Vitis vinifera Corniola - Grapevine

The 'Corniola' Table Grape is an old, rare, small and productive variety with rapid growth. Its fruit clusters are large, conical, often winged. Its grapes are elongated and slightly asymmetrical, pinkish-yellow with a very sweet taste, crisp and juicy flesh, and thick skin. The plant is quite hardy, to approximately -18°C. It prefers a warm and sheltered location. The root system is resistant to phylloxera, and the foliage offers good resistance to fungal diseases.

The wine grape (Vitis vinifera) grew wild over 5000 years ago in North and Central America, Europe, and Central and Eastern Asia. The subspecies sylvestris still exists, it is a climbing vine, growing on the edge of forests and capable of reaching great heights in trees. The current varieties are classified under the subspecies vinifera (although there are other cultivated species, but they are very minor). Economically, wine grapes predominate over table grapes.

'Corniola' is an old variety of white table grape found in Italy, where it likely originated from the Middle East in the 1920s. Corniola is a vigorous climbing shrub with an upright habit that reaches only 1.5 to 2m high with a similar width if not pruned. It needs to be trained on a trellis, which it can cover quite quickly. Its foliage is a beautiful matte light green, with three or five-lobed leaves, toothed all around. Like most grapes, it is self-fertile. It flowers in May-June depending on the year and region, with very small greenish flowers.
These develop into large clusters. The berries are large and elongated, initially greenish-yellow and turning pinkish-yellow when ripe. These fruits are ready to be harvested around mid-September. They are sweet and juicy with thick skin. This variety is relatively resistant to diseases. It is useful to summer prune the vine to remove certain leaves so that the grapes are well exposed to the sun and can acquire that beautiful golden colour, a sign of their taste quality.

The 'Corniola' grape can be consumed fresh or as juice, for example in a vitamin-packed fruit cocktail for breakfast. In general, grapes are rich in vitamin B, a source of fibre and manganese, and they are also rich in antioxidants. They are believed to play a role in preventing cardiovascular diseases and are a healthy, natural, and delicious dessert. To create original fruit salads, sow Cape Gooseberry or Peruvian Ground Cherry (Physalis peruviana) in late spring to harvest its amazing orange fruits from August to October. And to enjoy grapes for a long period, plant other varieties of vines that ripen at different times.