Vitis Fragola Nera - Strawberry vine

This amazing 'Fragola Nera' vine, perhaps better known as 'Isabella' or 'Odess', is an ancient hybrid variety that produces beautiful clusters of black grapes, whose pulp has an aromatic and flavourful taste that is reminiscent of wild strawberries. Its medium-sized grapes can be eaten as is, juiced, or made into jams. The harvest takes place, depending on the region, the year, and the climate, from mid-September to October. This productive vine, which is resistant to diseases, requires little maintenance while promising many gustatory and aesthetic pleasures. It can be grown in the garden, on a pergola, in a container, or trained against a wall.

'Fragola Nera' is a hybrid with uncertain origins, likely resulting from a spontaneous cross-breeding that took place in the United States during the trials of European grape varieties. It seems that the arrival of phylloxera, which decimated the European vineyards at the end of the 19th century, can be attributed to this vine, which was in turn imported to the old continent. Its first parent is undoubtedly Vitis labrusca, a species native to the eastern North America. It passed on its natural resistance to phylloxera, which parasitises the roots of European vines. The grapes of 'Fragola Nera' also inherited the thick skin of this parent, with a particular flavour (strong and earthy aromas) that easily separates from the pulp. Its second parent is an unknown variety of Vitis vinifera, cultivated since ancient times in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. All these plants belong to the Vitaceae family.

The Vitis 'Fragola Nera' is a sarmentous and climbing bush, with serpentine stems equipped with tendrils that can exceed 5 metres (16 feet) in length over time. It forms a trunk, often nodose and twisted, covered with fibrous and brown bark that flakes off in strips as it ages. Its long green stems bear beautiful round-shaped leaves, with serrated edges, of medium green colour, turning yellow before falling in autumn. It blooms in late spring, from May to June depending on the region, in the form of dense and well-formed clusters, pyramid-shaped to cylindrical, loaded with tiny green flowers. After pollination by insects, the berries we call grapes form. Under their dark purple, thick, and pruinose skin, the pale green flesh, low in seeds, juicy and sweet, reveals a surprising aroma of wild strawberries. They can be consumed as table grapes or used for winemaking. This variety is very hardy and easy to grow in any well-drained garden soil, but not limestone. It is pruned in late winter, after the frost, above 3 buds to promote the formation of new shoots that will flower.

Planted in the sun, the 'Fragola Nera' vine will be very decorative along a wall, on a pergola, in the ground, or in a large container on a terrace. This grape variety is also widely used for garden ornamentation, thanks to its decorative foliage. In Switzerland, it is distilled to make 'grappa tessinoise'. Despite its atypical, slightly 'earthy' flavour it is consumed as a table grape.