Norton GrapeNORTON

Created  from the cross between the Bland grape and a Vitis aestivalis by Dr. Daniel Norton of Virginia in the late 1820s, the Norton became the principle wine grape of Missouri during the 19th century and the major red wine grape of the upper South.  A slightly mutated version of the Norton became disseminated under the name Cynthiana, but for all intents and purposes is the same variety.  The Norton proved extraordinarily sensitive to conditions of production in wine-making.  Controlling the high percentage of malic acid, the vignerons boosted the sweetness of the wine by adding sugar to the must.  Cool growing years made the coloration of the grape so intense it could stain teeth blue momentarily when sipping.  The wines produced did not much alter with age, but were greatly improved by resting in oak casks.  The German wine makers of Missouri by experiment managed to make it the favorite wine of the region up until the Great Depression.

The 1900 catalog for the Alabama Nursery in Huntsville noted the following about "Norton's Virginia": "The leading red wine grape of the country. Bunch long, compact; berry small, black, with dark, bluish red juice; almost without pulp when fully ripe; sweet and brisk. Too many seeds for a table grape" (p.20). The last observation is valuable in suggesting the desire for minimal seeds at the beginning of the twentieth century.  Already the quest for seedless grapes was afoot.


Southern nurseries outside of Missouri that carried the Norton grape prior to 1920:

Alabama Nursery, Huntsville AL; Atlanta Nursery, Atlanta GA; Bluegrass Nurseries, Lexington KY; Cedar Cover Nursery, Salem NC; Cherokee Nursery, Waycross GA; Clingman Nurseries, Kiethville LA; Comol Springs Nursery, Dallas TX; Downer Nursery, Fairview KY; Eichling, New Orleans LA;  Emporia Nurseries, Emporia VA; Excelsior Nursery, Rome GA; Frotscher Nursery, New Orleans LA; Fruitlands, August GA; Glen St. Mary Nursery, Glen St. Mary FL;  Guilford Nurseries, Vandalia NC; Moreland Nursery, Moreland GA; Nuson Nursery, Denison TX; Old Dominion Nursery, Richmond VA; Orlando Nursery, Orlando FL; Pomaria Nursery, Pomaria SC; Pomona Nursery, Mcclenny FL; Semi-Tropical Nurseries, Orlando FL; Seven Oaks Nursery, Seven Oaks FL; Smiths Nursery, Franklin TN; Spring Hill Nursery, Prospect VA; Staunton Nursery, Staunton VA; Steckler Seed, New Orleans LA; Van Lindley Nursery, Pomona NC; Willow Lake Nursery, Marshalville GA.

Image;  Ulyssess Hedrick, Grapes of New York.  Public domain.

David S Shields