Gok ala

Main characteristics of Gok ala grapes

The Gok ala variety is a little-known technical grape cultivar of folk selection, encountered in small numbers in Dagestani vineyards in a blend with other local varieties. By its technological purpose, the culture is classified as a wine variety of the late ripening period. Yield indicators demonstrate high stability and reach maximum values when cultivated in irrigated Derbent vineyards.

Morphological characteristics of vegetative and generative organs of the variety:

• Formed leaf: Medium-sized or rather large, round in outline, and often slightly ovate in the lower tier of the vine. The leaf blade is five-lobed, deeply sectioned, usually developing additional incisions on the main lobes. In shape, the blade structure varies from relatively flat to bent into a wide funnel. The upper surface is smooth or with a weak net-like wrinkled (reticulate-rugose) surface. The lower surface is covered with a very sparse network of cobwebby hairs that partially gather into small flakes by autumn, with stiff bristles added to the pubescence on the leaves of the lower tier.
• Leaf incisions and sinuses: Upper incisions are deep and very deep, closed, characterized by large elliptical or ovate openings and frequently equipped with large spurs at the bottom. Lower incisions are also deep, predominantly open lyre-shaped, sometimes with teeth at the bottom, and in some cases closed with elliptical openings. The petiolar sinus is, as a rule, closed, with a slot-like or elliptical opening and often one or two spurs at the bottom.
• Teeth: Triangular at the ends of the lobes, with sharp or slightly rounded apexes. Marginal teeth along the perimeter of the blade have strongly convex sides and sharp apexes, but on the lower and apical leaves they often acquire a typical dome-shaped form.
• Bunch: Medium-sized or large, with a length within 13–22 cm. The shape is conical, often lobed at the base. The structure is characterized by medium density or looseness. The generative organs are equipped with very long herbaceous peduncles.
• Berry: Not fully uniform in size, predominantly medium-sized with biological deviations toward small or large ones. The coloration is black, and the surface is covered with a thick bluish waxy bloom (pruin). A distinctive diagnostic feature of the variety is the presence of characteristic "little windows" on the bloom, which are traces of overgrown stomata. The skin is of medium thickness, delicate, and easily rupturing, and the pulp is melting and juicy. A characteristic feature during harvesting is the detachment of the berry with the preservation of a small brush with dark red strands on the pedicel.

Agricultural practices of the Gok ala variety

Vines stand out for their above-medium growth vigor. The plants possess hermaphroditic flowers, ensuring good fruit set under the conditions of a loose or medium-dense bunch structure. A biological feature of the variety is its tendency to partial seedlessness (parthenocarpy), as small berries in the bunches are completely devoid of seeds. Due to its valuable economic traits, the cultivar is recognized as promising for extensive production trials in southern viticultural regions.

Consumption and harvest processing capabilities

The technological potential of the harvest is oriented toward winemaking due to the ordinary flavor profile and juicy melting pulp of the berries. When cultivated in non-irrigated vineyards of the Lower Don (in the Novocherkassk region), the cultivar demonstrates a capacity for good sugar accumulation. Provided that late harvesting is carried out, the harvested grape allows obtaining intensely colored, full-bodied, and harmonious red table wines.