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Conquistador

Conquistador is a purple, multi-purpose hybrid bunch grape that was released by the University of Florida in 1983 by J.A. Mortensen. It is recommended for red wine, juice, jelly, u-pick, fresh market, and home gardens. Vines are moderately vigorous and capable of producing high yields when grafted onto a recommended rootstock. Clusters are small and consist of medium sized berries that ripen in mid to late July with a flavor similar to Concord. It has good tolerance to spring frost and diseases such as anthracnose, downy mildew, black rot, ripe rot, and Pierce’s disease. However, it is susceptible to Isariopsis leaf blight.

Figure 1. Fruit clusters of MidSouth in the vineyard, McNeill, Mississippi.

MidSouth

MidSouth is a red grape that was bred in Mississippi. While it has been used to make wine, it is more often used for products like juice, jelly, or jam. The potential exists for wine production, but it may have best utility as a blending grape. It was released in the early 1980s along with two other grape cultivars, Miss Blanc and Miss Blue. It is currently being grown in Mississippi and Texas, but only on a limited scale. In Mississippi the vine is moderately vigorous and productive. It is well adapted to the heat and humidity of the Gulf Coast area. The wine has some susceptibility to anthracnose, black rot, and other fungal diseases, but appears to be highly resistant to Pierce’s disease. MidSouth is highly susceptible to root knot nematodes.