Olmo grapes are wine and table grape varieties produced by University of California, Davis viticulturist Dr. Harold Olmo. Over the course of his nearly 50-year career, Dr. Olmo bred a wide variety of both grapes by means of both crossing varieties from the same species or creating hybrid grapes from

cultivars A cultivar is a type of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and when Plant propagation, propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and st ...

of different '' Vitis'' species. Over 30 new grape varieties were created by Dr. Olmo and introduced to the California wine and table grape industries.

Ruby Cabernet

Ruby Cabernet Ruby Cabernet is a red Olmo grape variety that is a cross between Cabernet Sauvignon and Carignan, it can produce wines with good colour and a pleasant cherry flavour, but is mostly blended into bulk wines.Robinson, Jancis ''Vines, Grapes & Wi ...

is the most notable and widely planted Olmo grape. It is a crossing between the '' Vitis vinifera'' varieties

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebanon' ...

and

Carignan Carignan (also known as Mazuelo, Bovale Grande, Cariñena, Carinyena, Samsó, Carignane, and Carignano) is a red grape variety of Spanish origin that is more commonly found in French wine but is widely planted throughout the western Mediterra ...

that was first trialed by Dr. Olmo in 1936 before being released in 1948. The grape is primarily used in blending, adding color and tartness, but producers such as E & J Gallo Winery have produced varietal wines from the grape. According to wine expert

Jancis Robinson Jancis Mary Robinson OBE, ComMA, MW (born 22 April 1950) is a British wine critic, journalist and wine writer. She currently writes a weekly column for the ''Financial Times'', and writes for her website JancisRobinson.com, updated daily. She ...

, Ruby Cabernet can have some aromas reminiscent of a young Cabernet Sauvignon with the color of a Carignan but it lacks the structure and

body Body may refer to: In science * Physical body, an object in physics that represents a large amount, has mass or takes up space * Body (biology), the physical material of an organism * Body plan, the physical features shared by a group of anima ...

to produce premium wines.Robinson, Jancis ''Vines, Grapes & Wines'' Mitchell Beazley pgs 226-227, 264-265 1986 In California, the variety is widely planted in the Central Valley where it can withstand the hot

continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in the middle latitudes (40 to 55 north), within large landmasses where prevailing winds blow overland bringing som ...

of the valley and still produce

harvest Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...

yields of 6 to 9 tons an acre. Outside of California, the variety can also be found in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, Argentina, Chile, Israel and South Africa.

Rubired

Rubired is a hybrid of the ''vinifera'' variety

Tinto Cão Tinto is an isolated hill in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It comprises little more than one top, which stands on the west bank of the River Clyde, some west of Biggar. The peak is also called "Tinto Tap", with the name Tinto possibly de ...

and

Alicante Ganzin Alicante Ganzin is a red French wine grape variety. Unlike most ''Vitis vinifera'' wine grapes, Alicante Ganzin is a teinturier with dark flesh that produces red juice. Most varieties used to produce red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Syra ...

, which itself is a hybrid of '' Vitis rupestris'' Armon Rupestris Ganzin No. 4 and the ''vinifera'' crossing Alicante Bouschet. Trial breeding and testing were completed by Olmo in 1958. Like Ruby Cabernet, it was bred to produce significant yields in hot climates, and in the California Central Valley it regularly yields 8 to 10 tons per acre. However, Rubired is a '' teinturier'' variety with pigmented, instead of clear, juice. Most red wine grapes have clear juice, the red color of wines coming from extraction of pigment from the grape skins. Rubired was originally intended for producing

fortified A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

port-style wines Port wine (also known as vinho do Porto, , or simply port) is a Portuguese fortified wine produced in the Douro Valley of northern Portugal. It is typically a sweet red wine, often served with dessert, although it also comes in dry, semi-dry ...

, and since the late 20th century, producers in Australia have included it in some port-style blends. Its intensely dark color is often useful in blending to intensify the color of other red wines, but it can also be used to create varietal wines.

