Verona

Grapevine

Variety Description

Varieties used for comparison: 'Marquette' and 'Crimson Pearl'

Summary: When 50% of the plants are at bud burst, the young shoot tip of 'Verona' is slightly opened whereas the tip of 'Marquette' is closed. The dorsal side of the shoot internodes of 'Verona' are red whereas those of 'Marquette' are green and those of 'Crimson Pearl' are green and red. 'Verona' has medium length tendrils whereas those of 'Marquette' are long to very long. The mature leaf blade of 'Verona' is wedge-shaped whereas it is circular for 'Marquette' and is pentagonal in shape for 'Crimson Pearl'. The upper lateral sinuses of the mature leaf blade of 'Verona' are absent or very shallow to shallow whereas the sinuses of 'Crimson Pearl' are of shallow to medium depth. The berries of 'Verona' begin to ripen late to very late in the season whereas those of the reference varieties start to ripen mid to late season.'Verona' has medium to large bunches with medium to large berries whereas 'Marquette' has small to medium bunches with small to medium sized berries. The berry of 'Verona' has a medium thick skin whereas that of 'Marquette' has thin skin.

Description:

YOUNG SHOOT TIP: slightly open, absent or very sparse to sparse prostrate hairs, absent or very weak anthocyanin colouration of prostrate hairs, absent or very sparse erect hairs
SHOOT: dorsal side of internodes and nodes are red, ventral side of internodes and nodes are green, absent or very sparse erect hairs on internodes, semi-erect to horizontal attitude (before tying)
WOODY SHOOTS: orange brown, time of bud burst is late season
TENDRILS: medium length

YOUNG LEAF: yellow green to green upper side, absent or very sparse to sparse prostrate hairs between main veins on lower side of blade, absent or very sparse erect hairs between main veins on lower side of blade
MATURE LEAF: large blade, wedge shaped, three lobes, absent or very weak to weak blistering on upper side, absent or very shallow to shallow upper lateral sinuses, arrangement of lobes of upper lateral sinuses is open, arrangement of lobes of petiole sinus is wide open, length of petiole is moderately shorter than length of middle vein
MATURE LEAF (UPPER SIDE): absent or very low proportion of anthocyanin colouration on main veins
MATURE LEAF (LOWER SIDE): absent to very sparse to sparse prostrate hairs between main veins, sparse erect hairs on main veins
TEETH OF LEAF MARGIN: medium to long, medium length to width ratio, both sides straight

FLOWER: fully developed stamens and fully developed gynoecium present

BERRY BUNCH: medium to large, dense, peduncle of primary bunch is medium to long
BERRY: begins ripening late to very late in the season, medium to large, globose shape, difficult to detach from pedicel, no particular flavour, complete formation of seeds
BERRY SKIN: blue black (without bloom), medium thickness
BERRY FLESH: moderately firm, absent or very weak intensity of anthocyanin colouration

Origin & Breeding History: 'Verona' originated from a controlled cross made in 1997 by Thomas Alan Plocher as part of a private breeding program in Hugo, Minnesota between the variety 'Troubador', as the female parent, and the selection ES.5-4-16, as the male parent. The resulting progeny were initially evaluated based on winter hardiness and suitability for use as a wine grape for northern cold climate production. The final selection of 'Verona' took place in 2004 and was based on winter hardiness, timing of bud break, bunch size as well as for its winemaking characteristics.

Tests & Trials: The comparative trial for 'Verona' was conducted at A&M Viticulture in St. Paul d'Abbotsford, Quebec during the fall of 2018 and spring of 2019. A total of ten vines per variety were planted in adjacent rows in 2016. The vines were spaced 1.2 metres apart within a row with spacing of 2.5 metres between rows. The vines began producing fruit in 2017. Ten vines of each variety were examined.

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Grapevine: 'Verona' (top right) with reference varieties 'Crimson Pearl' (top left) and 'Marquette' (bottom)

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Grapevine: 'Verona' (top right) with reference varieties 'Crimson Pearl' (top left) and 'Marquette' (bottom)

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Grapevine: 'Verona' (top right) with reference varieties 'Crimson Pearl' (top left) and 'Marquette' (bottom)