Missouri Riesling
(Vulpina, Labrusca)
Missouri Riesling attains perfection only in the South. The vines are
hardy, vigorous, productive and healthy in the North, as a rule, but
the fruit is lacking in quality. In the South, Missouri Riesling is a
beautiful fruit when well grown and has many good qualities of fruit
and vine. It originated with Nicholas Grein, Hermann, Missouri, about
1870, probably from seed of Taylor.
Vine vigorous, hardy, productive. Canes very long, numerous,
thick, dark brown; nodes enlarged; internodes long; tendrils
continuous, long, trifid or bifid. Leaves large, thick; upper
surface dark green, glossy, smooth; lower surface pale green,
thinly pubescent; lobes five with terminal one acuminate; petiolar
sinus deep, narrow; basal sinus shallow, wide; lateral sinus deep,
wide; teeth deep, wide. Flowers self-fertile, open in mid-season;
stamens upright.
Fruit late, does not keep nor ship well. Clusters short,
cylindrical, single-shouldered; pedicel long with few small warts;
brush green. Berries of medium size, round, yellowish-green
changing to light red with thin bloom, persistent, firm; skin
sprinkled with small brown dots, thin, tough, adherent,
astringent; flesh pale green, translucent, juicy, tender,
fine-grained, lacking in aroma, mild; fair in quality. Seeds
adherent, one to four, surface rough, dark brown.