The Best Oklahoma Grown Wine Grapes

Oklahoma Wine History

• Grapes were brought to the New World in the 17th century, arriving in the United States in or around 1619. As rootstock spread from coast to coast, nine varieties of grapes adapted to the conditions in the area of Oklahoma and are now considered native to the state. Because Oklahoma was not an established state and was later considered Indian Territory, the vast majority of the grape vines there grew wild. The grapes produced there were satisfactory for eating, but produced poor wine. Many American hybrids were produced by combining these early wild grapes with propagated varieties. Many of the wine grape varieties that grow successfully in Oklahoma are custom hybrids created by wine enthusiasts in the past 100 years or so, but there are also a few of the original "noble" French grapes, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

Reds

• Two varieties of red wine grapes grow well in Oklahoma, and both are hybrids. Chancellor grapes may fruit early in the season or as late as the middle of the season, but will finish before the late grape season. For this reason, they are winter hardy and low-maintenance during the dormant season. The second hybrid red wine grape of Oklahoma is the Catawba grape. It is ideal for planting alongside Chancellor, as it has a short fruiting period that both begins and ends late in the grape season. Though it is not quite as winter hardy as Chancellor, its hardiness is still described as "good."

Blues and Blacks

• Blue and black grapes may look very similar in color, and identifying one from the other may require some practice. Fortunately, while there are six varieties of blue wine grapes grown prolifically in Oklahoma, there is only one black type, an old French variety well-known to most wine connoisseurs.

  The blue grapes grow well together because of their staggered seasons. Marechal Foch fruits very early in the season, and is thus extremely winter hardy. Baco Noir and De Chaunac produce in the middle of the grape season and rank fair to good in winter hardiness. Villard Noir follows soon after Baco Noir and De Chaunac, displaying grapes toward the end of middle season, but is still fairly winter hardy. Chambourcin is a late season grape and Cynthiana is a very late season grape. Ironically, Cynthiana is winter hardy while Chambourcin generally does poorly over the winter.

  Cabernet Sauvignon is the only variety of black wine grape widely grown in the state. It is an ancient French grape and fruits late in the season. Though this variety can be fussy and high-maintenance during its blooming, it has a good level of cold hardiness.

Greens and Whites

• Six types of white wine grapes and two types of green wine grapes produce well in Oklahoma weather and soil conditions. Neither of these colors fruits very early or early in the season. Cayuga White and Chardonnay are both middle season fruiters with good cold hardiness. Riesling grapes also produce in the middle of the season, but rank only "fair" in winter resistance. Sauvignon Blanc, one of the two green varieties, is similar to Riesling in its mid-season fruiting and fair cold hardiness. Niagara grapes are used more often for commercial juice but are still appropriate for winemaking. They display fruit late in mid-season to early in the late portion of grape season but are still decently winter hardy. Vidal Blanc and Vignoles are the last two white varieties, both late fruiters with good cold hardiness. The second green grape is Chenin Blanc, a late season grape whose winter resistance is only fair.