Description
Veles, usually sold as Kishmish Veles and sometimes spelt Velez, is a pink seedless table grape bred by Vitaliy Zagorulko, an amateur breeder from the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine, from Sofia × Rusbol. It spread among growers from about 2009. It ripens very early, at the start of August in southern Ukraine. The large, conical bunches can grow very heavy, and the yellowish to bright pink berries have meaty, firm flesh, a thin skin that is hardly noticeable and a distinct muscat flavour.
Characteristics
Pink seedless table grape (soft seed traces can occur); very early ripening (about 100 to 105 days); large conical bunches of about 500 to 1,500 g, sometimes much larger; berries of about 4 to 6 g, yellowish to bright pink; thin skin; meaty, firm flesh; muscat flavour; vigorous; bisexual flowers; interspecific hybrid; often sets a small second crop on side shoots
Growing Tips
Veles has bisexual flowers, so a single vine crops without a pollinator. It often sets a small second crop on side shoots; remove it if the main crop is heavy. Growers rate its resistance to downy and powdery mildew as moderate and its winter hardiness at about −21 °C, so plan protective sprays and cover the vine where winters are colder.