Hasanskii Bous

General Characteristics

Hasanskii Bous is a wine grape variety bred by A. K. Bous, obtained in 1948 at the former Hasanskii Experimental Production Viticultural State Farm through pollination of the Dalnevostochnyi Tikhonova variety with the pollen of Amur bisexual grape. The Hasanskii Bous grape variety is characterized by a short vegetative period of 110–125 days. Full ripeness of berries occurs in the last days of August or early September, which is 15–20 days ahead of the control variety Alpha. The productivity of three-year-old bushes constitutes 5–6 kg, while full-bearing ones yield 10–12 kg. With proper agricultural practices, the yield reaches 100–150 centners/ha. The average bunch weight varies from 50 to 70 g. The fruits are distinguished by high taste indicators, with a degustation score of 8 points. Sugar accumulation in the must constitutes 16–22% with a titratable acidity of 5.7 to 15.5 g/l depending on the season and cultivation zone. The harvest is capable of remaining on the bushes for up to one month after ripening without loss of quality. The direction of use is the production of dry red and white table wines.

Morphological Description

• Young shoot: leaflets are pale green, and the tip (apex) has a pink-violet coloration. Pubescence on the upper side of the leaf blade is very sparse, while on the lower side it is more pronounced, completely disappearing by the 3rd or 4th leaf down the shoot.
• One-year-old mature shoot: thin, with internodes 10–12 cm long. The shoot and nodes are colored dark red (dark brown with a reddish tint).
• Leaf: large, rounded, three- or less frequently five-lobed, slightly cleft. The surface is smooth, without pubescence, and the leaf blade is flat or occasionally funnel-shaped. The upper side is green, and the lower side is pale green. In early September, as the berries ripen, the leaves gradually acquire a red color, and small dark brown spots may appear on them. The upper lateral sinuses of the leaf are small, open, in the form of an incoming angle, while the lower ones are barely noticeable. The petiole sinus has a base limited by veins. The teeth are triangular. The petiole is long (15–17 cm), but shorter than the main vein of the leaf.
• Flower: bisexual, the number of stamens is 5–7 (usually 6), and they are 1.5 times longer than the pistil. Flowering passes very synchronously within 5–7 days. Flower shedding and berry shotting (millerandage) are observed rarely.
• Bunch: small or medium-sized, 15–24 cm long, varying in shape from cylindrical-conical to distinctly winged. The density is medium. The bunch stem (peduncle) is long, measuring 10–12 cm.
• Berry: small, rounded, uniform in size, dark blue (black) with a faint waxy bloom (pruine). The skin is thin and delicate. The pulp is quite juicy, melting, and the juice is weakly colored. All berries on the bunch ripen simultaneously. The taste is sweet and pleasant, without any foreign aftertaste or aroma.
• Seed: small, oval, with a light brown sharp beak. The quantity per berry is 1 to 4 (usually 1–2), separating easily from the pulp.

Agrotechnical Features

The Hasanskii Bous grape variety possesses great vigor of growth, with vines reaching 6–7 meters in length. The vine matures simultaneously with the berries. Cuttings are characterized by a high capacity for rooting. Full maturation of the harvest requires a sum of active temperatures within 2100–2200°C. In the continental zone of Primorye, ripening occurs 8–10 days earlier than in the coastal zone. The share of fertile shoots per bush is 95–100%, and the fertility coefficient equals 2.2–2.6. The Hasanskii Bous grape variety enters into bearing in the second year after planting. The author's recommendation for pruning: fan multi-arm training (up to 4 arms), leaving 8–10 buds on the fruiting cane with mandatory renewal spurs of 3–4 buds each. The total load varies from 50–80 buds per bush with a single-plane trellis to 80–130 buds with a double-plane trellis. Overloading the bush is unacceptable.

The variety shows high resistance to fungal diseases; downy mildew (mildew) damage is recorded extremely rarely. It possesses outstanding winter hardiness, withstanding soil freezing to a depth of 100–120 cm under air temperatures down to minus 30–35°C and an almost complete absence of snow cover. It winters openly in the Primorsky Krai without winter cover. Young bushes require covering in the first two years after planting. The variety is undemanding to soils, successfully bearing fruit on poor lands with a waterproof clay subsoil, provided there is good drainage. The disadvantages include the small size of the berries and poor transportability of the fruit.

Winemaking and Product Characteristics

The Hasanskii Bous grape variety is promising for the winemaking industry. The yield of juice (must) constitutes 81.0–82.6% of the total bunch weight. The juice ferments within 8–10 days. The finished ordinary dry wine is characterized by a light, fresh, and pleasant taste. The product has a moderate coloration, visually resembling weakly colored red wines. Thermal treatment (heating the crushed grapes) results in only a slight intensification of the wine's pigmentation, which is due to the low content of coloring substances in the thin skin of the berries.

* VINEYARD Note: The description has been supplemented with data from the author's brochure "Grape Hasanskii Bous".