Georgian grapevine variety ‘Grubella’ in the conditions of the Lower Don region

Abstract

the paper reports on the findings of agro-biological and technological
study of native Georgian wine grapevine variety ‘Grubella’ in comparison
with control cultivar ‘Sibirkovyi’. the study involved standard methods
for viticulture and was carried out in 2016-2018 at Ya.i. Potapenko don
ampelographic collection (in the lower don region). the varieties were
studied in earth-covered, grafted culture (rootstock ‘Berlandieri’ x ‘riparia
Cober 5BB’). the planting scheme was 3.0 x 1.5 m. Non-irrigated culture. By
percentage of evolved buds, the average bunch weight and yield ‘Grubella’
variety exceeded the control. the test wine materials were analyzed for
physical and chemical parameters (alcohol strength, mass concentration
of titrated and volatile acids, sugars, reduced extract, and sulfur dioxide).
all the indicators met the requirements of the State standards. the wine
made of ‘Grubella’ grapes was pale straw-coloured, with a greenish tinge,
and had rich aroma with tones of wild flowers and honey-spicy overtones.
the taste was rich, fresh, with a long pleasant aftertaste. the high tasting
score received by the studied variety (8.8 points) was at the same level as
the score of the control variety ‘Sibirkovyi’, which confirms the suitability
of ‘Grubella’ grapes for the production of high quality table wines. data
analysis suggests that under the given growing conditions the Georgian
grapevine variety ‘Grubella’ equals the control variety in the quality of
wine, surpassing it in terms of the yield. We therefore believe that the
variety is worth further in-depth study, and requires technology development in order to reveal its potential and obtain high-quality wine with
high organoleptic characteristics. ‘Grubella’ variety is recommended for
breeding with a view to generate technical varieties with high technological properties.