks again for your time.
When you tasted the grapes, did you notice if they had the characteristic taste of a Concord variety? If you like the taste and want to propagate the vine, it should be easy to clone it by sprouting some cuttings over the winter. Planting seeds will likely give you vines with very different characteristics.
Thank you for your thoughts on this question. There are definitely some similarities to Condord varieties. Although the kinds I've seen in grocery stores are smaller and sweeter than what grows on this vine. (This makes sense, as it would appeal to a wider number of potential buyers.) I'll need to do some research into sprouting some cuttings. I feel like I got lucky with the vine we have now, as I really didn't do anything other than stick it in soil and hope for the best. I'm sure there are specific techniques that will increase my chances of further success. And I just recieved permission this evening from the current home owners to take some cuttings off the original vine. So, I'll have to choose carefully to find some that are likely to do well for this purpose. I also appreciate your comment about how starting from seeds might lead to a new vine with very different characteristics. I had no idea. I just assumed that seeds off the grapes of this vine would grow into the exact same vine and grapes in future seasons. But obviously I'll need to do more research.
The dark slip-skin grapes in the stores are usually Coronation, and they are essentially seedless. Concords are a little larger and have seeds. I think the grapes in the stores come from the Okanagan, where the weather is warmer - I assume local grapes of the same variety would not be as sweet. A lot of fruit trees do not come true from seeds. If you query "can you grow grapes (cherries, apples etc) from seeds", you will find a lot written about it, including how many thousand seedlings you would reject while looking for one that turns out to be something you like.
Wendy, I grow Coronation grapes, and they do not taste like Concords. I have also grown two varieties of (seeded) Concord type grapes, and they achieve plenty of sweetness because they are early maturing varieties. However, you bring up a good point about their being slip-skinned. If Eric's grapes are slip-skinned and taste like Concords, they are very likely one of the many varieties of that group.
See, that's why I don't pay a lot for wine. Really, there aren't even "some similarities"? Anyway, Eric was hoping to use the seeds, so that would imply that his have seeds.
Hi folks. Thank you for the additional comments. Online photos of Concord grapes look very similar to what I have here. And yes, they are seeded, dark blue slip-skinned grapes. So, I think we're on the right track there. It's interesting to hear that there are sweeter, early-maturing varieties of the Concord grape. Ours generally don't come ripe until September, but the original vine produced a large amount of fruit at that time. It would be interesting to taste a sweeter, Lower Mainland version of the Concord. I suppose they would taste similar to what you can buy in a store? Perhaps I'll see if there are any Concord grapes at the local grocery, and see if they taste similar to our own kind.
Eric, I've tried Campbell's Early and Fredonia and found that the latter was better. The basic Concord variety is commonly available, but it ripens later, possibly too late to achieve sufficient sweetness. I'd like to plant a seedless variety and have found several described on the Web, but none seem to be available from a Canadian source.
