Viticultural Information
Roger's Red
Description
Roger's Red is a vigorous grapevine sold as an ornamental cultivar. Its sprawling habit makes it ideal for covering fences and arbors. The primary attraction of the cultivar is its leaves, which turn from dull green to scarlet red in the fall. The vines also provide copious fruit; the small seedy berries have flesh and juice of a deep red color and are used for jelly, jams and hobby wines. Although the fruit has no commercial value, it is extremely attractive to birds and other wildlife. Roger's Red was first selected as a wild vine in fall 1983 by Roger Raiche at the Native Plant Collection at the University of California Botanical Garden, Berkeley (UCBG). The vine was growing with other wild grapes clambering into oaks and redwoods along Palmer Creek Road in rural Sonoma County, approximately eight miles west of Healdsburg, California. Analysis of 11 simple sequence repeat markers showed that Roger's Red is a hybrid of Vitis californica and the V. vinifera cultivar Alicante Bouschet. Roger's Red has red fruit flesh and juice, traits not characteristic of V. californica. However, Alicante Bouschet, a teinturier cultivar and the second parent, has red fruit flesh and juice and has a long history of cultivation in the area where Roger's Red was first selected. Selections of Roger's Red have tested positive for leafroll viruses. Research is underway to determine whether the red fall leaf color of Roger's Red is due to virus symptoms, the Alicante Bouschet background, or a combination of the two.
Links
Foundation Plant Services at UC Davis is the source of Foundation grapevine material for the nursery industry, and the staff can provide information about possible sources for obtaining this stock. The National Grape Registry (NGR) contains information about varieties of wine, juice, and table grapes, raisins, and grape rootstocks available in the United States. Growers, nurseries, winemakers and researchers can find background information and source contacts for those grape varieties in this single convenient location.
Publications
Dangl, G.S., R. Raiche, S. Sim, J. Yang and D.A. Golino. 2010. Genetic Composition of the Ornamental Grape Roger’s Red (pdf) Am. J. Enol. Vitic. 61(2):266-271.
NGR Match
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