🍇 Athens

Athens is an American table grape with dark berries, bred at the New York State experiment station in Geneva (now part of Cornell University). It is a cross of Hubbard Seedless × Portland: according to VIVC, the cross was made in 1925 and the seedling selected in 1932, while the Cornell list dates the release of the variety to 1938.

The working number of the variety is New York 12046; VIVC also lists the synonym Athens C, and the pedigree in the catalogue is confirmed by genetic markers. Despite the name of its parent Hubbard Seedless, Athens berries have fully developed seeds. The same parents in reverse order (Portland × Hubbard) gave the variety Kendaia, which Cornell released in 1939.

The register of new varieties by Brooks and Olmo, quoted by the USDA GRIN genebank, describes Athens as follows: clusters larger than those of Concord, up to 300 g, conical, with large shoulders, loose; berry medium, ellipsoidal, skin reddish-black and prone to cracking; flavour foxy, as in labrusca grapes. The variety ripens 3 weeks ahead of Concord but keeps and ships poorly. The vine is vigorous and bears heavy crops, often only every other year.

Athens became a parent of other varieties. According to VIVC, Moored (1949) comes from the cross Fredonia × Athens. At Cornell, Athens was crossed with Emerald Seedless in 1964, and the white seedless Marquis was released in 1996. Samples of Athens are kept in 4 collections.

Why it matters to you. Athens is an early labrusca-type grape for eating fresh: if you want berries well before Concord, this is the kind of variety that was bred in Geneva. At the same time it loses quality quickly after picking, so its place is the home vineyard and breeding work rather than long-distance shipping.