Worden Grape

V.riparia X V. labrusca (a Concord seedling). Deep purple to black skin with bloom. All purpose. Non-slipskin. Sweet-tart.Worden is an interspecific hybrid between Vitis labrusca and V. vinifera. It is an open pollinated 'Concord'. Planted from seed in 1863 by Schuyler Worden in Oswego County, New York. J.A. Place of Oswego, a friend of Worden and a local horticulturist, named the grape after its originator. Entered in the American Pomological Society Catalog in 1881. Heirloom variety. Fruit - The grapes are large and dark purple to black with a heavy bluish bloom. Skin is of moderate thickness, and clings rather tightly to the flesh. This astringent skin yields a dark red color, whereas the flesh is a transluscent green. Juicy and slightly to moderately foxy in flavor with a nice mix of sweetness and tartness. Good for table use, juice and jelly. Ripens in September and does not store particularly well. Vine - Vigorous and proumbant (sprawling) vine which often produces a loarge amount of bunches per shoot, often up to four. Thinning is thus recommended. These are large, wide and tapering clusters with a single shoulder. The bunch is compact. In wet years the fruit can crack. Suggested as cold hardy to -40 F. Wine - Not commonly used as a wine grape. Management - Rarely bothered by disease or insects here in Walden. It does have typical susceptibility to anthracnose along with most varieties. Mulching the surrounding soil may help in helping alleviate this cultivar's tendency to crack in wetter years by absorbing and slowly releasing heavy rains. .