The Swenson Red is a firm, meaty red

table grape Table grapes are grapes intended for consumption while fresh, as opposed to grapes grown for wine production, juice production, or for drying into raisins. ''Vitis vinifera'' table grapes can be in the form of either seeded or non-seeded varieta ...

with a unique fruity flavor with strawberry notes. This was the first

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, ...

released from the breeding efforts of

Elmer Swenson Elmer Swenson (12 December 1913 – 24 December 2004) was a pioneering grape breeder who introduced a number of new cultivars, effectively revolutionizing grape growing in the Upper Midwest of the United States and other cold and short-seasoned ...

, and is a favorite among grape breeders and hobbyists. Though it is known as a red, its actual color changes depending on climate. In cooler areas it will be blue, and in very warm areas it will be a translucent green. This is because many pigments inherited from ''

Vitis vinifera ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, is a species of flowering plant, native to the Mediterranean region, Central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran. There are curre ...

'' only set during relatively cool weather. Swenson Red is one of many successful cold hardy grape crosses involving the parent

Minnesota 78 Minnesota 78 is an old selection of grapevine, developed at the University of Minnesota. It was extensively used in breeding by Elmer Swenson, with its ''Vitis riparia'' background providing a degree of adaptation to the harsh climate of the uppe ...

. The pollinator parent for the cross is

Seibel 11803 Seibel may refer to: * Albert Seibel (1844–1936), a French physician and viticulturist * Cathy Seibel (1960–), an American federal judge * Carl-August Seibel (1872–1950), the founder of the German shoe industry * Edgar Seibel (born 1991), ...

( Rubiland). Swenson Red has a female sibling named ES417 which has very similar characteristics which is a likely candidate for further breeding.

References

Table grape varieties Red wine grape varieties {{wine-grape-stub