Vine very vigorous, productive, healthy, open in growth; canes somewhat trailing. Leaves large, round, thick, smooth, leathery with coarsely dentate margin. Flowers perfect.
Fruit late, does not ripen uniformly, keeps and ships well. Clusters of medium size with from six to fifteen berries which cling well to the pedicel. Berries of medium size, round-oval, deep reddish-black with numerous conspicuous dots; skin thin, cracking in wet weather; flesh tender, juicy, sweet, exceptionally well flavored; very good to best.
Mission
(Vinifera)
Of all grapes, Mission has probably played the most important part in the vineyards of California. Grown from the earliest times at the old missions, its source or its name has never been determined. Its viticultural value for table and wine-press was early appreciated by California grape-growers, and its culture rapidly spread to every county in the state adapted to grape-growing. With vines vigorous, healthy and productive, bearing grapes of delicious quality, Mission is a mainstay on the Pacific slope, surpassed by few vineyard varieties for general usefulness. The description is compiled.
Vine vigorous, healthy, productive; wood short-jointed, grayish-brown, dull, dark. Leaf medium to large, slightly oblong, with large, deeply-cut compound teeth; basal sinus widely opened, primary sinuses narrow and shallow; smooth on both sides with scattered tomentum below, bright green above, lighter below. Bunch divided into many small, distinct lateral clusters, shouldered, loose, sometimes very loose; berries of medium size, purple or almost black with heavy bloom; skin thin; flesh firm, crisp, juicy, sweet, rich and delicious. Seeds rather large and prominent; season late.
Missouri Riesling
(Vulpina, Labrusca)
Missouri Riesling attains perfection only in the South. The vines are hardy, vigorous, productive and healthy in the North, as a rule, but the fruit is lacking in quality. In the South, Missouri Riesling is a beautiful fruit when well grown and has many good qualities of fruit and vine. It originated with Nicholas Grein, Hermann, Missouri, about 1870, probably from seed of Taylor.