Seyval and the French-American Hybrid Grapes

The French-American hybrid grapes, such as Seyval, were developed in the late 19th and early 20th Century, primarily by Albert Seibel
who bred tens of thousands of different varieties. Originally all the names of the vines consisted of the hybridizers name followed by a
number, (e.g. Seibel 13053). Francophonic aliases were later attached to each variety, thus Seibel 13053 became Cascade,
Ravat 51 became Vignoles, Joannes-Seyve 26-205 became Chambourcin, and Seyve-Villard 5276 became Seyval Blanc, etc.
The Four Varieties
Of great importance is the fact that almost all of Albert Seibels hybrid grapes were descended from only four parent grapes: two
European (Vitis Vinifera) grapes: Aramon and Alicante Bouchet one wild American grape: Jaeger 70 (V. Rupestris x
V.Lincicumii) and one rootstock, AxR1, which was created by crossing Aramon with a wild American Vitis Rupestris.
Although Seibel bred tens of thousands of grapes, he did so almost entirely by continually crossing and re-crossing his original
varieties, all of which were descended from the original four vines, so the basic gene pool of his collection remained largely
unchanged.
Almost all later grapevine hybridizers, such as Bertille Seyve and his father-in-law Victor Villard, would simply breed one or two of
Albert Seibels grapes together and name their creations after themselves, e.g., Seyve-Villard 5276 (Seyval Blanc).

Parentage of Seyval Blanc (SV 5276)

V. Rupestris
(wild)
25%

Alicante
Bouschet
22%

Alicante Bouschet
Aramon
V. Lincecumii (wild)
V. Rupestris (wild)
V. Lincecumii
(wild)
14%

Aramon
39%

I. Vinifera (European) Parentage

1. Aramon 39%:
Jancis Robinson, www.jancisrobinson.com/learn/grape-varieties/.../aramon
Extraordinarily high-yielding, low-quality variety that dominated the plains of the Languedoc in the late nineteenth and
early twentieth centuries.
Philip Wagner, A Wine Growers Guide
Another grape to be avoided. It produces tremendous crops of large-berried bunches, the fruit being low in sugar, low in
acid and low in color. It produces a thin wine, pale in color and low in alcohol, [once] the basis for most of the French
vin ordinaire, usually being blended with grapes of better character.
Pierre Galet, A Practical Ampelography
It is an extremely productive variety, which when grown in fertile locations with a sufficient water supply, produces very
high yields of very ordinary wine.
2. Alicante Bouschet 22%
Jancis Robinson, www.jancisrobinson.com/learn/grape-varieties/red/alicante-bouschet
Often just called Alicante, red-fleshed grape once widely used to tint dilute southern French table wine, especially Aramon
Philip Wagner, A Wine Growers Guide
This is much grown in southern France and Algeria for cheap blending wine.
Pierre Galet, A Practical Ampelography
The wine, an intense red, is blended with other varieties since it is of no interest as a varietal. In France it is used to make
grape juice.

II. Wild (American) Parentage

1. AxR1 (Aramon crossed with Vitis Rupestris). A rootstock vine that was once ubiquitous in California until it was found to
have insufficient resistance to phylloxera. Rupestris berries are very small and have a pronounced, non-fruity, gamey wild
flavor, totally different from the foxy character of Vitis Labrusca, but equally undesirable in dry wine.

2. Jaeger 70 (Vitis Rupestris crossed with Vitis Lincicumii) A cross of two wild vines found growing in the woods near
Neosho, Missouri by Hermann Jaeger. He sent the vine to a friend in France, and it eventually fell into the hands of Albert
Seibel, the most famous and prolific of the French grape hybridizers. Seibel used it, along with AxR1, as one of the American
parents for almost all of his hybrid grapes, such as Rayon dOr (Seibel 4986). Lincicumii has the advantage of having much
larger berries and bunches than almost any other wild American grape. It has the decided disadvantage of having a very
pronounced wild flavor that has been described as cloying, stale, and burnt.
Characteristics
Because of their common parentage and limited gene pool, almost all French-American hybrid grapes share some common
characteristics:
1. From the very beginning, it has been noted that French-American wines do not age well. The reason for this lies in their
genetic makeup. When French-American wines are young they can very much resemble their European vinifera parents, but as
the wines age they progressively take on more and more of the character of the American wild vines which everyone finds
unpleasant.
2. The finish and aftertaste of French-American hybrids tends to be somewhat tannic and austere (but far less so than in
Labruscas). This austerity is very often counterbalanced by leaving some residual sugar, or adding granulated sugar before
bottling, resulting in the commonly seen off dry style of hybrid wines.
3. The vines are easy to propagate, which makes them beloved by nurseries, they are vigorous growers, crop early, and can bear
large crops under less than professional management. The more vigorous and productive vines, however, tend to be short lived.
Philip Wagner
98% of all the wineries in the eastern United States would not be here today if it werent for Philip Wagner. He popularized the French-American
hybrid grapes. He wrote books on how to grow them and make wine from them; he operated a winery that made wine from them, and he also ran a
nursery that sold hybrid grape vines to those novices that wanted to make something besides Concord style wine from Vitis Labrusca grapes.
Before Wagner the only eastern wines available were made from Labrusca grapes. Although these grapes make excellent sweet wines, they are all
unacceptable for making dry table wine due to their very austere, tannic finish, and their unusual, non-vinifera (but not unpleasant) foxy taste
and aroma.

