Othello
(Vinifera, Vulpina, Labrusca)
Arnold's Hybrid, Canadian Hamburg, Canadian Hybrid
In France, Othello does remarkably well as a direct producer and is
used also for a resistant stock. While most of its characters are
spoken of in the superlative by the French, in America the variety is
not so highly esteemed because of susceptibility to fungi. Moreover,
the fruit matures so late that it could
ever become a valuable
variety for the North. It is in no sense a table-grape but makes a
well-colored, pleasant wine. Charles Arnold, Paris, Ontario, grew
Othello from seed of Clinton fertilized by Black Hamburg and planted
in 1859.
Vine vigorous, hardy, productive. Canes long, brown; nodes
enlarged, flattened; tendrils continuous, sometimes intermittent,
bifid or trifid. Leaves of average size; upper surface light
green, dull and smooth; lower surface pale green, pubescent; lobes
three to five with terminal lobe acute; petiolar sinus deep, very
narrow, frequently closed and overlapping; basal sinus shallow,
narrow; lateral sinus deep; teeth deep, wide; stamens upright.
Fruit late, keeps fairly well. Clusters large, long, broad,
tapering, frequently with a loose single shoulder, compact;
pedicel long, slender with numerous small warts; brush short,
wine-colored. Berries large, oval, black, glossy with abundant
bloom, very persistent; skin thin, tough, adherent with red
pigment; flesh dark green, very juicy, fine-grained, tough,
sprightly; low in quality. Seeds free, one to three, neck
sometimes swollen, brown.