Norton (grape)
Encyclopedia
Norton, a grape
cultivar
believed to be largely derived from Vitis aestivalis
, is grown in the Midwestern United States
, Mid-Atlantic States
and northeastern Georgia
. Norton was first cultivated in Richmond, Virginia
and is the official grape of the State of Missouri
and is considered the cornerstone of the Missouri wine
industry. Although some believe that the Norton is a true native of North America
, most experts suspect that it is a hybrid of one or more native varieties and one Vitis vinifera
grape. The fact that it is self-fertile is seen as an indication of at least some Vitis vinifera in its background, and there are hints of Vitis labrusca
as well, though the variety is still overwhelmingly Vitis aestivalis
in character. In 2009 Riedel designed stemware specifically for wine made from the Norton grape. The glass was unveiled at Les Bourgeois Winery
near Columbia, Missouri
.
s of a long forgotten grape variety called Bland, though there is some doubt as to whether it was the actual source of the seed
which yielded Norton. The male parent, presumably, was a wild vine
of Vitis aestivalis. Another cultivar, called Cynthiana, closely resembles Norton, but has traditionally been considered a separate variety. Genetic studies, however, have shown the two to be indistinguishable. Because there is some evidence indicating differences in wine
quality and season of ripening, Cynthiana may be a mutation of the original Norton.
This grape became available commercially in 1830 and very soon after that came to dominate wine production in the eastern and midwestern United States
. Since this grape lacks most of the distinct flavors that are typical of native American grapes, it is quite suitable for making dry wine. At the 1873 Vienna World Exposition a Norton wine
from Hermann, Missouri
won a gold medal. Henry Vizetelly, a noted critic of the time, said that Norton from Missouri would one day rival the great wines of Europe in quality and quantity. Prohibition
ended the wine industry in the United States for a period of time. Vineyards were pulled up and Concord grape
s were planted in their place, for juice and jam. After prohibition the wine industry in the eastern half of North America never recovered to the same degree that California's wine industry did.
Today, United States wineries
along the east coast and throughout the midwest are re-cultivating and producing wines from Norton grapes. The largest single planting of Norton in the world is located at Chrysalis Vineyards in Middleburg, Virginia
, which has 69 acres (27.9 ha) of the grape. A planting of 6.5 acres (2.6 ha) of Norton was introduced into the Texas Hill Country
in 1999.
ation, the skin of Norton grapes has a higher content of total anthocyanin
s (888 mg per 100 g) than other purple grape cultivar
s, Concord or Marechal Foch
grapes.
Anthocyanins are the largest group of water-soluble pigments in the plant kingdom and belong to the family of compounds known as polyphenols. Major sources of anthocyanins are blueberries, cherries, raspberries
, strawberries, blackcurrants, purple grapes and red wine
. Numerous studies in medical research have shown that anthocyanins have broad biological effects including antioxidant
, anti-inflammatory
, antimicrobial
and anti-carcinogenic activities.
Grape
A grape is a non-climacteric fruit, specifically a berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or they can be used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, molasses and grape seed oil. Grapes are also...
cultivar
Cultivar
A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...
believed to be largely derived from Vitis aestivalis
Vitis aestivalis
Vitis aestivalis is a species of grape native to eastern North America from southern Ontario east to Vermont, west to Oklahoma, and south to Florida and Texas. It is a vigorous vine, growing to 10 m or more high in trees...
, is grown in the Midwestern United States
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
, Mid-Atlantic States
Mid-Atlantic States
The Mid-Atlantic states, also called middle Atlantic states or simply the mid Atlantic, form a region of the United States generally located between New England and the South...
and northeastern Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. Norton was first cultivated in Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
and is the official grape of the State of Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
and is considered the cornerstone of the Missouri wine
Missouri wine
Missouri Wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Missouri. German immigrants in the early-to-mid-19th century, founded the wine industry in Missouri, resulting in its wine corridor being called the Missouri "Rhineland". Later Italian immigrants also entered wine production....
industry. Although some believe that the Norton is a true native of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, most experts suspect that it is a hybrid of one or more native varieties and one Vitis vinifera
Vitis vinifera
Vitis vinifera is a species of Vitis, native to the Mediterranean region, central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran....
grape. The fact that it is self-fertile is seen as an indication of at least some Vitis vinifera in its background, and there are hints of Vitis labrusca
Vitis labrusca
Vitis labrusca is a species of grapevines belonging to the Vitis genus in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The vines are native to the eastern United States and are the source of many grape cultivars, including Catawba and Concord grapes, and many hybrid grape varieties such as Agawam,...
as well, though the variety is still overwhelmingly Vitis aestivalis
Vitis aestivalis
Vitis aestivalis is a species of grape native to eastern North America from southern Ontario east to Vermont, west to Oklahoma, and south to Florida and Texas. It is a vigorous vine, growing to 10 m or more high in trees...
in character. In 2009 Riedel designed stemware specifically for wine made from the Norton grape. The glass was unveiled at Les Bourgeois Winery
Les Bourgeois Winery
Les Bourgeois Winery and Vineyards, Missouri's third largest winery, is in Rocheport, Missouri in the Columbia Metropolitan Area. The winery produces over 120,000 gallons of wine a year, sold locally as well as distributed through the Midwest...
near Columbia, Missouri
Columbia, Missouri
Columbia is the fifth-largest city in Missouri, and the largest city in Mid-Missouri. With a population of 108,500 as of the 2010 Census, it is the principal municipality of the Columbia Metropolitan Area, a region of 164,283 residents. The city serves as the county seat of Boone County and as the...