French-American Hybrids Today

There were originally about 60 or so French-American hybrid grapes that were experimented with in the eastern United States. Almost
all had a brief day in the sun and then were heard from no more. A case in point would be Seyve-Villard 12375 (Villard Blanc) which
was at one time in the 1970s and 80s the most widely grown hybrid grape in Missouri. Villard Blanc grew quickly, bore huge crop of
large bunches with fat white berries, and made a quite acceptable dry white wine. Unfortunately by the time the vines were 8 years old
the trunks were the size of baseball bats and looked to be 100 years old. Production then fell off dramatically, and the vines quickly
died of old age. Hardly any vines remain in Missouri today.
The French-American hybrid grapes have been prohibited in France and the European Union for the production of commercial wine.
They are, however, still grown in the eastern United States. Those listed below are a few of the more commonly encountered varieties.
Seyval, its Offspring and Other Varieties
Seyval Blanc: (SV 5276) still widely grown, but its acreage hit a peak some time ago. When very young, Seyval can make a very
charming, slightly sweet, white wine which is best the younger it is consumed. As the chart above shows, it is the result of breeding
two of Albert Seibel grapes together.
Chardonel: (GW 9) one of the second generation hybrids, developed in Geneva, New York by crossing Seyval Blanc with
Chardonnay. The wine retains it vinifera character for far longer than any other hybrid. If barrel aged it can resemble Chardonnay. In
many locations it seems to suffer from winter damage that has a cumulative effect on the vines, and which in many cases has led to its
being abandoned in less favorable locations.
Vidal Blanc: (Vidal 256) another second generation hybrid, although this time one developed in France by crossing Rayon dOr (one
of the parent grapes of Seyval Blanc) with Ugni Blanc. Hardy, vigorous, productive, and if pruned by a troupe of Orangutans it will
still bear 6 tons to the acre. The ultimate vine for the amateur grower. Vidal wine is invariably very neutral, has a somewhat hard
finish, and its wine is not as good as that from either of its parents. Its future is assured where it is used to make Ice Wine.
Traminette: (NY 65.533.13) a second generation hybrid developed at the University of Illinois, resulting from crossing Seibel
parentage hybrids with a Vitis vinifera grape, in this case Johannes Seyve 23416 crossed with Gewrztraminer. It has the advantage
that its more pronounced floral character can cover up the hybrid characteristics for a longer period of time than most other varieties.
Like its parent, Gewrztraminer, the wine demands a sweet finish to counteract its inherent austerity.

Vignoles: (Ravat 51) although Ravat, the breeder, claimed that one of Vignoles parents was Pinot Noir, DNA tests have shown that
this is not true. Vignoles, like most of the other Ravat hybrids, expresses vine and wine qualities that are perfectly consistent with what
would be the result of breeding two Seibel hybrids together. The wine has a pleasant floral character which can, for some time, mask
the contributions of its American parentage which steadily increase with age. Vignoles wine is almost always made with a sweet
finish.
Chambourcin: (JS 26-205) of all the red hybrids this is the only one with any appreciable increase in acreage. Other once popular
varieties like Villard Noir, Chancellor, Rougeon, Chelois, etc., have now been largely discarded mainly because of unacceptable wine
quality or in a few cases, disease problems. Chambourcins parentage is uncertain, but what is known is that M. Johannes Seyve, the
hybridizer, always bred one or more of Albert Seibels crosses to create his new vines. The vine and its wine are typically hybrid in
character. The grape makes a good ros which should be drunk as young as possible. The red wine is light, uncomplicated, and again
should be drunk as young as possible.

Hermann Jaeger

Albert Seibel