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Recommended Grape Varieties for the Colorado Front Range: Part III

By Jim Bruce

'Ristvin'
Jim Bruce

Jim has been growing grapes in marginal areas since 1974. He currently runs the Rist Canyon Vineyards. Rist Canyon vineyards is a varietal trial and research vineyard in the Colorado Front Range Foothills.

WHITE GRAPE VARIETIES:

  • Aurora:  Aurora was one of the first white varieties that I ever grew. It is a vigorous and productive early white variety that has gone out of vogue lately. Aurora produces a neutral flavored wine that can be made into a varietal in the best of years when it has more body but is better off a a base wine for blending. The vines are disease resistant and winter hardy. One of its big disadvantages is that it is very early budding and thus is susceptible to late spring frosts. It will set a small crop from the secondary buds but these will be delayed in ripening. Aurora is also susceptible to the herbicide 2,4-D.


  • Ravat 34:  R 34 has been my replacement for Aurora in my winemaking endeavors. It has much more flavor and can be made into a varietal wine. The resulting wine has the body that Aurora is missing. The growth habit of this vine is upright and easy to train to a VSP trellis. R34 takes longer to establish but once adapted to the environment it becomes more vigorous and productive. It is winter hardy except in the coldest of years. But when spur pruned on a long cordon this is not a problem. Like many hybrids, it should be cluster pruned. R34 produces long clusters of medium-sized berries that turn a translucent pink as they ripen.


  • Seyval:  Seyval is one of the standard white varieties. I find it a midseason variety. It struggles to fully ripen at the RCV but does well at the lower Front Range elevations. Seyval makes a stand alone varietal wine when fully ripe. But under my condition I use it in blends with other varieties. It can sometimes suffer from high acidity. Seyval can reach 20-22 Brix here in a good year. This is an upright variety that is easy to train. Spur pruning and cluster thinning is necessary to control the crop and ensure good cane maturation. Being a standard varietal, it has good name recognition. A friend of mine makes a wonderful champange from this variety.


  • St. Pepin:  St. Pepin is a female vine but I've never had a problem with fruit set with this variety. An early midseason grape here it usually reaches 20-22 Brix. St. Pepin imparts a good flavor to the wine and makes a nice base for blending. Trailing in habit, it is better trained to a single curtain than a VSP. Very vigorous and disease resistant. Medium-long clusters of medium berries that turn a yellowish-green at maturity. I'm more impressed with St. Pepin with each year.


  • Espririt:  Espirit is a very vigorous variety. Disease resistant with a trailing growth habit. Medium sized clusters with medium green berries that take on a yellow-green tint as they ripen in midseason here at my vineyard. This is a hardy vine that does best with a single curtain trellis system. Good sugar at 20-22 Brix and a spicy, workable acidity. The canes mature early. Both St. Pepin and Espirit are well suited for growing under the conditions of the Colorado Front Range Foothills.


  • Horizon:  Horizon is a very hardy variety that has a vigorous growth habit much like GR7. This is another surprise variety. The clusters are medium with medium green berries (see the featured variety photo on the left). The berries take on a translucent appearance as they ripen in midseason. Sugar reaches 22 Brix with good acidity. Horizon has a spicy flavor that translates into a pleasant wine. The vine grows balanced and does not need cluster pruning. It can be trained to either a VSP or a Single Curtain system. I have noticed that it is somewhat susceptible to 2,4-D herbicide. A very nice white grape variety. I'm impressed!



    To continue on to page 4 of this discussion of recommended varieties, CLICK HERE









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    Feature Variety

    Variety: Horizon

    Horizon, a French hybrid getting ready for harvest in late September, 2003.

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