Somerset Grape
Somerset Grape
Species: Vitis labrusca x Vitis riparia x Vitis vinifera, and small amounts of other species of different Vitis from North America
History: Bred by Elmer Swenson in Wisconsin, Somerset is one of numerous varieties he created for growing in our cooler North American climates. This cultivar has become increasingly popular in recent years and has good potential for commercial growing. The variety was released in 2002.
Why We Grow It: One of the hardiest, highest quality seedless grape varieties out there, this is an excellent table grape: sweet, spicy, with strong notes of strawberry. The grapes have beautiful pink flushed skin and are most decadent if allowed to sit on a sunny window sill for a week or so after harvest. Although the fruit is on the smaller to medium end of the scale, the vines produce large, heavy clusters that more than compensate for the size of the individual grapes. The grapes have a firm texture with some crunch.
Fruit Specs
Fruit Specs
Recommended Use: Fresh eating, juice, jelly
Grape Size: Medium-small
Grape Colour: Red-Pink
Seeded or Seedless: Yes but very tiny and soft, technically considered seedless
Storage: Keeps up to two weeks when stored in the fridge
Harvest:
Growing Specs
Growing Specs
Canadian Hardiness Zone: 3b
Soil Preference: Loam is best, but is tolerant of different soils as long as they are well-drained.
Bloom Colour: Green
Pollination Requirements: Self-pollinating, this variety will produce fruit without a different grape variety but will produce more and better fruit if one is present.
Sun/Shade Requirements:
Full sun (approx. 8-10 hours of sun daily)
General Growth Habits:
Vine, moderately vigorous, produces heavy crops, cold hardy. Generally disease resistant.
Shipping vs. Pick Up
Shipping vs. Pick Up
CLICK HERE to see how shipping compares to pick up.
Shipping: Every year we ship thousands of trees across Canada (except BC due to CFIA regulations). We carefully bag roots in damp sawdust, then box them and send them out via courrier. CLICK HERE to see our shipping policy.
Pick-up: We also have thousands of trees picked up from our nursery each year. The pick-up options is free, though you must wait until you have been emailed a confirmation that your order is ready to pick up, which will have further information such as hours, locations, etc. We really appreciate if you can make an appointment to pick up, then we can be as organized as possible during our busy season.
Size at Purchase
Size at Purchase
Grapes are divided into the following grades:
- 1 year plant - pruned to ~20cm, well-rooted
- 2 year plant - pruned to ~30cm, extensive root system
There is some overlap in size since we are also taking the age of the plants into account. Some older plants may not have put on quite as much vegetative growth but will have larger root systems.
Unless specified, heights exclude the roots since seedlings and some berries will often have a lot of root growth but relatively little vegetative growth (ex. our Shagbark Hickories seedlings are often 5-15cm above the soil but will have roots that reach 20cm+ in length).
Not all of our berries and seedlings will be available in all of these grades since growth rate can vary significantly across species and even varieties. While we remain competitive in our plant size, it's also worth noting we don't use synthetic chemicals to push vegetative growth, therefore you may find conventional nursery stock larger in some instances comparatively.