New Seedless Concord Grape From Cornell Available This Fall

WAMC Northeast Public Radio | By Dave Lucas

Published September 17, 2018 at 5:59 AM EDT

New York grape breeders have produced a fruit that's so big and flavorful they've named it after Mount Everest.

The Everest Seedless is a new variety developed at Cornell University's agricultural research station in Geneva. Horticulture professor Bruce Reisch says the new fruit is a cold-tolerant, blue Concord-type grape with berries about twice the size of the traditional Concord.

While most American Concords are used for jam, juice or wine, the new one is intended as a table grape to be eaten fresh. It's the first truly seedless Concord.

Everest Seedless is exclusively licensed to Double A Vineyards in Fredonia, and vines can be purchased from them this fall. Reisch predicts it will be popular with home gardeners as well as professional growers.

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Dave Lucas

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.

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