Latest Hybrid grapes Stories

When you think about "wine country," Illinois may not be the first state that comes to mind. But it's actually big business on the prairie. There are 90 wineries licensed in Illinois and 1,500 acres of wine grapes. One acre of wine grapes can bring as much as $8,000 in sales, though more commonly it's $3,000 to $5,000. The largest wineries in Illinois produce 90,000 gallons per year, while many produce 3,000 to 10,000 per year."In many cases, growing wine grapes is...

Could point the way toward production of European-tasting wines from American vinesOne of the best known episodes in the 8000-year history of grapevine cultivation led to biological changes that have not been well understood "“ until now. Through biomolecular detective work, German researchers have uncovered new details about the heredity of Vitis varieties in cultivation today. In the process, they have opened the way to more meaningful classification, accelerated breeding, and more...

MOUNTAIN GROVE, Mo. -- Every season, wine makers fight the same battles to protect their grapevines they have been fighting for thousands of years. From ancient Mesopotamia to today's vineyards, the eternal enemies include fungus and bugs, extreme heat and unseasonable cold. Now, Missouri State University researchers hope to apply genetic technology to make cultivated wine grapes as hardy as their wild cousins. At the newly created Center for Grapevine Biotechnology, researchers are working...