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Grapegrowing resistance, direct producer status and unanticipated improved tolerance to low winter temperatures resulted not only in replacing dead or dying vineyards in traditional viticultural regions, but it also opened previously "unacceptable" geographic areas to wine-grape production. Once grafting and sprays for disease control allowed the re-establishment of traditional production areas, such new areas could only be viewed as economic competition. The economic impact on established regions was so great as to be judged unacceptable, with calls for corrective action. A detailed cultivar-by-cultivar comparison would be tedious and too lengthy in achieving the desired goal, so the result was a campaign to discredit the whole group of HDP cultivars. It could not be admitted, even if true, that a specific HDP might have superior vineyard qualities and could produce wine superior to a number of "acceptable" cultivars; all must be proscribed. Further, many of the popular expressions were based on nationalistic viewpoints. If the United States was disliked, it showed. If Germany disliked France, it showed. The language used was often rooted in chauvinism, and occasionally even racism. These views found their peak of absurdity in the work of H. Breider (1971; Breider and Wolf 1967; Breider, et al., 1971), who declared wines and juices with native American species in their genetic background to be toxic; furthermore, he said, the basis for the toxicity were the same constituents that made the American species and their crosses resistant to parasites and pathogens. Cornell University scientists (Stoewsand, et al., 1969, Stoewsand and Robinson, 1971, 1972) demonstrated that the toxic effects found by Breider in the German experiments were due to an inadequate diet that lacked required vitamins and minerals, and not to the presence of hybrid grapes. However, the "toxic" bell had been rung and fueled the destructive campaign. Cultivar (Vinifera) Temperature F C Cultivar (Hybrids) Temperature F C Muscat Ottonel -6° -20° Traminette -20° -28° Merlot -9° -21° Vidal Blanc -22° -30° Pinot Gris -10° -23° Chardonel -22° -30° Pinot Noir -10° -23° Chambourcin -23° -30° Sauvignon Blanc -10° -23° Seyval -23° -30° Gewurztraminer -12° -24° Vignoles -26° -32° Chardonnay -13° -25° Frontenac -35° -37° Riesling -14° -25° Frontenac Gris -35° -37° Cabernet Franc -17° -27° Marquette -35° -37° Table 3. Estimated warmest temperature where 80%-100% primary bud mortality may be expected to occur mid-winter. Source: "Wine Grape Production Guide for Eastern North America." 2008. T. Wolf et al. Station at Geneva, N.Y. The greatest effort and impact regarding the evaluation of hybrid grape selections and cultivars was at Geneva. The collected works published by Pool, et al. (1976) show a focused Vance_Jan11.qxp included 9:29 AM and dedicated effort that 11/23/10 both vineyard and cellar evaluation. More than 200 named hybrids and hybrid selections were evaluated for both vineyard and cellar micro-vin characteristics over many years. This endeavor made the Page 1 subsequent evaluations in Michigan, other Current status of French hybrids in the U.S. Those who appreciate the mixed species American/European hybrids owe a debt to the New York Agricultural Experiment Win es & Vin es JA N UA RY 20 14 141