Grape

Vitis spp.

Grapes are long-lived perennial vines that fruit on shoots arising from one-year-old canes. That growth pattern is central to how vineyards are trained and pruned.¹

Northeast notes

Maine’s main constraints are winter injury and a short growing season. Native Vitis labrusca types and interspecific hybrids provide more hardiness than European Vitis vinifera varieties.¹

A useful oddity

The strong aroma often called “foxy” is characteristic of many V. labrusca grapes, including Concord types. It is a varietal trait, not evidence that the fruit has spoiled.¹

Footnotes

1. University of Maine Cooperative Extension, “Growing Grapes in Maine,” 2013. ↩ ↩² ↩³