Vitis labrusca
Encyclopedia
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 cultivar
s, including Catawba
and Concord grape
s, and many hybrid grape varieties such as Agawam
, Alexander
and Onaka
. Among the characteristics of this vine species in contrast to the European wine grape Vitis vinifera
are its "slip-skin" that allows the skin of the grape berries to easily slip off when squeezed, instead of crushing the pulp
, and the presence of tendrils
on every node of the cane. Another contrast with European vinifera is the characteristic "foxy" musk of V. labrusca, best known to most people through the Concord grape. This musk is not related to the fox
animal, but rather the earthy, redolent aromas characteristics of the fox grapes that were known by early American settlers to the New World
. The term "foxy" became a sort of catchall for the wine tasting descriptors
used for these American wines that were distinct from the familiar flavors of the European vinifera based wines.
and wine expert Jancis Robinson
, Vitis labrusca was likely the species spotted by Leif Ericsson growing wild along the coast of Vinland
in the 11th century. There is ample evidence that the labrusca was growing wild in North America centuries before the Europeans discovered the continent. However, the vine was not officially identified and recorded until Carl Linnaeus and his peers started cataloging American vine species in the mid 18th century. In the 19th century, Vitis labrusca was among the American vines transported to Europe
that were carrying the phylloxera
louse which would cause wide spread devastation to the European vineyards planted with Vitis vinifera.
Also in the 19th century, Ephraim Bull of Concord, Massachusetts
, cultivated seeds from wild labrusca vines to create the Concord grape which would become an important agricultural crop in the United States.
and become fully ripe, they separate easily from the pedicel
(berry stem). If the berry is squeezed gently between two fingers, the thick skin will slip easily off leaving the pulp intact as a ball. This trait gives Vitis labrusca the name of "slip skin" grapes. Another trait of labrusca that aids ampelographers in identification of vines and hybrid varieties descended from the species is the large, thick leaves of the vines that have a hairy underside with dense brown or white hairs.
Like many other American vine species, Vitis labrusca has some natural resistance to many grape diseases, including phylloxera
. However, its resistance and grafting compatibility is not as high as other species, such as Vitis aestivalis
, Vitis rupestris
and Vitis berlandieri
, and is not often used for commercial rootstock
.
Vitis labrusca can be found along the eastern seaboard of North America
from Nova Scotia
down to Georgia and westward to the Mississippi river
. Among the Canadian wine
regions and American Viticultural Areas (AVA)s that produce wine from labrusca or hybrids derived from labrusca include Ontario, Upper Mississippi Valley, Mississippi Delta, Ohio River Valley, Southeastern New England, Lake Erie as well as several AVAs in the states of New York, Virginia, Ohio and Michigan.
Unlike vinifera, hybrids and Vitis labrusca varieties can better withstand the severe continental conditions of eastern North America with severely cold winters and hot, humid summers. (However, labrusca doesn't do quite as well as varieties like Vitis rotundifolia in the humidity of southeastern US). In fact, in areas of the United States where vinifera does flourish in the west, the conditions during the growing season are often too arid for labrusca vines.
viticulture
expert A. J. Winkler, outside of the vinifera Muscat family of grapes, Vitis labrusca varieties have the most pronounced aromas among wine grape varieties. The description of "foxy" doesn't have anything to do with actual animal, but rather serves as a catch-all term to describe the unique, earthy and sweet muskiness that is best epitomized by fresh Concord grapes though some of the "sweet muskiness" can be perceived in grape juice
made from Concord and other labrusca varieties like Niagara. In the 1920s, scientists were able to isolate the aroma compound
responsible for the "foxy" musk as methyl anthranilate
.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of grapevines belonging to the Vitis
Vitis
Vitis is a genus of about 60 species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus is made up of species predominantly from the Northern hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, both for direct consumption of the fruit and for fermentation to produce...
genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
in the flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
family Vitaceae
Vitaceae
Vitaceae are a family of dicotyledonous flowering plants including the grapevine and Virginia creeper. The family name is derived from the genus Vitis...
. The vines are native to the eastern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and are the source of many 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, including Catawba
Catawba (grape)
Catawba is a red hybrid grape variety used for wine as well as juice, jams and jellies. The grape can have a pronounced musky or "foxy" flavor. Grown predominantly on the East Coast of the United States, this purplish-red grape is a likely cross of the native American Vitis labrusca and another...
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, and many hybrid grape varieties such as Agawam
Agawam (grape)
Agawam is a hybrid grape variety. It is a crossing of Carter and Muscat Hamburg . Agawam is one of the so-called Rogers' Hybrids created by E.S...
