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It cannot be said that in recent years, gardeners in the middle lane and more northern regions have been deprived of attention from breeders in viticulture. Varieties that can really be recommended for growing in areas where grapes used to be considered an exotic curiosity appear in almost the same numbers as mushrooms after rain.
Despite this, each new variety of unpretentious early ripe grapes immediately arouses great interest among summer residents and gardeners. Especially if the variety turns out to be in fact a hybrid form previously well known to many experienced winegrowers. Charlie grapes, a detailed description of the variety of which, along with many photos and reviews, will be given in this article, is a typical example of an old one well known to many, acting as a new variety called Anthracite.
History of creation
Initially, as a hybrid form, Charlie grapes were obtained by crossing the Victoria and Nadezhda AZOS varieties. Victoria is a rather old and very famous grape variety, bred in the middle of the 40th century and has high agrotechnical performance. Nadezhda AZOS, also bred about XNUMX years ago, is known for its unique combination of high taste and resistance to diseases and low temperatures.
Well-known breeder-grower E.G. Pavlovsky, having crossed these two outstanding grape varieties, received a new hybrid form, called Charlie, which showed and shows excellent results for a whole range of indicators. And despite the many conflicting reviews that this grape has received, many remain faithful to it, thanks to some of its unsurpassed qualities. And precisely because of its popularity among the people, the Charlie grape, after more than a ten-year trial period, was finally officially included in the State Register of Our Country under the name Anthracite. This happened very recently, only in 2015. The patent holder was the Kuban State Agrarian University named after V.I. Trubilin.
As with many grape varieties that have a double name, its old name, Charlie, is still more popular among the people. Moreover, it also has a material justification – there is no need to pay the patent holder for the sale of cuttings and seedlings of Charlie grapes, in contrast to the sale of Anthracite grape seedlings.
Variety description
Grape bushes of the Charlie variety are characterized by an average growth force, but a distinctive feature of this variety is 100% and early ripening of the shoots along the entire length.
This unique property allows us to recommend this variety for cultivation in regions with a short summer, since only a fully matured vine is able to tolerate winter frosts well.
The video below demonstrates all the main characteristics of the Charlie grape variety and its berries.
The fruitfulness of the shoots is high – it reaches 90-95%. Charlie bushes are able to carry a fairly high load, a record number of ovaries can form on one shoot – up to 7 pieces. But for normal and timely ripening, it is recommended to ration the inflorescences without fail, leaving no more than one or two brushes on the shoot.
It doesn’t make much sense to be greedy, since the bushes are able to stretch out two or three bunches, but the ripening time will be so extended in time that you may never wait for full ripeness. However, the number of clusters left on the shoot depends heavily on the size of the brushes themselves. If the year turned out to be unfavorable, and the clusters were formed in a small size, then up to three brushes can be left on one trunk.
Young leaves and shoots are painted in juicy green color. The leaves are medium dissected, have a slight pubescence. The flowers of Charlie grapes are bisexual, so the bushes can be safely planted among the first on the site – they will bear fruit even alone, because they do not need pollinators.
Cuttings of this variety are distinguished by good rooting, so it makes sense to propagate Charlie by cuttings.
Grapes Charlie attracts and early ripening – the growing season is about 105-115 days. True, the coloring of the berries does not at all mean their full ripeness. This variety is gaining sugar for quite a long time, but if you show patience, you can wait for sugar content in the range from 18 to 22%.
The berries hold well on the bush and do not crumble. In addition, one of the advantages of Charlie grapes is the lack of peas. This means that all the berries in the bunch are approximately the same size, and in order to acquire a marketable appearance, there is no need to remove small and nondescript berries from the brush.
High yield is one of the big advantages of this variety. It is also important that already in the second year after planting, one bush is able to form and bring to full maturity 3-4 full-fledged clusters weighing up to a kilogram or more. And the yield of up to 15-20 kg of grapes from an adult bush is not at all a record.
As for frost resistance, the Charlie variety is able to withstand up to -24 ° -25 ° С. This is a good level of winter hardiness, although in most regions of Our Country the bushes still need additional shelter, since such temperatures are not at all minimal in winter. In addition to winter hardiness, for most winegrowers, especially in the middle lane, something else is important – how much grape bushes are able to recover from return spring frosts if the buds have already blossomed.
Charlie grapes are also popular due to their resistance to numerous fungal diseases that greatly annoy growers. True, there are no completely resistant grape varieties, but at least when growing it, you can try to do with preventive measures and not use strong chemicals. Charlie is especially loved by gardeners because his berries do not rot and ripen well even in the rainiest summer, when other grape varieties can leave you without a harvest at all.
Charlie grapes are very attractive to both wasps and a variety of small birds. Although in some reviews there is information that wasps are indifferent to Charlie’s bushes. But still, it is better to stock up on a special net in advance to protect ripening bunches from flying barbarians.
Characteristics of berries and brushes
The Charlie grape is primarily famous for the size of its clusters and their attractive presentation.
- The shape of the brush is usually conical, although it can be anything wrong.
- The clusters are not very dense, we can say that the friability is medium or below average.
- The average weight of one brush is 700-900 grams, but brushes weighing 1,5-2 kg are not the limit. In length, one bunch easily reaches 35-40 cm.
- The berries themselves have a rich dark blue skin color, although the juice from them is colorless.
- The berries are medium in size, weighing about 5-9 grams, have an ovoid shape.
- The pulp is fleshy, dense and juicy, the skin is dense, but it is practically not felt when eating.
- Each berry contains 2-3 medium-sized seeds.
- Charlie berries are stored very well and endure even long transportation.
- Professional tasters rated the taste of fresh Charlie grapes at 8,4 points out of XNUMX.
- The acidity of the berries reaches 7-4 g / l.
- Grapes Charlie is table for its intended purpose. However, due to the good collection of sugar, many use it for making wines, as well as making juices and canning.
In the taste sensations of Charlie grapes, many feel a certain extraneous aftertaste that is associated with the taste of nightshade. Many do not like him, while others treat him quite favorably.
However, judging by the reviews of growers, this taste is inherent only in unripe grapes. If the bunches are allowed to hang on the bush in an already colored form for several weeks and collect enough sugar, then the taste disappears. Other gardeners claim that the notorious aftertaste of nightshade is present only in the first 3-4 years of the life of a grape bush, and then it disappears forever.
Reviews of gardeners
Reviews of winegrowers and ordinary summer residents about the Charlie grape variety are very contradictory, although everyone is unanimous in one thing, that this is a real worker grape that will not leave you without a harvest under any circumstances.
Conclusion
Grapes Charlie is, in fact, a kind of dark horse, its extraordinary properties do not appear immediately, but with some delay. But if you have the patience to wait for the berries to fully ripen, then you will be able to fully enjoy all the incomparable characteristics of this variety.
