🌿 Clone (grapevine)

A grape clone is the offspring of one best vine, propagated by cuttings rather than seeds. With this kind of propagation, the new plant gets the same traits as the mother plant. Clones therefore keep the features of the selected vine: berry size, yield, ripening time and aroma.

Inside one variety there can be many clones. Vines of one variety differ slightly from each other. Breeders notice the best vines, for example healthy and productive ones, and propagate them by cuttings. That gives a clone. A cutting is a piece of vine with buds that is rooted or grafted onto a rootstock. Clones help match the plant to a particular climate and wine type.

For nurseries it matters that the clone is healthy. Vines are often infected with leafroll virus, and such plants grow worse. So proven healthy clones are planted. The idea of a clone is tied to the grape variety: the variety is the general name, and the clone is its separate version. Growers choose clones for their own plot.