There are many people who are passionate about viticulture and winemaking, not only in the southern regions. They are constantly looking for and sometimes find grape varieties suitable for growing in their area. One of such finds was the black Livadia grape, which today is grown even north of the middle zone.
The creation of an outstanding breeder
Black Livadia variety was created at the Magarach Institute by an outstanding breeder, physiologist and grape geneticist, viticulture theorist and practitioner Pavel Yakovlevich Golodryga.
Breeder at work
The variety bred by him is famous and especially loved by winegrowers and winemakers. Livadian black is unpretentious. Its fruits harmoniously combine sweetness and sourness, have an intense color of berries and juice, nutmeg aroma. Berries of this variety are ideal for making fine wines for personal consumption and for sale.
What is good Livadia black
Livadia black - a wine variety. It was bred by crossing varieties Magarach 124-66-26 and Metru Vaagas. Bushes of medium vigor. The flowers of this grape are bisexual. Cylindrical small clusters with several wings have a low density. The ripened round or slightly elongated berries of Livadia are black in dark color and covered with a dense spring bloom, which makes them appear gray.
Pruin is a wax coating covering the berries with a thin layer that protects them from mechanical damage, adverse weather effects, evaporation of moisture and damage by microorganisms. Thanks to the spring on the berries, they are less damaged during the collection, transportation and storage. The leaves and shoots of grapes have the same protection.
On the palate, Livadia black berries are sweet and sour. In dessert wines made from them, tones of chocolate, nutmeg, and prune are felt.
Livadia black - a famous wine variety
Livadian black in numbers
Bushes of this variety are of medium height, but require support. Livadia black grapes ripen, if you count from the time the buds begin to bloom, ranges from 130 to 140 days. This period is considered the earliest of the middle ripening periods.
Ripe bunches on the vine
The average mass of the bunch is small - about a quarter of a kilogram. Berries are also small, weighing 1.5-2 grams. But they have a unique taste and a peculiar aroma that are transmitted to wines made from them, which have received the highest rating of tasters.
In berries, 90% consisting of juice, under appropriate weather conditions, up to 20-26% sugar and 7-8 grams of acid per liter are accumulated. Inside the grape 2-3 small bones.
Livadia black is resistant to frost up to -25 ºС and fungal diseases. The normal load on the bush is up to 30 eyes when pruning shoots for 2-3 buds.
Livadian black on his site
Of course, grown in the middle lane or in territories located still to the north, Livadia black will not be able to compete with Crimean relatives in sugar content, but it is quite suitable for making good wine.
Livadia black variety loves heat and sun, therefore, they choose the appropriate place for planting on the site - the warmest and with maximum sunlight, put up supports, put fertilizers into the soil.
Further care of this grape is traditional for any variety of these plants: regular timely watering and top dressing, indispensable autumn pruning.
For ripening, only the best clusters are left on the vine, measuring their number with the age of the bush. Be sure to remove dry leaves. This is the prevention of diseases, and protection against insect pests, and additional lighting for berries.
Important: after ripening bunches of Livadia black, the crop must be harvested in a timely manner, otherwise the berries will begin to crumble, and their quality will greatly decrease in taste and appearance.
After trimming the Livadia black in the fall, it is removed from the support, bent to the ground and covered for the winter.
Despite the high resistance of this variety to fungal diseases, one should not forget about the possibility of the occurrence of diseases such as apoplexy, powdery mildew, white rot. There are also insects - weevil, aphids, woodworms, mosquitoes, worms - which can cause great harm to the crop and the plants themselves. Prevention of these disorders of normal plant life are:
- strict observance of agricultural technology;
- timely application of necessary fertilizers;
- removal of dry foliage and weeding;
- regular processing of the vineyard with fungicides and insecticides.
Reviews of winegrowers and winemakers
In my opinion, this statement is not true, because in the winter of 2014-2015, my undisguised Champions League froze thoroughly despite the absence of severe frosts (the maximum was -18 degrees for a very short time, data from the weather archive on the rp5 website) and despite the good ripened vine. I have last year (about -25 minimum) and this (about -22 minimum) one unplaced sleeve wintered by 5 plus. Frost resistance of Livadia black in my conditions is better than Citron magarach.
Sheva//forum.vinograd.info/archive/index.php?t-1470-p-3.html
What I want to add to Livadia black Samara. One of the most promising varieties. Ripens in mid-September. The maximum reached 29 Bri in the Samara region on October 1. With an acidity of 6-8. He showed complete integrated resistance to Mildew and Oidium. Minimally affected by gray rot, even last year. Muscat is mild. Dry wine in 2016 is quite decent. Experience has shown that in wet autumn, anthocyanins are not enough for dessert wines. Well perceives barrel exposure. Loses a lot of anthocyanins during the aging period and we need to work in this direction. Good at separating with the Ruby of the Hunger. The variety is poorly studied in terms of winemaking. In my opinion, the most difficult variety. Fairly high productivity. With 600 bushes an average of about 4 tons of wine. The bush is fan-shaped with 4-6 sleeves. Trimming for 3.4 buds. A variety with great potential for yield. If desired, the bush sways easily for 10-15 kg.
Samara//www.forum-wine.info/viewtopic.php?f=70&t=1107
So the question was about Livadia black, and it is well suited for dessert and is not at all suitable for dry wines. (dry wine with nutmeg, it’s like a herring with sugar :)) ... or I didn’t understand what wine is planned to be made ... I slightly missed the topic .... I still have a Livadian young ... but those who bear fruit said this year that muscat is not was ... But it has a complex aroma ... prune tones .... well, in general I will not argue, but what is the semisweet of it worse than dessert ????
sania//forum.vinograd.info/archive/index.php?t-1335.html
Most winegrowers growing Livadia black, and winemakers using it, agree on the prospects of this variety. Indeed, most of the characteristics of this grape are positive and even excellent. But, of course, the farther north Livadia black is grown, the less one should expect the absolute embodiment of all its qualities.
