🍇 Palatina

Palatina is a white table grape from Hungary and an interspecific hybrid. It was crossed in 1966 from the French hybrid Villard Blanc and Queen of the Vineyards, and this pedigree has been confirmed with DNA markers. The variety received protection in 1995, and in 2013 it was entered in Italy's national register of grape varieties.

According to VIVC, Palatina was bred by Pál Kozma senior, László Nagy, Márta Urbányi and József Tusnádi; the breeding institution is the Department of Viticulture of the University of Horticulture and Food Industries in Szigetcsép. The catalogue records the first parent as Seyve Villard 12375, which is the breeding number of Villard Blanc. The variety has 5 synonyms, among them Augusztusi muskotály, Prim and Csepel fehér tolerant 92. The berries contain fully formed seeds, and samples of the variety are kept in 12 collections.

In Italy, Palatina is officially recognised as a grape for the table. The National Register of Grapevine Varieties (Registro Nazionale delle Varietà di Vite) contains the entry Palatina B. under code 739 in the table grape section; it was approved on 27 September 2013 and published in Official Gazette No. 241 of 14 October 2013. VIVC also classes Palatina as an interspecific cross precisely because of Villard Blanc in its pedigree.

Why it matters to you. If an Italian nursery catalogue or a Hungarian description mentions Palatina, Prim or Augusztusi muskotály, it is the same white table grape. And the entry in Italy's state register shows that this Hungarian hybrid is officially recognised beyond the country where it was created.