North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Road's End Farm <organic87@frontiernet.net>]

On May 21, 2010, at 3:58 PM, Doreen Howard wrote:

Other than Concord, which two antique grapes do you find the easiest to grow?  I'm looking for recommendations based on best flavor, rather than high yields.  This is for a book I'm writing.

The first thing the book should say about this is that it's going to make a lot of difference where you are. The second is probably that it depends on what you like in grape flavor.

For zone 5 in the Northeast, I'd vote for Delaware. But then, I love Delawares; and I don't much like Niagaras (the commonest three in this area for some time were Niagara, Concord, Delaware; sometimes mixed up in the vineyards, so I've been told, so they could be harvested into mixed fruit baskets around the early 1900's). But some people won't want any of those, or Concord either, because they're seeded grapes with skins that not everybody likes to eat.

-- Rivka; Finger Lakes NY, Zone 5 mostly

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