Vitis vinifera Evita - Grape vine

The Evita grape is a recent variety of vine that produces a sweet, golden yellow table grape with fruity notes.  The large clusters of round to elliptical berries are not very susceptible to the main vine diseases. These grapes have the advantage of having almost no seeds. This vine will thrive in most neutral to limestone soils that are well-drained and sunny. It is also resistant to cold temperatures.

The wine grape (Vitis vinifera) grew wild over 5000 years ago in North and Central America, Europe, and Central and Eastern Asia. The subspecies sylvestris still exists, which is a climbing liana that grows on the edge of forests and can reach great heights in trees. Its introduction to France for cultivation was done by the Phoenicians in Provence around 600 BC. The current varieties, called grape varieties in the case of vines, are classified under the subspecies vinifera (although there are other cultivated species, but they are very minor). 

Evita is a recent hybrid obtained by two Austrian breeders, G.P. Weiss and G. Mayer, and introduced to the market in 2008. This table grape variety is the result of cross-breeding between La Perlette, a white seedless grape obtained in 1936 in the United States (with one of its parents being La Sultanine, a variety often consumed as raisins due to its high sweetness), and Zala Gyöngye, a Hungarian variety from 1957. This interspecific hybrid carries genes from Vitis vinifera, as well as Vitis berlandieri, the species that helped save the vine from the devastating phylloxera by serving as a resistant rootstock, and Vitis rupestris, another American vine species.
A vigorous climbing shrub with an upright habit, the Evita vine can easily reach a height of 4m (13ft) with a spread of 3m (10ft) if not pruned. It needs to be trained on a trellis or arbor, which it can cover quite quickly. Its foliage is a beautiful matte light green, with entire leaves that are generally round or three to five-lobed, with finely toothed edges. The herbaceous branches bear long tendrils that allow the plant to cling to its support. Like most grapes, it is self-fertile. Its flowering occurs in May-June depending on the year and region, offering very small greenish flowers gathered in fairly large conical and cylindrical clusters.
These flowers develop into large to very large clusters, suspended on long peduncles. The berries are medium to large, spherical to slightly elliptical, turning golden yellow at maturity and ready to be harvested in September and even October, earlier or later depending on the region. With medium-thick skin and firm, crunchy, and moderately juicy flesh, these berries are sweet with fruity aromas. They have inherited the low quantity of seeds from one of their parents. This variety is less susceptible to grey rot, as well as powdery mildew and downy mildew, which are serious diseases for the vine. It is useful to perform summer green pruning to remove some leaves so that the grapes are well exposed to the sun and can acquire that beautiful golden colour, which is a guarantee of their taste quality.

The Evita grape can be consumed as a table grape or used to make juice, for example in a vitamin-packed fruit cocktail for breakfast. In general, grapes are rich in B vitamins, a source of fiber and manganese, and they are well-endowed with antioxidants. They are also believed to play a role in preventing cardiovascular diseases, and above all, they are a healthy, natural, and delicious dessert. To create original fruit salads, sow Love in a Cage or Peruvian Ground Cherry (Physalis peruviana) at the end of spring to harvest its amazing orange fruits from August to October. Or try the Kiwi, a variety of Actinidia arguta, with fruits rich in vitamin C.