Emerald Riesling

Emerald Riesling is a white wine grape crossing between the ''vinifera'' varieties Riesling and Muscadelle. Trials on the variety began in 1936 and the variety was released in 1948 at the same time as Ruby Cabernet. Unlike many of the cool climate Riesling crossings produced in Germany at facilities like Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute, the Emerald Riesling was bred for warm climates like the San Joaquin Valley of California where today more than half of all Emerald Riesling plantings are found. Outside of California, there are limited plantings in South Africa. It is also used quite extensively in Israel, where big wineries use it to produce light, and aromatic - usually off-dry - wines. It comprises roughly 2.6% of the total grape production in Israel, totaling (in 2012) 1,408 tons.
Israel Wine Board, 2012 According to wine expert Jancis Robinson, Emerald Riesling produces an aromatic, high acid (wine), acid wine that doesn't quite have the flavor definition more commonly associated with Riesling or its cool climate crossings. In cooler climate areas where it has been planted, such as the Monterey AVA, it can share some traits with Riesling but with a distinctly fuller body. Emerald Riesling is also known under the synonyms California 1139 E 29, Emerald Rizling, and Riesling Izumrudnii.Emerald Riesling
Vitis International Variety Catalogue, accessed 2010-07-15

Other wine grapes

*Carnelian is a crossing of the ''Vitis vinifera'' Carignan and a separate ''vinifera'' crossing between Cabernet Sauvignon and

Grenache Grenache () or Garnacha () is one of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world. Niels Lillelund: ''Rhône-Vinene'' p. 25, JP Bøger – JP/Politikens Forlagshus A/S, 2004. . It ripens late, so it needs hot, dry conditi ...

. It was created in 1972 to combine the genetic traits that allow Carignan and Grenache to produce well in warm climates with some of flavor and wine characteristics of Cabernet Sauvignon. *Centurian (also known as Centurion) is a ''vinifera'' crossing between Carignan and a separate crossing of Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache. The grape was developed by Dr Olmo in 1975 matching the same grape varieties used to produce the Carnelian grape a few years earlier. Today it is mostly planted in the Central Valley of California.J. Robinson ''Jancis Robinson's Guide to Wine Grapes'' pg 46 Oxford University Press 1996 * Flora is a crossing of two ''vinifera'' varieties, Semillon and Gewürztraminer, that was created in 1938 by Dr. Olmo at the California Agricultural Experiment Station.J. Robinson ''Jancis Robinson's Wine Course'' Third Edition pg 109 Abbeville Press 2003 A separate red Flora hybrid exist but it is not related in any way to the Olmo Flora. *

Royalty Royalty may refer to: * Any individual monarch, such as a king, queen, emperor, empress, etc. * Royal family, the immediate family of a king or queen regnant, and sometimes his or her extended family * Royalty payment for use of such things as int ...

is a crossing of the ''Vitis vinifera''

Trousseau gris ''Trousseau Gris'' is a French wine, French grape variety made into white wine. It is occasionally found in eastern France and was once widely grown in California wine, California under the name ''Gray Riesling''. In cool climates it can produce ...

variety from the Jura wine region of France and the teinturier grape

that, itself, is a hybrid of a '' Vitis rupestris'' variety and the ''Vitis vinifera'' grape Aramon.J. Robinson ''Vines Grapes & Wines'' pg 226 Mitchell Beazley 1986 The variety was first developed in 1938 but wasn't released for commercial use until 1958 when it was released with Rubired.J. Robinson ''Jancis Robinson's Guide to Wine Grapes'' pg 161 Oxford University Press 1996 *Symphony is a crossing of the ''vinifera'' varieties Muscat of Alexandria and

Grenache gris Grenache () or Garnacha () is one of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world. Niels Lillelund: ''Rhône-Vinene'' p. 25, JP Bøger – JP/Politikens Forlagshus A/S, 2004. . It ripens late, so it needs hot, dry conditi ...

. that Dr. Olmo first began developing in 1948. It took over 30 years to complete crossing trials and produce a viable cultivar. Symphony was finally completed and introduced commercially in 1981 and patented in 1983. The grape makes a white wine with a slight spiciness with

tree fruit A fruit tree is a tree which bears fruit that is consumed or used by animals and humans — all trees that are flowering plants produce fruit, which are the ripened ovaries of flowers containing one or more seeds. In horticultural usage, ...

aromas of citrus,

apricot An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus ''Prunus''. Usually, an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are also ...

and peach. It is primarily a blending grape but can be made into a varietal wine.

References

{{Hybrid grape varieties Hybrid grape varieties

Ruby Cabernet

Rubired

Emerald Riesling

Other wine grapes

See also

References