Attica grapes: variety description, photos, reviews

Content

1 Description and history of the variety
2 Characteristics of berries and bunches
3 Features of cultivation
4 Reviews from gardeners
5 Conclusion

Seedless grape varieties or sultanas will always be in special demand among gardeners, because these berries are more versatile in use. You can easily prepare grape juice from them without having to worry about removing the seeds. Such berries can be given to even the youngest children without fear and, finally, they are ideal for making homemade raisins - one of the healthiest and most delicious natural delicacies.

The Attica grape, a description of the variety and photo of which you can find in this article, is precisely a representative of the seedless group. Since this grape variety came to us from abroad, one of its English names speaks of the same fact - Attika seedless, that is, seedless Attica.

Description and history of the variety

The very name of the grape variety eloquently testifies to its origin. Attica is one of the regions of central Greece, and in its honor the Greek scientist breeder V. Michos named the hybrid form of grapes he obtained back in 1979. In order for the Attica grape to be born, Mihos needed to cross Kishmish black (an ancient variety of Central Asian origin) and Alphonse Lavallee (a variety of French origin).The result is a kind of international hybrid of grapes, which, despite its rather southern origin, can easily grow and ripen even in the weather conditions of central Russia, of course, under shelters.

Comment! And in the southern regions, for example, in the Krasnodar Territory, this crop is actively grown over large areas in uncovered vineyards.

Bushes of this grape form have above average growth vigor. It is encouraging that the young vines manage to ripen along their entire length in a relatively short time. This allows the grapes to withstand frost well, although the general frost resistance of the variety, expressed primarily in the minimum temperature the fruit buds can withstand without shelter, is not too high - they can withstand, according to various sources, from -19 ° C to -23 ° WITH.

A positive thing about growing Attica grapes is that cuttings of this variety take root quite easily. Judging by the reviews, even one hundred percent rooting is possible under favorable conditions. It also grows well with rootstocks, so it can be easily grafted onto more frost-resistant rootstocks.

Slightly dissected grape leaves can be either three- or five-lobed. They have a rich green tint, the upper surface of the leaf blade is matte, bare, coarsely wrinkled, the lower surface is pubescent.

Flowers in Attica are bisexual, which means that grapes can be used in single plantings or during the initial planting of a vineyard. It does not require a pollinator to fully set berries.

Traditionally, Attica grapes are classified as mid-early varieties in terms of ripening time, that is, on average 115-120 days pass from bud break on the bush to full ripeness of the berries.In the middle zone, the berries will ripen at the very end of August - September. In the south, grapes can ripen faster - already at the end of July - the first half of August. Much depends on weather conditions - in a hot summer, Attica grapes can show super early ripening, but in cool conditions the harvest may have to wait much longer.

Grape berries are well preserved on the bushes and, when ripe, can hang until frost without particularly losing their presentation.

Important! Attica grapes have one peculiarity - even when the berries are completely colored, this does not mean they are fully ripened. The longer they hang on the bushes, the better and richer the taste of the grapes will become.

The grapes begin to bear fruit in the second year after planting. In the third year, you can harvest about 5 kg of berries from one bush. Mature Attica bushes are known for their very good yield - up to 30 tons per hectare. One adult bush will allow you to collect an average of about 15-20 kg of berries.

Attica grapes show good resistance to gray rot; resistance to other common fungal diseases of grapes is average. In addition to mandatory preventive spraying, it is advisable not to thicken the bushes, remove shoots in a timely manner, ensuring good ventilation. When grape bushes become denser, the likelihood of disease spreading increases.

Characteristics of berries and bunches

The Attica raisin grape differs from ordinary raisins in its good full size berries. True, winegrowers noticed the following feature - if the berries grow especially large, up to 6-7 grams, then they usually contain so-called rudimentary seed formations.The average size of grape berries of this variety is 4-5 grams.

Attica grape clusters have a complex conical-cylindrical shape with many branches.
Usually the berries are not located close to each other inside the clusters, but rather dense clusters can occur.
The size of the clusters is quite large - they easily reach 30 cm or more in length.
The average weight of one bunch ranges from 700 to 900 grams. But sometimes there are champions weighing up to 2 kg.
The berries are well attached to the stalk, so the grapes can hang on the bushes for a long time without spoiling.
The berries themselves are distinguished by their oval, often elongated shape. A distinctive feature of the berries of this variety is the presence of small dimples at the end of each grape.
The approximate dimensions of the berry are 25x19 mm.
The flesh is dense and crispy. Do not forget that it becomes like this only after some aging of the bunches on the bushes. In the first week after the grapes are completely colored, the pulp may be slimy and rather tasteless.
The skin is quite dense, one might even call it thick, but it has no astringent properties and is covered with a clearly visible waxy coating.
The berries have a dark purple hue.
The taste of the Attica grape is quite interesting, sweet, and has some fruity notes of cherry, mulberry or chokeberry.
The berries' sugar levels range from 16 to 19 Brix, acidity is about 5%.
The variety belongs to table grape varieties, although it is also sometimes used for wine.
Attica is well preserved, under normal conditions – up to several weeks. During long-term storage, it may dry out only slightly, but rot does not form.
The transportability of Attica grapes is also at a high level.

