Kay Gray was developed by the Wisconsin grape breeder
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 ...
c. 1980 and is named after a family friend. It is a seedling of Swenson's own ES 217 (a cross of
MN 78 and
Golden Muscat
Golden means made of, or relating to gold.
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*Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall
*Golden Cap, Dorset
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). Swenson collected open-pollinated seeds from this vine, and one seedling eventually became Kay Gray. Because of this, the male parent is unknown, though Swenson suspected it might be a nearby vine of
Onaka, an old South Dakota cultivar. Kay Gray itself is female and requires a pollen source in order to set fruit.
In some environments it can produce an odd flavored wine that is vastly improved by modest levels of blending. Had it not been for its exceptional disease resistance and winter hardiness it probably would not have been selected. In subsequent years Swenson used this grape as a parent for the more conventionally flavored cultivars '
Louise Swenson
Louise or Luise may refer to:
* Louise (given name)
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* "Louise" (Bonnie Tyler song), 2005
* "Louise" (The Human League song), 1984
* "Louise" (Jett Rebel song), 2013
* "Louise" (Maurice Chevalier song), 1929
*"Louise", by Clan of ...
' and '
Brianna
''Brianna'', ''Breanna'', ''Breanne'', ''Briana'', ''Brina'', and ''Bryanna'' are feminine given names. ''Brianna'' is a feminine English language form of the masculine Irish language name ''Brian'' as "Briana" is the original spelling. The name is ...
'.
References
Grape varieties
Hybrid grape varieties
American wine
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