North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Lon J. Rombough" <lonrom@hevanet.com>]

Grape flavors vary considerably in different climates.  I once had Kay Gray at Geneva, NY,  near St. Paul, Minnesota, and Osceola, WI within a few days of each other.  At Geneva it was harsh and musky tasting.  At St. Paul it was pleasant and mild, and at Osceola, WI it was quite fruity and enjoyable.  Same thing with several other grapes.  One oddity I have called Dobson varies wildly from year to year.  One year it was musky and tasted like dirt.  Another year it had a distinct metallic taste.  Another year it was a strong labrusca flavor.   It has never been the same two years in a row.
Taste in grapes is variable, to say the least, according to climate, soil, and the events of the growing season.
-Lon Rombough
Grapes, writing, consulting, my book, The Grape Grower, at http://www.bunchgrapes.com  Winner of the Garden Writers Association "Best Talent in Writing" award for 2003. 
For even more grape lessons, go to  http://www.grapeschool.com
For growing supplies and more;  http://www.grapegrowersolutions.com

On Apr 19, 2007, at 9:12 AM, road's end farm wrote:


On Apr 19, 2007, at 9:21 AM, Lon J. Rombough wrote:

> "Strawberry" is a generic term in much of Europe referring to the taste of labrusca grapes.  Uva Fragola may be a specific hybrid, but in many places it's often the old American "Isabella".  Concord is often described as having a strawberry flavor in parts of Europe.

Neither Isabella nor Concord tastes at all like strawberries to me.

I wonder whether this is a difference in the flavor of these grapes in European growing conditions; a difference in the flavor of strawberries in Europe; a difference in taste buds between individual humans; or maybe just an (in my opinion) not very successful attempt to describe the flavor of American grapes, which is a distinctly different flavor from those European grapes I have tasted; but varies a good deal from variety to variety (I don't think a Delaware tastes at all like a Concord, for instance).

--Rivka
Finger Lakes NY; zone 5 mostly_______________________________________________
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