Midwest Wine Press

Breeder Creates “Cotton Candy Grapes”

by · August 1, 2013

From the Los Angeles Times comes word of new grapes that taste like “Skittles on the vine.”  But it’s no joke, this new table grape reportedly commands $6 a pound.

As is often the case, there is a connection between the “new” California grape and plant science work done in the center of the country.

Kendra Woodburn, who currently works as a county horticultural agent in Tulsa Oklahoma, helped manage the advanced replicated trails for the parents of the cotton candy grape while at the University of Arkansas Fruit Research Station in Clarksville.   At Clarksville, she was research assistant for Dr. John Clark, professor of  horticulture at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.

“What is really neat in the plant breeding world is the contacts you make,” Woodburn said.

See:  Fruit Breeder Hits the Sweet Spot With Cotton Candy Grapes

Tags:

Mark Ganchiff

Mark Ganchiff is the publisher of Midwest Wine Press, the leading source of news on the growing wine industry in the central United States. Mark has been a wine judge at the 2012 and 2014 INDY International Wine Competition, the 2014 Cold Climate Wine Competition, the 2013 Mid-American Wine Competition, the 2012 Illinois State Fair Wine Competition and the 2013 Michigan Wine Competition. He also enjoys speaking at wine events including the Cold Climate Wine Conference, the Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Association Annual Meeting, the Midwest Grape and Wine Conference and the Wisconsin Fruit and Vegetable Conference. Mark's articles about regional wine have appeared in Vineyard & Winery Management, WineMaker and several regional magazines. Mark is a Level One Sommelier in the Court of Master Sommeliers. He lives in Louisville, but also has a residence in Chicago.

You may also like...