'Beibinghong': A new grape cultivar for brewing ice red wine

Abstract

Introduction: The winters of northeast China are very cold. The existing cultivars of grape (Vitis vinifera L.) like 'Cabernet Sauvignon', 'Cabernet Franc', 'Riesling' and 'Chardonnay' etc. cannot mature and cannot survive through the winter because of the insufficient accumulated temperature and short frost-free period. Vitis amurensis Rupr. is a wild grapevine species originating from East Asia and is mainly distributed in Korea, Japan, and China. As one of the most cold-tolerant grapes, its stem can endure -40 to -50 °C. It also exhibits resistance to grape white rot and grape anthracnose which can severely damage Vitis vinifera grown worldwide. The Vitis amurensis grape berries have the characteristics of four highs and three lows, namely: high acidity, high tannin and polyphenols, high dry extract and high nutrition; low sugar, low juice yield, and low fermentation temperature. In view of these current situation, a new grape cultivar 'Beibinghong' was selected through multi-generation hybrids between species (Vitis amurensis and Vitis vinifera). The cultivar, released in 2008, overcomes the characteristic of Vitis amurensis being usued only for brewing sweet red wine. The cultivar is suitable for brewing dry red and ice red wine.