Grape Identification: Pacific North West

[Mdrew]

Hello friends, I'm looking to identify these grapes. I've made a couple of batches out of them last year, and I'm planning on doing it again this year. But it sure would help if I knew wtf they were.

The leaves don't feel waxy or hairy. One of the grape bunches does have a thumb off to the side, but most have only one bunch. The grapes are on an arbor. I'm in Tacoma Washington state, PNW. 47.2529° N, 122.4443° W
The altitude is 200-500' above sea level. Our weather here is temperate. Summers aren't too hot, winters don't generally freeze for more than a couple of non-consecutive days.


The vine is going bonkers, LOTS of grapes. I'll get it pruned this winter from someone local who knows what's going on. Perhaps they'll know the variety.

Looking over http://www.gotastewine.com/wine-varietals.php#
Perhaps a chardonnay, Grenache, Oooo Muscat looks the closest.

Any other thoughts?

 

[NorCal]

Would have to be a red variety, so Chardonnay is out. Do you know the sugar level they get to? My bet would be a table grape.

 

[ibglowin]

Do they have seeds?

 

[Mdrew]

@NorCal darn, my first two batches (ever) were last season from these grapes. I didn't keep track of the initial sugar! Doh. I shall this year. I was following a recipie for 5 gallons that had me add another 10lbs of sugar, and after that, it came up to somewhere around 1.102 SG.
@ibglowin yup, they do have seeds. I found four seeds in a grape I pulled off there.

 

[NorCal]

Lets see if we can back into it.
1.102 = 24.2 brix.
1 pound of sugar per gallon = 8 brix.
10 pounds of sugar into 5 gallons would add 16 brix
So, your starting grape brix would be around 8, which is low, even for table grapes.

 

[Mdrew]

I appreciate that math! They smell so sweet though... I'll get a refractometer reading off them this season once they age up at harvest time.

 

[CK55]

I appreciate that math! They smell so sweet though... I'll get a refractometer reading off them this season once they age up at harvest time.

What color do they reach when 100% ripe?

I think they might be a hybrid, i doubt they are Vinifera but it is possible given where you are as California, Oregon and Washington make quite a lot of wine.

 

[Johny99]

What color do they reach when 100% ripe?

I think they might be a hybrid, i doubt they are Vinifera but it is possible given where you are as California, Oregon and Washington make quite a lot of wine.

There are some unique ones grown on the “wet side”. How old is the vine, house, neighborhood? What color do they get once really ripe? As in did you leave any till they rotted to see?

Color reminds me of Gwertraminer, almost but the leaf doesn’t look right. Have you tried sending a pic to WSU extension?

 

[CK55]

There are some unique ones grown on the “wet side”. How old is the vine, house, neighborhood? What color do they get once really ripe? As in did you leave any till they rotted to see?

Color reminds me of Gwertraminer, almost but the leaf doesn’t look right. Have you tried sending a pic to WSU extension?

If he wanted he could mail a sample to UC Davis $325 ish dollars. But worth every penny.

 

[KevinL]

Sweet Smell Plus that color and shape of grape, and the shape and color of the leaf makes me think Labrusca. My Concords currently put out a very grapey sweet smell right now.

I'm going to guess Catawba:
.

If the grapes turn deep purple then concord would be the next guess.

 

[CK55]

Sweet Smell Plus that color and shape of grape, and the shape and color of the leaf makes me think Labrusca. My Concords currently put out a very grapey sweet smell right now.

I'm going to guess Catawba:
.

If the grapes turn deep purple then concord would be the next guess.

You know what you might be right, didnt even think about that.

 

[Mdrew]

An email I recently got from a local master gardener.

========================================================================

This is a photo of eight different leaf shapes from the same species of a grape called Vitis mustangenis. ---- So as beautiful as your photos are they are not a reliable way to give you a definitive answer on your grapes. There are some grapes with very distinctive flavor that could give you some direction on particular families of grape - yours would need to be completely ripe and then you could perhaps find a local vintner willing to taste yours.
========================================================================​

 

[user 36973]

Sweet Smell Plus that color and shape of grape, and the shape and color of the leaf makes me think Labrusca. My Concords currently put out a very grapey sweet smell right now.

I'm going to guess Catawba

I'll second that it could be Catawba based on the fruit color, leaf and overall vigor. If the grape skins are thick and slide off the flesh very easily (ie. slip skin grape), that is a good sign it is a Labrusca. I doubt anyone could make a reasonably accurate guess on the varietal during pruning season. If it's worth the money you could send a sample to Davis. Or for far less money and more fun, you could order some Catawba (and other varietals) wine from some mid-west / east-coast wineries for comparison. There is a wide range of color though, depending on how much skin contact was allowed.

I've got about 550 of the catawba vines growing here. The grapes here usually make it to 16-19 brix before I harvest, depending on the season. Makes a very nice fruity wine with plenty of acid that lends itself to wanting to be a sweet hot-tub kind of wine. I usually give them a few days of skin fermentation to extract some color and additional flavor. This makes for a nice rose wine color in the end. Cheers!