Agrobiological and technological haracteristics of the grape varieties Vlesh on the collection in the Lower Don

The purpose of research is to conduct an ampelographic description of the variety, to study the agrobiological and technological indicators of the rare Vlesh grape variety growing in the natural and climatic conditions of the Rostov Region. The studies were carried out on the Don ampelographic collection named after Ya.I. Potapenko (Novocherkassk, Rostov Region) in 2016-2020 according to generally accepted methods in viticulture and GOSTs. The results of the study of the little-known Albanian grape variety of the technical direction of use - Vlesh, are presented, the variety - Pinot Noir was taken as a control. The culture of reference is covering, grafted onto the rootstock Kober 5BB, non-irrigated. The scheme of planting bushes is 3.0 × 1.5 m. The formation of bushes is long-armed. Based on the results of the study, data on agrobiological indicators, phenological observations, yields, crop conditions, and tasting assessment of wines are given. The safety of eyes in the covering shaft was 79.6 % for the Vlesh variety, and 78.6 % for the Pinot Noir variety. The fruitfulness of the shoots and the fruiting rate of the studied variety were slightly lower than the control variety, but the average bunch weight exceeded the control variety by 136 g, the yield was more than 12 t/ha, and the control variety - 8.8 t/ha. An indicator characterizing the quality of the crop as a raw material for winemaking is the amount of sugars and titratable acids in the berry juice. On average over the years of research, the Vlesh variety has a sugar content of 24.5 g/100 cm3 with a titratable acidity of 8.3 g/dm3, while the Pinot Noir variety has a sugar content of 23 g/100 cm3 with a titratable acidity of 7.8 g/dm3. The tasting score of wines for the varieties Vlesh and Pinot Noir is 8.6 and 8.5 points, respectively. According to the results of research, the Vlesh variety stood out as promising in terms of yield and quality of wine products. It is recommended for expanding the range of vine plantations and using in breeding for the quality of the crop.