The University of California, Davis, has released new winegrape varieties for the first time since the 1980s. The new varieties—three red and two white—are traditionally bred to produce high-quality fruit and wine while also being highly resistant to Pierce’s disease (PD, caused by bacterium spread by a group of insects called sharpshooters).

Caminante blanc winegrapes [Photo by Dan Ng, courtesy UC Davis]

Errante noir winegrapes [Photo by Dan Ng, courtesy UC Davis]

The grapes represent entirely new varieties, which have been evaluated by sensory tasting panels that included winemakers and enologists from regions affected by PD, namely California, Texas, and the southwestern United States. Reds include camminare noir, paseante noir, and errante noir; whites are ambulo blanc and caminante blanc.

It’s taken close to 20 years to develop the five new, patent-pending varieties.