Hardiness is ranked by groups of hybrids, vinifera or American, a very good cold hardiness vinifera is still less cold hardy than a poor hardiness hybrid.

Recommended cultivars are those that have been proven successful on appropriate sites for their cultural characteristics. The northern part of the region is more appropriate for shorter season/cooler climate cultivars. Some of the recommended cultivars are not currently in strong demand by wineries but are included due to their cultural characteristics and wine quality in hopes that demand will grow.

In this paper clone and selection are interchangeable terms.

Recommended cultivars list

Cabernet Sauvignon­vinifera­ very late, not as cold hardy as we might wish and overly vigorous requiring low vigor rootstocks and/or divided canopy training and/or wide spacing within the row, very late ripening, plant only moderate to high yielding selections such as #337, #16, #07, #08. Very strong winery demand

Cabernet Franc­vinifera­ very late, but makes acceptable lighter style wines when slightly under­mature unlike Cab Sauvignon which must be ripe, possibly the most cold­hardy vinifera grown in our area. common selections have quite high yields making Franc one of our most profitable cultivars, new selections have been selected either for light or full­bodied reds, make sure you know which before you buy French # selections, lower in vigor than Cab and very amenable to many different training systems, strong winery demand

Petit Verdot­vinifera­ about like Cab in cold hardiness, ripens with or slightly later than Cab, deeply colored, full­bodied wines with distinct flavors, best for Bordeaux red blending, some selections are higher yielding at high sugars than heaviest yielding Cab selections, limited winery demand

Chambourcin­hybrid­ very late, the best red hybrid, lacks cold­hardiness and vigor, recommend grafting to increase vigor and early and sustained yield, best wines are made from moderately cropped vines that are harvested with or after Cab, generally requires cluster thinning, pendant growth habit suggests high wire training systems, very strong winery demand

Chardonnay­vinifera­ mid­season, requires careful canopy management to minimize rot, quite cold­hardy for vinifera, plant only moderate to high yielding selections such as Dijon selections and most UCD selections except #16, musque selections are available but most are low yielding and should only be a small percentage (less than 5%) of planted area, very strong winery demand

Pinot Gris­vinifera­early midseason, slightly less rot susceptible than Chard, moderate yielding, seems to be very little clonal variation in yields or quality, adequate cold­hardiness, strong winery demand

Viognier­vinifera­ unsure of harvest season, not very rot sensitive, yields fluctuate, can build very high sugars in dry years, vines are very sensitive to fluctuations in water supply but fruit is resistant to sugar declines due to rainfall near harvest, La Jota selection from Horton vineyards is the best selection available currently but other selections need testing, cold hardiness appears adequate, is capable of overcropping but many primary buds fail to push reducing yield, in a year when all primaries push crop thinning could be essential, low­moderate winery demand which should increase as its merits are recognized

Vidal­hybrid­late, probably the most common white hybrid, very rot resistant, very late ripening, high yielding if vines are of adequate vigor which can be promoted by grafting, many older plantings have some or many vines that are virus infected reducing yield and quality, strong winery demand which is being met by current supply, at current prices Vidal is not very profitable to grow

Traminette­hybrid­ mid­season, Gewurztraminer like wines with better hardiness and yield, should replace Gewurzt for this wine style in our area. very limited demand but should increase as merits are recognized

Steuben­american­ late, Easy to grow American cultivar, can overcrop, distinctive spicy American flavor, winery demand is strong, due to low per ton prices this cultivar is best relegated to areas with large mechanized acreage and low land cost

Recommended with conditions:

Prior to new plantings of these cultivars you should have agreements with buying wineries due to limited demand or difficulty of growing or plan to use them in estate programs (if a grower can't make money from it a winery will lose money growing for an estate program too) notice some attached conditions that limit usefulness

Chardonel­hybrid­late mid­season, replacement for Seyval which is not prone to overcropping and has high sustained yields, may be particularly prone to grape root borer, currently very little interest by wineries which will hopefully change. CONDITION: needs marker development and more info on root borer problem

Pinot Noir­vinifera­early mid­season, rot susceptible, adequate cold hardiness, low yields, difficult to know what selections to plant, limited winery demand, excellent for sparkler base and in certain vintages makes very good red wines, not very profitable to grow due to rot and low yields. CONDITION: For estate use, For sparkler base

Pinot Blanc­vinifera­early mid­season, not as rot susceptible as Pinot Noir and some selections are better yielding, possible blender in Gris, all other comments under Pinot Noir apply

Gewurztraminer­vinifera­early mid­season, poor yield, overly vigorous vines, average wine quality at best in this climate and limited demand are all faults

Reisling­vinifera­late mid­season, excellent cold hardiness poor yields, limited demand and low per ton prices, can make varietally correct pleasant wines CONDITIONS: Estate use

