Sultana - wine grape variety

Sultana is primarily a drying grape but in some seasons more sultanas are crushed for wine in Australia than grapes of any other single variety. There are about 16 000 ha of Sultana in Australia, almost all in the irrigation areas of the Murray Valley downstream from Swan Hill, and up to one-quarter of the crop may be used for wine. There are about 107 000 ha in California, where it is called Thompson Seedless to distinguish it from another variety introduced earlier erroneously as Sultana. An even larger proportion of the crop is used for wine in California and there are also districts which specialise in the production of table grapes. In Western Europe the variety is known as Sultanine or Sultanina. It seems to have originated in Asia Minor or the Middle East and is grown for dried fruit throughout the area from Greece to Afghanistan and north into the neighbouring republics. There are also small plantings in South Africa and South America.

Sultana is a fairly vigorous variety with a spreading habit of growth. It requires cane pruning because the buds at the base of the canes are rarely fruitful. It has medium, slightly 3-lobed leaves which' are smooth and hairless and of a fresh green colour approached only by Grenache and Pedro Ximenez among the common wine varieties. Bunches are generally large and well filled, becoming smaller and looser with increasing crop, and the stalk is usually green and easily cut for hand harvesting. Berries are small, oval and seedless, with a firm flesh and a thin skin sensitive to damage by rain when ripe. Sultana is one of the few varieties seriously attacked by black spot and is more sensitive than most wine varieties to both downy and powdery mildew. It needs a clear, warm climate to promote the differentiation of fruitful buds but excessive heat can interfere with fruit set and berry development.

Sultana is more difficult to process for wine than specialised wine grapes because of its firm flesh and lack of seeds. However, it has a good acidity and produces fresh, rather neutral wines which are quite attractive on their own and form an excellent base for sparkling wines or for blending with highly flavoured varieties. The lack of seeds and the firm flesh make Sultana attractive as a table grape even at its natural berry size. The size can be increased by various cultural treatments to approach that of seeded table grapes but this is accompanied by loss of flavour.