🍇 Irinka

Irinka is a table grape variety with white berries, an interspecific hybrid. According to the breeder's information given in VIVC, its parents are Moldova and Cardinal. The catalogue gives neither the country of origin nor the breeder; Wikidata links Irinka to the Tairov Institute of Viticulture and Winemaking in Odesa, but without citing a source.

The better-known Arkadia, bred in Odesa, has the same pair of parents; for it, the Moldova × Cardinal parentage has been confirmed by DNA markers. Yet VIVC keeps a separate passport for Irinka, and the name Irinka is not among Arkadia's synonyms, such as Arcadia, Juliana and Nastya. According to VIVC, samples of Irinka are kept in only 2 collections, both in Czechia.

In the open data of the State Register of Plant Varieties Suitable for Distribution in Ukraine, as of July 2025, Irinka is absent, whereas Arkadia was entered there in 1995. We found no description of its berries, ripening time or resistance in verified sources.

Why it matters to you. If you are offered Irinka vines, bear in mind that there is almost no official information about the variety, and that its parents are the same as Arkadia's. It is not the same variety, so descriptions of Arkadia should not be applied to Irinka.