Triumph
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
When quality, color, shape and size of bunch and berry are considered,
Triumph (Plate XXVIII) is one of the finest dessert grapes of America.
At its best, it is a magnificent bunch of golden grapes of highest
quality, esteemed even in southern Europe where it must compete with
the best of the Viniferas. In America, however, its commercial
importance is curtailed by the fact that the f
uit requires a long
season for proper development. Triumph has, in general, the vine
characters of the Labrusca parent, Concord, especially its habit of
growth, vigor, productiveness and foliage characters, falling short in
hardiness, resistance to fungal diseases and earliness of fruit, the
fruit maturing with or a little later than Catawba. While the vine
characters of Triumph are those of Labrusca, there is scarcely a
suggestion of the coarseness, or of the foxy odor and taste of
Labrusca, and the objectionable seeds, pulp and skin of the native
grape give way to the far less objectionable structures of Vinifera.
The flesh is tender and melting and the flavor rich, sweet, vinous,
pure and delicate. The skins of the berries under unfavorable
conditions crack badly, the variety, therefore, neither shipping nor
keeping well. Triumph was grown soon after the Civil War by George W.
Campbell, Delaware, Ohio, from seed of Concord fertilized by Chasselas
Musque.
Vine vigorous. Canes long, dark brown with much bloom; nodes
enlarged; tendrils intermittent, long, trifid, sometimes bifid.
Leaves large; upper surface light green, dull, rugose; lower
surface grayish-white, pubescent; leaf usually not lobed with
terminus obtuse; petiolar sinus deep, narrow, often closed and
overlapping; basal sinus absent; lateral sinus shallow and narrow
when present; teeth deep, wide. Flowers self-fertile, late;
stamens upright.
Fruit very late. Clusters very large, long, broad, cylindrical,
sometimes single-shouldered, compact; pedicel slender, smooth;
brush short, yellowish-green. Berries medium in size, oval, golden
yellow, glossy with heavy bloom, persistent, firm; skin thin,
inclined to crack, adherent, without pigment, slightly
astringent; flesh light green, translucent, juicy, fine-grained,
tender, vinous; good to very good. Seeds free, one to five, small,
brown.