French-American Hybrids
Definition - What does French-American Hybrids mean?
French-American hybrids are grapevines created by combining the rootstock from French vines (Vitis Vinifera) to those of American vines (Vitis Aestivates Lincecumii, the Post Oak Grape; Vitis Rupestris, the Sand Grape; and Vitis Riparia, the Riverbank Grape). The Vitis Labrusca vine was avoided because of its strong, overpowering flavor. Hybrid grapes can also be referred to as inter-species crossings or Modern Varieties. French-American Hybrids have excellent tolerance to common vineyard diseases like powdery mildew, fungal diseases, nematodes and phylloxera.
WineFrog explains French-American Hybrids
The first French-American hybrid was created in the early 20th century. At the time, the phylloxera louse was rampaging through Europe, destroying all of the vines. Various breeding programs were established to find a solution to save the vineyards. Grafting American vines onto French vines was the best solution. Since then, several North American breeding programs have been created to focus on creating hybrid grapes, with active and successful programs at places like Cornell and the University of Minnesota that have created thousands of new varieties.
French-American hybrids produce wines that are a combination of the traits from the parent stock.
The French-American hybrid varietals include:
- Aurore
- Baco noir
- Cascade
- Cayuga White
- Chambourcin (Noir)
- Chancellor (Noir)
- Chardonel
- Chelois
- Colobel
- De Chaunac
- Horizon
- Isabella
- Frontenac
- Frontenac Gris
- GR 7 (Geneva Red 7)
- La Crescent
- Landot
- Léon Millot
- Maréchal Foch
- Melody
- Norton
- Ravat 34
- Ravat (Vignoles)
- Ravat Noir
- Rougeon
- Seyval blanc
- Traminette
- Ventura
- Verdelet
- Vidal Blanc
- Vignoles
- Villard blanc
- Villard noir
- Vincent
- Vivant
