Exploring the concepts that influence and shape hybrid wines and vines. Jordan Cowe CWE presents a crash course in understanding this dark area of the wine world.

1. H Y B R I D T H E O R Y
M O D E R N W I N E S F R O M H Y B R I D V I N E S
B Y : J O R D A N C O W E , C W E
T W I T T E R : @ J D C O W E

2. W H A T A R E H Y B R I D S ?

3. W H A T A R E
H Y B R I D S ?
• Biology
• Viticulture
• Vitis Overview
• Vitis Species
• History of Vinifera Hybrids

4. H Y B R I D S :
B I O L O G Y
• When speaking of hybrids there
exists several varying uses of
the term across various fields.
• Most typically refers to
interspecific hybrids between to
genetically distinct species.
• Occasionally refers to
Intraspecific hybrids between
genetically distinct cultivars or
populations of the same
species.

5. H Y B R I D S :
V I T I C U L T U R E
• Within the realm of Wine and
Viticulture we are almost
always referring to
Interspecific Hybrids.
• Crossings of two or more
distinct species of Vitis. Ex. V.
Vinifera x V. Labrusca
• Crossings of distinct varietals
within the same species are
not considered hybrids for the
purpose of wine.

6. V I T I S
O V E R V I E W
• Vitis is a diverse Genus of
approximately 60 species of grape
vines.
• The vast majority of known Vitis species
are native to North America or Asia.
• Additionally almost all species of Vitis
have 38 Chromosomes allowing for near
universal ability to create hybrids with
fertile offspring.
• Small exception found in the Muscadinia
family having 40 chromosomes making
crosses with other species extremely
rarely fertile.

7. M A J O R V I T I S
S P E C I E S
• Among the approximately 60
species of grape vine only a select
few have found significant wide
spread usage in wine including:
• Vitis Vinifera
• Vitis Labrusca
• Vitis Aestivalis
• Vitis Riparia
• Vitis Rupestris
• Vitis Berlandieri

8. V I N I F E R A
H Y B R I D
H I S T O R Y
• Major developments in Hybrid Grapes largely date
to the early 19th Century.
• Some early crossings were made to attempt to
improve the flavour profile of grapes grown in North
America.
• The largest developments occurred later in the 19th
century with the introduction of phylloxera and
downy and powdery mildews to Europe.
• Due to resistance experienced by North American
grapes to these blights interest in hybrids increased
dramatically.
• Later when the idea of grafting came to light as a
serious option hybrids became an option for tailoring
rootstocks to the needs of European soils.
• In particular the ability of V. Berlandieri to thrive in
alkaline soils was particularly needed.

9. U S E S O F H Y B R I D S

10. U S E S O F
H Y B R I D S
• Overview
• Rootstocks
• Pest Resistance
• Disease resistance
• Weather resistance
• Production Cost

11. H Y B R I D
U S A G E
O V E R V I E W
• When thinking of hybrids we tend to
think primarily of grapes from cold
growing regions.
• Hybrids are however just as if not more
important as rootstocks.
• Hybrids also have great utility in
regions that experience other extreme
weather and growing conditions.
• Additionally the tolerance of many
hybrids to harsh growing conditions
and grape pests has made them of
great interest to Environmentally
Friendly Viticukture.

12. H Y B R I D
R O O T S T O C K S
• While there are still some regions with
own rooted vines and some single
species rootstocks the vast majority are
hybrids of various species.
• By tailoring the specific rootstock
chosen to the region being grown in you
can often improve the quality of fruit
being produced. Sometimes even over
own rooted vines.
• The reason for this importance comes
from the ability to use the rootstock to
influence vigour, yields, cold tolerance,
nutrient uptake, soil tolerance and other
aspects of grape production.

13. P E S T
R E S I S T A N C E
• Given a co-evolution of many North
American Grape Vines and the pests
affecting modern wine production
hybrid vines can be bred to have the
tolerance needed to these pests.
• The most significant for rootstock
production and hybrid grape
production around the world is
resistance to phylloxera.
• Less significant but important
nonetheless for certain regions is
rootstock resistance to nematodes
which have become an increasing
problem.

14. D I S E A S E
R E S I S T A N C E
• Similar to pest resistance it is also
possible to Breed hybrids with
resistance to many disease.
• Most significant for many regions are
Downy and Powdery Mildew as well
as various rots.
• Increasing research is being put into
developing hybrids with tolerance to
Pierce's Disease. A characteristic
found in Bunch Grapes and several
cultivars of Muscadine among other
grapes from the south eastern United
States.

15. W E A T H E R
R E S I S T A N C E
• Some of the most useful applications
of hybrids have been in the areas of
weather and climate resistance.
• Cold hardiness and early ripening
characteristics have been a big target
for many. Most recently developments
from the University of Minnesota have
yielded gapes tolerant of
temperatures as low as -38* C.
• Elsewhere crossings have allowed
grapes more tolerant of drought or
overly humid environments.

16. P R O D U C T I O N
C O S T S
• In case all of the above points
haven't added up one big benefit is
lowered environmental impact and
production cost.
• With a grape tailored to your
climate, with built in disease and
weather resistance and potentially
lowered vigour and increased yields
costs drop significantly.
• All of these factors generally mean
less labour and spraying required to
produce more fruit. For many
growers this is a win win.

17. D E V E L O P M E N T S I N H Y B R I D
G R A P E S

18. D E V E L O P M E N T S
I N H Y B R I D
G R A P E S
• Early Hybrids
• Adoption around the World
• Modern Hybrids
• Expanding Viticultural
Possibilities

19. E A R L Y
H Y B R I D S
• As mentioned earlier, most early
hybrids with few exceptions were
largely focused on phylloxera
tolerance to solve the growing
issues with the pest.
• Many of these were producing
wines of low quality or were
unsuitable to the new regions they
were planted in.
• This early experience created what
have become many of the
longstanding misconceptions about
hybrids.

