🍇 Azur

Azur is a Romanian table grape with black berries. It was bred by V. Lepădatu and Gh. Condei at the research and development station for viticulture and oenology in Drăgășani (Vâlcea County), who crossed the Romanian Coarnă Neagră with the American Cardinal. Azur was entered in Romania's official variety catalogue in 1984.

According to VIVC, the pedigree Coarnă Neagră × Cardinal is given according to the breeders and has not been checked with genetic markers. The breeding institution has the code ROM045 in the catalogue. Azur's berries contain fully formed seeds, VIVC lists no synonyms, and samples of the variety are kept in 4 collections. The catalogue knows no offspring of Azur.

The official catalogue of crop plant varieties of Romania, published by the state institute for variety testing and registration ISTIS, still includes Azur in its 2026 edition. The variety stands among the table grapes in section XII, the list of varieties and landraces maintained in the catalogue under Article 32 of Law No. 266/2002. It is maintained by the Drăgășani station, the year of entry is 1984, the berry colour is marked as black, and the ripening time as group III, that is, from 16 to 31 August.

Why it matters to you. Azur ripens in the second half of August, earlier than the Romanian varieties of groups IV–VI, which on the catalogue's scale ripen in September and up to 15 October. And the entry in the state catalogue shows that this black table grape from Drăgășani is officially recognised in Romania, not just described in reference books.