Swenson Red

The grape variety is a complex interspecific new variety between Minnesota 78 (Beta x Witt) x Seibel 11803 (Rubilande). Synonyms or breeding numbers are Elmer Swenson 439 and ES 439. It contains genes from Vitis aestivalis, Vitis cinerea, Vitis labrusca, Vitis lincecumii, Vitis riparia, Vitis rupestris and Vitis vinifera. The hybrid was crossed in 1962 at the University of Minnesota by the grapevine breeder Elmer Swenson (1913-2004). Plant variety protection was granted in 1978. It was a crossing partner of many other new varieties such as Chisago. The medium ripening vine is susceptible to both powdery mildew and botrytis, but is particularly resistant to frost down to minus 35 °Celsius. A special feature is the varying degree of ripeness of the berries from green to blue on one grape, depending on the weather. It produces white wines and rosé wines with a slight foxtone. However, it is mainly used as table grape and for the production of grape juice. The variety is grown in the US states of Iowa, Minnesota, Oregon and Wisconsin (10 ha), as well as in Canada. In 2016, a total of 10 hectares of vines were reported in the USA (Kym Anderson statistics).

Swenson Red - Weintrauben und Blatt

Pictures: Ursula Brühl, Doris Schneider, Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI)

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Swenson Red

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