Life Style / Wine Grapes / Clinton: Has synonym names Plant des Carmes, Plant Pouzin and Worthington. Oldline American native V.riperia/labrusca variety reported as originating from an unknown seed planted in a garden in the area of Waterford-on-the Hudson, N.Y., some time prior to 1835. Found to be immune to phylloxera, it is vigorous, hardy and productive but produces small, sour, large-seeded fruit judged unsuitable for tablegrape use. Ripens late in the season to produce dark purplish-black to black berries that make a low-quality wine. Although very sensitive to lime soils (leading to vine-death after a few years) it nonetheless makes an excellent rootstock in lower pH soils, grafting well to labruscas, vinifera stock and rooting very freely from cuttings. Historically used to make simplistic, inky red varietal wines with strawberry-like aroma and 'foxy' flavor. Still found in vineyards of the N.E. USA. and Italy, this variety is still considered to be a good starting point cultivar for breeding grapes suited to growing in cool climates. In the latter country wines from this vine are reported to be known as 'Fragolino' style beverages (although current E.U. rules ban the use of non-V.vinifera vines).
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Lifestyle / Wine Grapes / Othello: Developed Ontario, Canada in 1859, this cultivar is the result of a cross between the Clinton and Black Hamburg varieties. Historically interesting as one of the cultivars widely planted in Europe as MORE