🍇 Sofiya

Sofiya is a Ukrainian table grape variety with pink, egg-shaped berries and a muscat flavour. It was bred by the grape grower and breeder V. V. Zagorulko, who crossed Arkadia with Kishmish Luchistyi; this is the breeder's information and has not been checked with DNA markers. The variety is very early: according to the description on vinograd.info, it ripens in 105–110 days.

The vines are vigorous. The bunches are large to very large, cylindrical-conical, medium-dense, on a long, strong stalk. The berries are also large — 28–36 by 20–22 mm, with fleshy, juicy pulp. Sugar content reaches 18–22 %, and acidity 6–8 g/l. The shoots ripen well and the cuttings root easily.

Sofiya's flower is functionally female, so a pollinating variety is needed nearby for a crop. Its frost hardiness is estimated at about −21…−22 °C, and its resistance to downy and powdery mildew at 3,0–3,5 points. VIVC names no genetic collection that keeps samples of it, and Zagorulko bred the variety Veles from Sofiya itself. In the open data of the State Register of Plant Varieties as of July 2025 Sofiya is absent, whereas Arkadia was entered there back in 1995.

Why it matters to you. Sofiya is an amateur variety, so all its characteristics come from the breeder and growers rather than from official variety trials. If you plant it, make sure there is a pollinator with hermaphrodite flowers nearby, or the bunches may set poorly. In return you get an early pink muscat grape with large bunches.