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156 WINES&VINES January 2018 GRAPEGROWING WINE EAST T raminette, an aromatic grape re- lated to Gewürztraminer, has be- come a popular variety in 19 states. First named in 1996 by the New York State Agricultural Ex- periment Station (NYSAES), the variety has experienced widespread growth from the East Coast to as far west as Missouri. It is very popular in New York's Finger Lakes region and has been named Indiana's "sig- nature grape variety." In addition, it was named Outstanding Fruit Cultivar by the American Society for Horticultural Science in 2015, the fourth NYSAES-bred fruit culti- var and the first grape to be so honored. Much of Traminette's background informa- tion presented here was provided by Dr. Bruce Reisch at Cornell University and Dr. Bruce Bordelon at Purdue University. The cross of Joannes Seyve 23.416 x Gewürztraminer that became Traminette was initiated in 1965 by Herb C. Barrett at the University of Illinois. At the time, Barrett was focused on grapes that had resistance to black rot, and originally he thought this cross would be a good candidate for a flavorful, large- clustered table grape. With his impending move to another position in Australia, Barrett sent seeds from the cross to Cornell, where they were first planted in 1968. Fruit observa- tion began in 1971, and the original vine was propagated in 1974 as NY65.533.13. Cornell initially described the grape as "a vigorous and productive green grape with moderately loose clusters." New York's breeding trials NYSAES published its early experiences with Traminette in New York's Food and Life Sci- ences Bulletin in 1996. Much of the following information comes from this bulletin and, where applicable, is directly quoted with the permission of Dr. Bruce Reisch, who took over a vacant grape-breeding position in 1980. His predecessor, Dr. Robert Pool, alerted him to "two very interesting selec- tions in the grape-breeding program, one of which was what eventually was named Tra- minette," Reisch recalled. In order for a grape to develop into a named cultivar, Reisch noted, "We have to see some consistency over a number of years, because any prospective grower will be mak- ing at least a 30-year investment. We need multiple years of vineyard testing to study cold tolerance, disease resistance and fruit and wine quality." In addition to testing on-site in Geneva, N.Y., they also studied results from other sites, including cooperative field growing efforts by Herman Amberg of Clifton Springs, N.Y., and by John Brahm at Arbor Hill Grapery & Winery in Naples, N.Y. "Support from the wine industry was essential to the development of Trami- nette," Reisch said. Research was done on own-rooted vines, which were productive and vigorous regard- less of the presence of phylloxera in the New York soils. In an interview, Reisch noted that the vines weren't totally resistant to phyl- loxera, but New York's cooler climate al- lowed them to grow without inhibition. He added, "Rootstocks can easily transmit Traminette's Popularity Spreads Across the East How the white hybrid with vinifera-like quality was developed and tested By Ray Pompilio BILL OLIVER, OLIVER WINERY Traminette grapes ripen on the vine before harvest. EDITOR'S NOTE This is the first installment in a two- part series about Traminette. The second article will profile the experi- ences of two pioneers with the grape: John Brahm of Arbor Hill Grapery & Winery in Naples, N.Y., and Bill Oliver of Oliver Winery in Bloomington, Ind.