Vitis labrusca x vinifera Fragola Bianca Precoce - Dessert Grape

The 'Fragola Bianca Precoce' vine is an earlier version of the 'Fragola Bianca', known for its golden grapes with a typical strawberry aroma. Its fruits are harvested about two weeks earlier, starting from September 15th. This vine is also very useful for its natural resistance to vine diseases and parasites, which allows it to be cultivated without the use of any phytosanitary products. Its small grapes can be consumed as they are, in juice or in jams. You can plant this vine in the garden, on a pergola, in a container, or trained against a wall.

Vitis 'Fragola Bianca Precoce' is a horticultural selection belonging to the 'Fragola' vine group. They are hybrids of Vitis labrusca and Vitis vinifera with uncertain origins. Their leader is likely the result of 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 in the late 19th century, can be attributed to this type of resistant hybrids imported to the old continent for winemaking. However, their grapes produce more toxic methanol for the body during the fermentation process, and their winemaking has been prohibited. On the other hand, it is these molecules that give the 'Fragola' type grape its typical strawberry aroma. The 'Fragola' grape varieties were on the verge of disappearing from cultivation. But their exceptional aromatic flavour allowed these vines to continue to be cultivated for table grape harvest. All vines belong to the Vitaceae family.

Vitis 'Fragola Bianca Precoce' is a sarmentous and climbing shrub, whose twining stems with tendrils can exceed 5m in length over time. It forms a trunk, often knotty and twisted, covered with fibrous and reddish-brown bark that flakes off in strips as it ages. Its long green stems bear beautiful round, medium green leaves, with serrated edges, hairy on the underside, 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, pyramidal to cylindrical clusters, loaded with tiny nectar-rich green flowers. After pollination by insects, the grapes are formed. The 'Fragola Bianca Precoce' variety produces small clusters of 200-250 grams, of small, yellow oval grapes, with thick skin, whose firm and juicy green flesh has a typical wild strawberry aroma.

The 'White Strawberry' grape is very hardy and easy to grow in any well-drained garden soil. The vigorous plant is pruned in late winter, after frost, above 3 buds (buds) to promote the formation of new flowering shoots. Planted in full sun, it will be very decorative along a wall, on a pergola, a trellis, in the ground or in a large container on a terrace.