This page is dedicated to one of those "a family member gave me this grape vine" grapes that might be dismissed as Concord, Catawba or Niagara. We "inherited" this vine from Cliff's mother who was given it by Cliff's sister's mother-in-law who was given it by a man named 'Rarica' who lived in Independence, Ohio, and who is purported to have brought the vine back from Italy sometime in the mid-1900's. Searching the web for American varieties (for this vine is clearly of labrusca descent) that are grown in Italy brings up a host of references to the "Fragola" or strawberry grape of northern Italy. Slightly more web research reveals the Fragola to be the same as Isabella. Online information on the Isabella closely matches the charateristics of this vine, yet the fruit is clearly not that of Isabella. Below are some images of the Dlugo vine compared to similarly developed Catawba and the Dlugo's fruit. Please feel free to review the images and "contact us" at right to give your opinion as to what you think it is.
My current interpretation is that this grape is the "Union Village," a variety described by T.V. Munson in his "Foundations" book and by U.P. Hedrick in "The Grapes of New York." Munson's description is very accurate for the vine and fruit, and he notes that Union Village was a seedling of Isabella, explaining why the Dlugo fits the description of Isabella.
Thanks, C. Ambers
The upper surfaces of mature Catawba and Dlugo leaves.
The lower surfaces of mature Catawba and Dlugo leaves.
Leaves of immature Catawba and Dlugo.
Shoot tips of Catawba and Dlugo.
Shoot tips of Catawba and Dlugo.
Shoot tips of Catawba and Dlugo.
Stems of Catawba and Dlugo.
Fruit of the Dlugo. This is 2005 fruit as ripe as it gets from the CZ vineyard. Harvested in early October, the fruit was cracking and generally falling apart.
Dlugo grapes in lugs. Note uneven ripening. Harvest was necessitated by cracking.
Another shot of Dlugo grapes in lugs.
