🍇 Carter

Carter is an old American Vitis labrusca variety with large red berries, also known as Mammoth Globe. It entered breeding history because in 1851 Edward S. Rogers of Salem, Massachusetts, used it as the mother vine for his hybrids with vinifera.

According to Hedrick, of the 45 “Rogers hybrids”, numbers 1–5 are crosses of Carter with Black Hamburg, 6–14 with White Chasselas, and the rest are descendants of Black Hamburg. VIVC records 19 offspring in which Carter is the mother, among them Agawam, Goethe, Salem, Lindley, Wilder, Massasoit, Merrimack, Barry, Requa and Herbert. VIVC dates the first cross to 1856 (Agawam) and Goethe to 1858. For Goethe, markers confirmed only one parent, Schiava Grossa: the other, Carter, was absent from the data set.

Do not confuse the two Carters. In VIVC there are two different passports under the name “Carter”. Number 26649 is a red Vitis labrusca (synonym Mammoth Globe) with no known parentage. Number 2130 is a black interspecific variety, a seedling of Isabella, bred by a private breeder, Charles Carter; Hedrick mentions such an old variety as early as 1831. Rogers used the first. This page describes the variety with number 26649.

Why it matters to you. The name “Carter” in reference books can mean two different varieties. When looking for offspring (Goethe, Salem, Agawam), check the VIVC number: Rogers's offspring descend from 26649. The catalogue gives no use for this variety, so do not expect wine from it.