The video below demonstrates all the main characteristics of the Attica grape.

Features of cultivation

Attica grape bushes are not picky about soils and can grow on almost all soils, except saline or waterlogged ones. It places increased demands on warmth and sunlight, as befits a true Greek by origin.

Attica has a certain tendency to overload with the harvest, so the inflorescences after their formation must be rationed, leaving a maximum of two for shoots. Short pruning (2-3 eyes) is more suitable for the southern regions, and in the middle zone it is better to carry out medium pruning (5-6 eyes). You can leave about 30 eyes per grape bush.

The advantage of this variety is good pollination and fruit set. In principle, treatment with gibberellin (a growth stimulant) is not even required. Although it is sometimes used to increase the size of berries and bunches of grapes.

In order to prevent diseases, Attica grape bushes need to be treated with fungicides two or three times: after bud break, shortly before flowering and immediately after flowering.

Reviews from gardeners

Feedback from those who planted Attica grapes on their plots is mostly positive. Some discrepancies in the taste of the berries are apparently associated with their premature tasting, when they have not yet had time to acquire the required taste and consistency.

Vladimir, 42 years old, Saratov

This year, Attica grapes finally bear fruit normally. Last year there were several signal brushes on the bushes, but somehow I couldn’t taste the taste. I have not observed any problems with diseases in my area. Pollination is simply excellent.The clusters are quite dense, but the berries are preserved perfectly, do not get crushed, and most importantly, they stay firmly on the branches. Ripening this season occurred at the beginning of September, I thought they would ripen later, since the weather in the summer was not very good. And when I tried it, I was initially disappointed - the taste was bland, the flesh was slimy. But then somehow he happened to be left without much attention for a couple of weeks and the taste of the grapes began to change for the better. As a result, I let it hang until the frosts, it did not deteriorate at all, on the contrary, the taste only improved, and the flesh became dense and crispy. I also liked the berries themselves - large, unlike ordinary sultanas, rudiments are sometimes found, but you can hardly feel them in food.

Evgeniy, 39 years old, Samara

This year I had the first signal grapes of Attica. Over the course of a year, the vine grew by 4 meters, and 4 clusters weighing approximately 500-600 grams were formed per bush. The berries themselves are medium in size; at first I didn’t find any traces of rudiments. But in the largest berries, they are noticeable when cut, although they are not particularly noticeable in food. Apart from preventative ones, I did not do any special treatments, the bushes did not hurt. The taste of the berries seemed simple but harmonious. Nothing super-outstanding, but for our region it’s a very decent grape variety.

Olga, 37 years old, Volgograd

We have been growing Attica sultanas for several years. We are not overjoyed - the variety is quite early, it ripened in our country at the very beginning of August. It was very popular at the market because people were not used to seeing sultanas of such large sizes. The taste is original, with distinct fruity notes of currant or cherry. It produces very tasty and high-quality raisins using a conventional electric dryer.We also make juices and compotes for the winter - they are usually one of the first to go, there is not even any left for wine, and there are other, more suitable varieties for wine.

Nikolay, 46 years old, Rostov region

I planted 2 Attica bushes last spring. The planting hole was filled with: a bucket of compost, wood ash, sand, black soil, and rotted mullein. I didn’t feed or treat it with anything else. I watered it almost every day with a bucket of water. Over the summer, two or three shoots 1.5 meters long grew. The leaves and shoots of the grapes are in excellent condition, no sores were noticed. The bushes also had no reaction to the rains. By autumn (by October) the vine had ripened by more than a meter. In winter, both bushes went without shelter. The heaviest frost was recorded at -23°C with winds. In spring, all the buds have awakened, flowering is now actively underway, and the first signal clusters are forming. So the frost resistance of Attica is truly worthy of surprise.

Conclusion

Perhaps due to its foreign or southern origin, Attica grapes are not as popular in Russia as other varieties. But this hybrid form can surprise with its stability, productivity, and taste. So anyone who tries to allocate a place for her on the site is unlikely to be disappointed.