I've just finished whacking back my grapes before spring gets here and am considering pulling out half of the grapes we have and replacing them with another variety. The half that stays is the Concords - always good for juicing, those. The half that gets murdered...er, pulled out, are a strange green grape that we were told might be Niagaras...except I thought Niagaras are a wine grape, in which case why do these make the most god-awful juice you ever tasted? They aren't too bad for fresh eating in limited quantity, but their overall odor is unpleasant. Hm. I would like to replace them with a green grape that can be used as a table-grape and also might make decent raisins in the dehydrator, and am considering "Interlaken" for that purpose. Any of you have interlaken grapes? Other favorite (or 'don't buy these') varieties? Have you had much luck with bare-root stock, or do they do better if coddled in a pot in the nursery? Inquiring minds want to know! :-D
We also have Concord as well as a white grape we can't identify. We were told the white is a Thompson but this one has seeds so it can't be that. I think it is a wine grape. It is quite sweet and makes great jelly and juice with an almost flowery taste. I have raised Niagra in the past but what we had was a fox grape like Concord, not at all a typical wine grape. It was very sweet.
Prim I've never grown grapes but maybe this website will be of some help to you. http://www.wineonline.ie/winery/varietals.htm
I grow muscadines here. They smell wonderful and make great juice. They are also tough and very maintenance free.