Hi Victorwine
I agree with you wholeheartedly! The easy part has been done!
In South Africa, a so-called 'plant breeder' will obtain his/her Plant Breeders' Rights after the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) does an evaluation, over a period of 2 years, on 5 individuals of a particular newly-bred grapevine on application. In the meantime he/she is granted what is called a 'Provisional Protective Direction' which will be valid until he/she is granted full 'Plant Breeders' Rights'. To be granted the full Plant Breeders' Rights, the grapevine must be (New), Distinct, Uniform and Stable - often known as (N)DUS evaluation. I am not going to go into the description of each 'requirement' suffice it to say that, for me, the last one is the most important one i.e. that Cabernet labrusco is true-to-type (stable).
It often happens that newly-crossed grapevines very quickly develop somatic mutations, for example, especially in the so-called 'New World' (e.g. Argentina, Chile, California, Australia and South Africa) .
This weird phenomenon is most likely the result of the significantly warmer climatic conditions that exist in these areas.
So, for example, our famous Professor C. J. Orffer (Department of Viticulture, Stellenbosch University) wrote in 1980 that: "...even so-called 'stable' cultivars and/or clones have developed somatic mutations here in South Africa (Western Cape Region)". He goes on to state that mutations have been positively identified in Pinotage, Chenel and Weldra. Note that all three of the foregoing grape cultivars were developed in South Africa (in the early and late parts of the 20th century respectively).
In my case, it is significant that Cabernet labrusco has endured for over 20 years and that the Microsatellite Simple Sequence Repeats (SSRs) analysis, which was only recently conducted, has proved that it is true-to-type. The moral of this story is that one just cannot create a new grapevine and hope that everything will work out just fine - it is really a gamble and, in the case of Cabernet labrusco, it was just luck that this new cultivar adapted perfectly to the climatic conditions prevalent in the Western Cape.
The final point that I must make here with regards to your statement: "...but unfortunately for Jerry only one parent was known."
This is not true anymore since both parents of Cabernet labrusco, namely, Cabernet sauvignon and Danugue (Barbarossa) have now also been registered with DAFF.
Thanks for your interest
Best wishes,
Ciao
Jerry
