Norton
Grape (Vitis)
Norton grapes growing on the vine
Color of berry skin	Noir
Species	V. vinifera, V. aestivalis hybrid
Notable regions	Missouri USA
Breeder	Daniel Norborne Norton
VIVC number	3304

Norton is grown in the Midwestern United States, the Mid-Atlantic States, and northeastern Georgia. DNA data are consistent with 'Norton' being a hybrid with ancestry including V. aestivalis and V. vinifera.^[1]

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.^[2]^[3]^[4] Daniel Norton first purveyed the Norton cultivar during the early 19th century from his vineyards in Virginia, USA.^[2]

History

The Norton cultivar was introduced by Daniel Norborne Norton of Richmond, Virginia, who selected it from among what he believed were seedlings 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.^[2]^[5]^[6] 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.^[7]

This grape became available commercially in 1830 and very soon after that came to dominate wine production in the eastern and midwestern states like Missouri and Ohio in the United States.^[6] Since this grape lacks the distinct, "foxy" flavors that are typical of Native American Vitis labrusca grapes, it is quite suitable for making dry wine. Vineyards were pulled up and Concord grapes 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.

In the 21st century, United States wineries along the east coast and throughout the midwest are re-cultivating and producing wines from Norton grapes, such as at Chrysalis Vineyards in Middleburg, Virginia, which has 69 acres (28 ha) of Norton grapes.^[2]

Anthocyanin content

Notable for deep blue-purple pigmentation, the skin of Norton grapes has a higher content of total anthocyanins (888 mg per 100 g) than other purple grape cultivars, Concord or Marechal Foch grapes.^[8]

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. Anthocyanins are under basic research to understand if they have any biological role in humans.^[9]^[10]

References

External links

Hybrid grape varieties

Hybrid grape varieties
Grape (Vitis) species	V. acerifolia V. adenoclada V. aestivalis V. amurensis V. × andersonii V. arizonica V. balansana V. barbata V. bashanica V. bellula V. berlandieri V. betulifolia V. biformis V. blancoi V. bloodworthiana V. bourgaeana V. × bourquina V. bryoniifolia V. californica V. × champinii V. chunganensis V. chungii V. cinerea V. coignetiae V. davidii V. × doaniana V. erythrophylla V. fengqinensis V. ficifolia V. flexuosa V. girdiana V. hancockii V. heyneana V. hui V. jacquemontii V. jaegeriana V. jinggangensis V. Kelungensis V. labrusca V. × labruscana V. lanceolatifoliosa V. lincecumii V. longquanensis V. luochengensis V. menghaiensis V. mengziensis V. monticola V. mustangensis V. nesbittiana V. × novae-angliae V. palmata V. peninsularis V. piasezkii V. pilosonerva V. popenoei V. pseudoreticulata V. retordii V. riparia V. romanetii V. rotundifolia V. rupestris V. ruyuanensis V. shenxiensis V. shuttleworthii V. silvestrii V. sinocinerea V. × slavinii V. tiliifolia V. treleasei V. tsoii V. vinifera V. vulpina V. wenchouensis V. wilsonae V. wuhanensis V. xunyangensis V. Yeshanensis V. yunnanensis V. zhejiang-adstricta
Notable hybrids	Agawam Alexander Aurore Baco blanc Baco noir Beta Black Spanish Blanc du Bois Breidecker Cabernet blanc Cabernet Cortis Cascade Cassady Catawba Cayuga White Chambourcin Chancellor Chardonel Chelois Clinton Concord Corot noir Couderc noir De Chaunac Edelweiss Flora Flot rouge Frontenac Goethe Herbert Hibernal Himrod seedless Ives noir Jaeger 70 Kay Gray Kyoho L'Acadie blanc La Crosse Lakemont seedless Landal noir Landot noir Léon Millot Malverina Marechal Foch Marechal Joffre Marquette Massasoit Melody Merzling Muscat bleu Niagara Noiret Norton Olmo grapes Onaka Orion Phoenix Plantet Ravat blanc Requa Rogers' Hybrids Rondo Royalty Seibel grapes Severny Seyval blanc Seyval noir Solaris St. Pepin Thomcord Traminette Triomphe d'Alsace Valvin muscat Vidal blanc Vignoles Villard grapes Zarya severa

American wine

American wine
Wine by state	Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Grape cultivars	Alexander Agawam Beta Blanc du Bois Black Spanish Catawba Cayuga White Cassady Concord Chardonel Clinton Corot noir Delaware Edelweiss Frontenac Gamay Beaujolais Himrod Ives noir Jaeger 70 Kay Gray Lakemont La Crescent La Crosse Marquette Minnesota 78 Niagara Norton Noiret Olmo grapes Royalty Onaka Rogers' Hybrids Flora Goethe Herbert Massasoit Requa Scuppernong St. Vincent grape St. Pepin Traminette Thomcord Valvin muscat Vignoles Vidal blanc
History	California Prohibition Eighteenth Amendment Twenty-first Amendment Volstead Act Vine-Glo Vine and Olive Colony
Wineries	New England
Other topics	American Viticultural Area list American Vineyard Foundation Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Meritage

History

Anthocyanin content

See also

References

External links