.
History
It was introduced by Dr. Daniel Norborne Norton of Richmond, Virginia, who selected it from among what he believed were seedlingSeedling
thumb|Monocot and dicot seedlingsA seedling is a young plant sporophyte developing out of a plant embryo from a seed. Seedling development starts with germination of the seed. A typical young seedling consists of three main parts: the radicle , the hypocotyl , and the cotyledons...
s of a long forgotten grape variety called Bland, though there is some doubt as to whether it was the actual source of the seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
which yielded Norton. The male parent, presumably, was a wild vine
Vine
A vine in the narrowest sense is the grapevine , but more generally it can refer to any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent, that is to say climbing, stems or runners...
of Vitis aestivalis. Another cultivar, called Cynthiana, closely resembles Norton, but has traditionally been considered a separate variety. Genetic studies, however, have shown the two to be indistinguishable. Because there is some evidence indicating differences in wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
quality and season of ripening, Cynthiana may be a mutation of the original Norton.
This grape became available commercially in 1830 and very soon after that came to dominate wine production in the eastern and midwestern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Since this grape lacks most of the distinct flavors that are typical of native American grapes, it is quite suitable for making dry wine. At the 1873 Vienna World Exposition a Norton wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
from Hermann, Missouri
Hermann, Missouri
Hermann is a city designated in 1842 as the county seat of Gasconade County, Missouri, United States. It is near the center of the Missouri Rhineland and south of the Missouri River. The population was 2,674 at the 2000 census....
won a gold medal. Henry Vizetelly, a noted critic of the time, said that Norton from Missouri would one day rival the great wines of Europe in quality and quantity. Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
ended the wine industry in the United States for a period of time. Vineyards were pulled up and Concord grape
Concord grape
Concord grapes are a cultivar derived from the grape species Vitis labrusca which are used as table grapes, wine grapes and juice grapes....
s were planted in their place, for juice and jam. After prohibition the wine industry in the eastern half of North America never recovered to the same degree that California's wine industry did.
Today, United States wineries
Winery
A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, bottling lines, laboratories, and large expanses of...
along the east coast and throughout the midwest are re-cultivating and producing wines from Norton grapes. The largest single planting of Norton in the world is located at Chrysalis Vineyards in Middleburg, Virginia
Middleburg, Virginia
Middleburg is a town in Loudoun County, Virginia, United States with a population of approximately 976 as of July 2010.-History:The town was established in 1787 by American Revolutionary War Lieutenant Colonel and Virginia statesman, Levin Powell. He purchased the land for Middleburg at $2.50 per...
, which has 69 acres (27.9 ha) of the grape. A planting of 6.5 acres (2.6 ha) of Norton was introduced into the Texas Hill Country
Texas Hill Country AVA
The Texas Hill Country AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in the Texas Hill Country north of San Antonio and west of Austin, Texas. The appellation is the second largest American Viticultural Area, and covers an area of over...
in 1999.
Anthocyanin content
Notable for deep blue-purple pigmentPigment
A pigment is a material that changes the color of reflected or transmitted light as the result of wavelength-selective absorption. This physical process differs from fluorescence, phosphorescence, and other forms of luminescence, in which a material emits light.Many materials selectively absorb...
ation, the skin of Norton grapes has a higher content of total anthocyanin
Anthocyanin
Anthocyanins are water-soluble vacuolar pigments that may appear red, purple, or blue according to pH...
s (888 mg per 100 g) than other purple grape cultivar
Cultivar
A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...
s, Concord or Marechal Foch
Marechal Foch
Marechal Foch , is an inter-specific hybrid red wine grape variety. It was named after the French marshal Ferdinand Foch , who played an important role in the negotiation of the armistice terms during the closing of the First World War. It was developed in Alsace, France by grape hybridizer...
grapes.
Anthocyanins are the largest group of water-soluble pigments in the plant kingdom and belong to the family of compounds known as polyphenols. Major sources of anthocyanins are blueberries, cherries, raspberries
Raspberry
The raspberry or hindberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus Rubus, most of which are in the subgenus Idaeobatus; the name also applies to these plants themselves...
, strawberries, blackcurrants, purple grapes and red wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
. Numerous studies in medical research have shown that anthocyanins have broad biological effects including antioxidant
Antioxidant
An antioxidant is a molecule capable of inhibiting the oxidation of other molecules. Oxidation is a chemical reaction that transfers electrons or hydrogen from a substance to an oxidizing agent. Oxidation reactions can produce free radicals. In turn, these radicals can start chain reactions. When...
, anti-inflammatory
Inflammation
Inflammation is part of the complex biological response of vascular tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. Inflammation is a protective attempt by the organism to remove the injurious stimuli and to initiate the healing process...
, antimicrobial
Antimicrobial
An anti-microbial is a substance that kills or inhibits the growth of microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, or protozoans. Antimicrobial drugs either kill microbes or prevent the growth of microbes...
and anti-carcinogenic activities.