20. H Y B R I D
A D O P T I O N
• Despite initial troubles there were still
many researchers with great interest in
the potential of creating better hybrids.
• Most significantly in the Mid-West,
Northeast and Canada hybrids reigned
supreme up until the 1970's and 80's
and in some regions are still the only
grapes widely seen.
• The later generation hybrids were often
much more precisely suited and had
much better flavour characteristics but
the perceptions of hybrid grapes
lingered in the wine world as a whole.

21. M O D E R N
H Y B R I D S
• Hybrid development has continued in many
wine growing regions around the world.
• Modern technology has allowed increases
to the speed with which new hybrids can
be created and the precision with which
traits can be selected.
• This increased precision has allowed for
the creation of hybrids at are largely of
Vinifera parentage yet still retain the
desireable traits of native grape species.
• Hybrid developments have allowed the
spread and adoption of viticulture to far
northern regions previously too hostile for
grape vines.

22. E X P A N D I N G
V I T I C U L T U R E
• While technology has allowed for
wine production even from Vinifera
in previously unsuitable regions,
hybrids have taken this further.
• Many extreme climates such as
Quebec, Minnesota, Atlantic
Canada, the Northeast have been
able to produce grapes using new
cold hardy hybrids.
• Even regions such as Norway and
Scotland are seeing limited grape
production.

23. P R O B L E M S W I T H H Y B R I D
U S A G E

24. H Y B R I D
P R O B L E M S
• Consumer Familiarity
• Marketability
• Flavour Characteristics
• Growing/Winemaking
Characteristics

25. C O N S U M E R
F A M I L I A R I T Y
• One of the largest barriers to hybrids
adoption as any new varietal is
consumer familiarity.
• Most consumers by largely based on
what they are familiar with and
outside of regions with significant
hybrid presence by necessity they
are largely unknown.
• Additionally hybrid grapes have
traditionally had an extremely
negative perception among the wine
world. Even among those who have
never tasted a hybrid based wine.

26. M A R K E T A B I L I T
Y
• With a lack of consumer familiarity
and a low perception of quality among
the wine industry the marketability of
hybrid wines suffer significantly.
• Part of the difficulty with hybrids are
they largely require a hands on
approach to sales. In the winery when
given the opportunity to try the wines
many consumers end up liking the
wines and buying them.
• The difficulty comes from getting the
consumer to try the wine in the first
place.

27. F L A V O U R
C H A R A C T E R I S T I C
S
• While new more traditional tasting hybrids
have been developed many of the most
planted hybrids are older and produce less
Vinifera like wines.
• Many red hybrids such as Baco Noir or St.
Croix can have a heavily meaty earthy flavour
profile and an unusual acid and tannin
balance.
• Many white hybrids especially those with
Labrusca parentage can suffer more heavily
from a musky aroma layered in with the fruit
profile. This is often associated with
Labrusca's "Foxy" characteristic.
• Additionally many wines from hybrid grapes
are produced sweet due to marginal climates
or local consumer preference.

28. G R O W I N G / W I
N E M A K I N G
• While many hybrids, especially modern ones
have great suitability to regional climates and
are fairly easy to grow there are some issues
faced by hybrid wine makers.
• One of the largest of these issues for several
varieties can be Acid/pH balance and tannin
structure.
• It is not uncommon for some varietals such as
Back Noir to hit high levels of sugar and
flavour ripeness but still posses extremely high
TA AND high pH.
• This particular problem can be very tough to
remedy as dropping the TA can lead to an
unstable and overly high pH. Often
winemaking with hybrids can be a balancing
act requiring significant must adjustment.

29. M O D E R N Q U A L I T Y W I N E S F R O M
H Y B R I D S

30. M O D E R N Q U A L I T Y
W I N E S F R O M
H Y B R I D S
• Norton
• V. Amurensis x V. Vinifera
• Aromatic White Wines
• Baco Noir
• Marechal Foche
• Minnesota Hybrids
• Regent
• Icewine
• Armagnac

31. N O R T O N
• Originally thought to be a cultivar of V.
Aestivalis and later discovered to be a
Hybrid of V. Aestivalis and V. Vinifera
Norton is one of the hybrids with the
longest standing reputations of
quality.
• Developed in the early 19th century it
won several international medals
before prohibition.
• Early in the phylloxera blight there
was interest in growing the grape in
France however poor suitability of the
grape to many of the Alkaline soils led
to a loss of interest.

32. V .
A M U R E N S I S X
V . V I N I F E R A
• A unique hybrid of V. Amurensis
from eastern Russia and
Northern China and V. Vinifera
has led to an extremely cold
hardy grape with great flavour
characteristics.
• Found at Dr. Konstantin Frank's
in the finger lakes as the Cuvee
d'Amour it shows many classic
red characteristics in a region
little known for red wines.

33. A R O M A T I C
W H I T E W I N E S
• Many of the most planted hybrids are
used for making aromatic white
wines.
• Two great examples of this
characteristic are Vidal Blanc and
Vignoles/Ravat 51.
• Through practice some producers
have learned to produce great
examples of these grapes.
• Some examples of Ravat 51 can
even be mistaken for a sweeter style
of Mosel Riesling when tasted blind.

34. Q U E S T I O N S ?
C O N T A C T
J O R D A N C O W E
T W I T T E R : @ J D C O W E
E M A I L : J O R D A N @ O E N O S I T Y . C O M