Seyval­hybrid­early mid­season, good hardiness, low vigor, overcrops, and rot susceptibility limit its usefulness, should be replaced with Chardonel for proprietary label wines CONDITIONS: Agreements with wineries that have a strong varietally labeled Seyval program, plant on lighter soils and canopy management to control rot, grafted vines will help yield and vigor but will increase rot due to denser canopy

Vignoles­hybrid­late mid­season but often dictated by rot, excellent hardiness, requires short cane or cane pruning, performs well on own roots, poor yield, excellent wines, very rot susceptible CONDITIONS: prices must be higher to justify new plantings, techniques to control rot must be employed

Cayuga­hybrid, early mid­season, good hardiness, very high yields, very easy to grow but limited winery demand for fruit from this climate, good performance on own roots on high potential sites, may require grafting on low potential sites

Chancellor­hybrid­ mid­season, good hardiness, very high yields, consistent average quality red wines, very easy to grow except for propensity to Downy Mildew and intolerance of Thiodan, Sulfur, and Copper which limits spray choices, requires cluster and/or shoot thinning, performs well on own­roots

Carmine­vinifera­ very late, good cold hardiness, very high yielding, excellent wine quality, good Bordeaux blender at low percentages, intense color and aroma, very good numbers at harvest, low vigor vine with droopy growth habit, questions remain about controls for midsummer red leaf symptoms which are not leaf roll, crop must be controlled in early years, limited availability of vines, CONDITIONS: find a solution to red leaf problem and use training systems appropriate for pendant cultivars

Merlot­vinifera­late season, critically lacking in cold hardiness, otherwise performs well in all respects, excellent wine quality if fruit is fully mature or over mature at harvest CONDITIONS: plant ONLY on the most excellent sites in SE PA

Pinot Meunier­vinifera­early mid­season, as for Pinot Noir, may be even more rot susceptible

Muscat Ottonel­vinifera early mid­season­very good trunk hardiness but poor bud hardiness, low to average yields, poor numbers at harvest are typical with high pH and low sugar, excellent dessert style or off­vine frozen ice wines, residuals from ice wine production when chaptalized make acceptable sweet Muscat type wines

Sauvignon Blanc­vinifera­mid­season, critically lacks cold hardiness, very rot susceptible, poor yields, overly vigorous and dense canopy CONDITIONS: Plant only on low potential sites, plant only on the most excellent sites in SE PA

Recommended for extensive trial
These cultivars appear promising but may hit snags

Aligote­vinifera­the other white grape of burgundy, nice nose, useful acidity, good yields and decent hardiness
Kerner­vinifera­Riesling style wines at higher yields and acceptable hardiness
Dornfelder­vinifera­German red, high yields, good hardiness, attractive to birds, very good color
Lemberger­vinifera­Austrian red with good hardiness
NY 62.122.1­hybrid­Muscat flavored selection with good hardiness, excellent Muscat wine quality, susceptible. to Downy mildew, may be named in the near future, must be grafted

Recommended for trial
These cultivars have many question marks remaining but appear potentially promising


Norton­is our season long enough?
Tinto Cao­for blending with Touriga
Touriga­excellent red wine quality
New hybrids from Cornell and Lake Sylvia Nursery­hybrids with good cold hardiness, disease resistance and wine quality
Muscat Blanc­potentially decent hardiness, excellent muscat wines, very prone to rot, high yields
Esprit­white cross from Elmer Swenson, Seyval/Chardonel type wine, excellent disease resistance except for susceptibility to bunch rot
Edelweiss­very high yielding white labrusa, very cold hardy, very disease resistant, must be picked at 13 to 16 degrees brix to avoid intense labrusca flavors
Frontenac­for light reds, moderate yielding, disease and cold resistant
Dolcetto­vinifera­mid­season, very susceptible to Powdery Mildew and possibly to cracking at harvest time. appears to have adequate cold hardiness and reasonable wine making ability, overly productive requiring thinning, UCD # I is not compatible with 420A rootstock

Not Recommended
These cultivars have limitations so great as to seem unworthy of further consideration

Zinfandel­lacks hardiness and bunch rot problems*
Sangiovese­" " " "
Syrah­ " " " "
Grenache­" " " "

Semillion­" " " "
Muller­Thurgau­" " " "
Chenin Blanc­" " " "
Nebbiolo­late ripening lacks hardiness
Mataro­" " " "
Most French hybrids not listed as desirable­poor prices and/or horticultural difficulties
Most American/labrusca cultivars­poor prices
Ehrenfelser­poor yields
Most no name vinifera­lack of name recognition, average quality, unknown characteristics, may be worth experimenting with

This list has been prepared from my experience and those many others who are experimenting throughout the area. Happy Growing! !

Ike Kerschner

*Webmaster's note: research is underway in California to address these problems with Zinfandel