Winter Hardiness: 2020 Chambourcin versus Vitis vinifera

Chambourcin survives and produces at Los Lunas ...and vinifera? well, it died

Looking south in row at Los Lunas, ASC, experimental vineyard. Notice the empty 'panel' (the vine row between two line posts) in the foreground? This panel was planted with Vitis vinifera vines at the same time (spring 2018) as the Chambourcin vines in the background. The V. vinifera all died over the winter of 2019-20. The Chambourcin produced its first harvest this year, 2020. Photo taken August 24, 2020.

Crown gall, caused by the bacteria, Agrobacterium vitis, is likely responsible for the gall formation and growth evident in this photograph of this remnant vine, located in the panel depicted in the photo above. The bacteria is endemic to nearly all vines but only expresses itself after the vine suffers an insult, such as cold injury, water-logging, or in some cases, tractor or cultivator 'blight', that is, physical injury due to impact with a tractor or cultivation implement. Photo taken August 24, 2020.