Eleven cultivars with resistance to PD have been released from the breeding program at the Central Florida Research and Education Center at Leesburg. Those recommended for commercial production include 'Stover', 'Conquistador', 'Suwannee', 'Orlando Seedless' and 'Blanc Du Bois'. Nearly all of the bunch grape acreage under production at this time is contracted to or owned by wineries. Some of these wineries offer contracts with growers to cultivate certain cultivars. As yet undeveloped markets for grapes are juice and fresh sales.
Bunch grapes require well-drained sites and productivity is enhanced on sloped areas.
Marketing Situation Expansion of the Florida grape industry based on currently available cultivars would depend on increased capacity of existing wineries or new winery construction, development of juice processors and outlets and large-scale marketing studies to determine the potential for fresh fruit sales. Currently, midwestern and eastern states are successfully fresh marketing Concord grapes suggesting good potential for sales of a similar cultivar such as 'Conquistador'. Grapes produced here would have the advantage of reduced shipping costs and time and thus potentially better quality. Labor and Capital Bunch grapes ripen in late June through mid-July. Wine grapes are generally mechanically harvested.