New cold-tolerant grapevine cultivars for red wines

Abstract

Krasnodar Region is the main region of industrial viticulture in the Russian Federation. Natural conditions allow high-quality cultivars to be grown there; however, in certain years, the impact of low-temperature stresses of the winter period, summer droughts and diseases limit the stable high-yield production of Vitis vinifera. Breeding of grapevine cultivars for high-quality winemaking and adaptability to local agro-climatic conditions is carried out at the North-Caucasian Federal Scientific Center of Horticulture, Viticulture and Wine-making. Interspecific hybrids are used as donors of resistance in crosses with high-quality V. vinifera cultivars. New hybrids were studied by agrobiological research, and wines and must from grapes were studied by organoleptic evaluation, physico-chemical and biological indicators. Highly adaptive cultivars ‘Dmitriy’, ‘Kurchanskiy’ and ‘Vladimir’ for red wines were selected as a result. They are tolerant to low temperatures in winter, down to -27°C. The cultivars have high levels of resistance to the main pathogens (mildew, botrytis), and ‘Dmitriy’ is resistant to root phylloxera. Yields of ‘Kurchanskiy’ and ‘Vladimir’ were 12-13 t ha(‑1), and that of ‘Dmitriy’ was 14-15 t ha(‑1). These cultivars combine adaptability to the unstable conditions of the south of Russia with high-quality wine production. ‘Vladimir’ is distinguished by the total amount of phenolic substances (average 3603 mg L(‑1)). Samples of wine from ‘Kurchanskiy’ and ‘Dmitriy’ show high accumulation of anthocyanins (more than 1000 mg L(‑1)). The cultivars are now being tested by governmental authorities.