Winchell
(Labrusca, Vinifera, AEstivalis)
Green Mountain
The vines of Winchell (Plate XXX) are vigorous, hardy, healthy,
productive, and the fruit is early, of high quality and ships
well--altogether a most admirable early grape. There are some minor
faults which become drawbacks in the culture of Winchell. The berries,
and under some conditions the bunches, are small and the bunch is
lo
se with a large shoulder. Sometimes this looseness becomes so
pronounced as to give a straggling, poorly-formed cluster; and the
shoulder, when as large as the cluster itself, which often happens,
makes the cluster unsightly. The grapes shell when fully ripe, a
serious fault. Again, while the crop usually ripens evenly, there are
seasons when two pickings are needed because of the unevenness in
ripening. Lastly, the skin is thin and there is danger in unfavorable
seasons of the berries cracking, although this is seldom a serious
fault. These defects do not offset the several good characters of
Winchell which make it the standard early green grape, deserving to
rank with the best early grapes of any color. The original vine was
raised by James Milton Clough, Stamford, Vermont, about 1850 from seed
of an unknown purple grape.
Vine vigorous, hardy, healthy, very productive. Canes long,
numerous, slender, dark brown with thin bloom; nodes enlarged,
flattened; tendrils continuous, sometimes intermittent, bifid.
Leaves large; upper surface light green, glossy, smooth; lower
surface dull green, tinged with bronze, faintly pubescent; lobes
three to five with terminal lobe acute; petiolar sinus deep; basal
sinus shallow; teeth shallow, wide. Flowers fertile, mid-season;
stamens upright.
Fruit early, keeps and ships well. Clusters long, slender,
cylindrical, often with a long shoulder, compact; pedicel short,
slender with few inconspicuous warts; brush greenish-white.
Berries small, round, light green, persistent, soft; skin marked
with small, reddish-brown spots, thin, tender, slightly
astringent; flesh green, translucent, juicy, tender, fine-grained,
sweet; very good to best. Seeds free, one to four, small, plump,
wide and long, blunt, brown.