A Sampling of Wine Grape Cultivars Being Tested, March 2020 (PDF file)

Northern Great Plains Variety Selection: Decisions for a Changing Environment

List of potential grape cultivars for Nebraska

French-American Hybrids

  • Aurore or Aurora
  • Baco Noir
  • Chambourcin
  • Chancellor
  • deChaunac
  • Leon Millot
  • Marechal Foch
  • Seyval Blanc
  • Vidal Blanc
  • Vignoles

American Cultivars, including New American Hybrids

These include some old grapes of primarily American origin (e.g., Catawba, Concord, Norton, Niagara) and recently-bred new grape cultivars (they are not “French-American” hybrids):

  • Arandell
  • Aromella
  • Beta
  • Bianca
  • Bluebell
  • Brianna
  • Catawba
  • Cayuga White
  • Chardonel
  • Concord
  • Corot Noir
  • Delaware
  • Edelweiss
  • Elvira
  • Esprit
  • Frontenac
  • Frontenac Blanc
  • Frontenac Gris
  • Geneva Red (GR-7)
  • King of the North
  • La Crescent
  • Lacrosse
  • Marquette
  • Niagara
  • Noiret
  • Norton
  • Petite Amie
  • Petite Pearl
  • Prairie Star
  • Saint Croix
  • Saint Pepin
  • Swenson Red
  • Traminette
  • Valiant

Seedless Types

Grown primarily for table grapes (eating):

  • Canadice
  • Concord Seedless
  • Himrod
  • Interlaken
  • Marquis
  • Mars
  • Neptune
  • Reliance
  • Somerset Seedless
  • Thomcord
  • Vanessa

Please note that we have not included any Vitis vinifera cultivars, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Lemberger, Pinot Noir, Pinot Grigio/Gris, Riesling, Syrah/Shiraz, Zinfandel and the like. We do not generally recommend these grapes for Nebraska, although a few growers have achieved some success in favorable locations with Cabernet Franc, Lemberger, Riesling and Syrah/Shiraz. We have tried to include in these lists, cultivars that one or more growers are growing, but we may have inadvertently omitted one or more.