Canandaigua
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
Canandaigua is worth attention because of the exceptionally good
keeping qualities of the grapes. The flavor is very good at picking
time but seems, if anything, to improve in storage. The vine
characters are those of Labrusca-Vinifera hybrids, and in these the
variety is the equal of the average cultivated hybrid of these two
species. The characters of the fruit, also, show plainly a
admixture
of Vinifera and Labrusca so combined as to make the grapes very
similar to the best of such hybrids. Canandaigua is a chance seedling
found by E. L. Van Wormer, Canandaigua, New York, growing among wild
grapes. It was distributed about 1897.
Vine vigorous, doubtfully hardy, productive. Canes long, few,
reddish-brown, faint bloom; nodes enlarged, flattened; tendrils
semi-continuous, bifid, dehisce early. Leaves large, thin; upper
surface light green; lower surface gray-green. Flowers sterile or
sometimes partly self-fertile, open in mid-season; stamens
reflexed.
Fruit late mid-season, keeps unusually well. Clusters variable in
size, usually heavily single-shouldered, loose to medium. Berries
large, oval, black, covered with thick bloom, persistent; skin
adherent, thin, tough; flesh firm, sweet and rich; good, improves
as season advances. Seeds long with enlarged neck.