, Alexander
Alexander (grape)
Alexander is a sponteneous cross of vines from which the first commercial wines in America were made. It was discovered in 1740 in the neighborhood of Springgettsbury, Philadelphia, in a vineyard where James Alexander , William Penn's gardener, had originally planted cuttings of vinifera in 1683...
and Onaka
Onaka (grape)
Onaka is one of a number of hardy hybrid grape cultivars produced by the prolific breeder Nels Hansen at South Dakota State University. It is a product of a cross of Beta and Salem...
. Among the characteristics of this vine species in contrast to the European wine grape 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....
are its "slip-skin" that allows the skin of the grape berries to easily slip off when squeezed, instead of crushing the pulp
Juice vesicles
The juice vesicles of a citrus fruit are the membranous content of the fruit’s endocarp. The vesicles contain the juice of the fruit. The pulp is usually removed from the juice by filtering it out...
, and the presence of tendrils
Tendril
In botany, a tendril is a specialized stem, leaf or petiole with a threadlike shape that is used by climbing plants for support, attachment and cellular invasion by parasitic plants, generally by twining around suitable hosts. They do not have a lamina or blade, but they can photosynthesize...
on every node of the cane. Another contrast with European vinifera is the characteristic "foxy" musk of V. labrusca, best known to most people through the Concord grape. This musk is not related to the fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
animal, but rather the earthy, redolent aromas characteristics of the fox grapes that were known by early American settlers to the New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
. The term "foxy" became a sort of catchall for the wine tasting descriptors
Wine tasting descriptors
The use of wine tasting descriptors allows the taster an opportunity to put into words the aromas and flavors that they experience and can be used in assessing the overall quality of wine...
used for these American wines that were distinct from the familiar flavors of the European vinifera based wines.
History
According to wine historian Edward HyamsEdward Hyams
Edward Hyams was a British writer. Works included Soil and Civilisation, a biography of Proudhon, and Terrorists and Terrorism.He won a prize for his translation of Joan of Arc By Herself and Her Witnesses.- External links :*...
and wine expert Jancis Robinson
Jancis Robinson
Jancis Mary Robinson OBE, MW is a British wine critic, journalist and editor of wine literature. She currently writes a weekly column for the Financial Times, and writes for her website jancisrobinson.com...
, Vitis labrusca was likely the species spotted by Leif Ericsson growing wild along the coast of Vinland
Vinland
Vinland was the name given to an area of North America by the Norsemen, about the year 1000 CE.There is a consensus among scholars that the Vikings reached North America approximately five centuries prior to the voyages of Christopher Columbus...
in the 11th century. There is ample evidence that the labrusca was growing wild in North America centuries before the Europeans discovered the continent. However, the vine was not officially identified and recorded until Carl Linnaeus and his peers started cataloging American vine species in the mid 18th century. In the 19th century, Vitis labrusca was among the American vines transported to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
that were carrying the phylloxera
Phylloxera
Grape phylloxera ; originally described in France as Phylloxera vastatrix; equated to the previously described Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, Phylloxera vitifoliae; commonly just called phylloxera is a pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America...
louse which would cause wide spread devastation to the European vineyards planted with Vitis vinifera.
Also in the 19th century, Ephraim Bull of Concord, Massachusetts
Concord, Massachusetts
Concord is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 17,668. Although a small town, Concord is noted for its leading roles in American history and literature.-History:...
, cultivated seeds from wild labrusca vines to create the Concord grape which would become an important agricultural crop in the United States.
Vine characteristics
The majority of Vitis labrusca grape varieties are red (though white varieties such as Niagara and "pink-skinned" varieties such as Catawaba exist), with dark colored berries high in phenolic compounds that produced strongly flavored wines. As the berries near harvestHarvest (wine)
The harvesting of wine grapes is one of the most crucial steps in the process of winemaking. The time of harvest is determined primarily by the ripeness of the grape as measured by sugar, acid and tannin levels with winemakers basing their decision to pick based on the style of wine they wish to...
and become fully ripe, they separate easily from the pedicel
Pedicel (botany)
A pedicel is a stem that attaches single flowers to the main stem of the inflorescence. It is the branches or stalks that hold each flower in an inflorescence that contains more than one flower....
(berry stem). If the berry is squeezed gently between two fingers, the thick skin will slip easily off leaving the pulp intact as a ball. This trait gives Vitis labrusca the name of "slip skin" grapes. Another trait of labrusca that aids ampelographers in identification of vines and hybrid varieties descended from the species is the large, thick leaves of the vines that have a hairy underside with dense brown or white hairs.
Like many other American vine species, Vitis labrusca has some natural resistance to many grape diseases, including phylloxera
Phylloxera
Grape phylloxera ; originally described in France as Phylloxera vastatrix; equated to the previously described Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, Phylloxera vitifoliae; commonly just called phylloxera is a pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America...
. However, its resistance and grafting compatibility is not as high as other species, such as 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...
, Vitis rupestris
Vitis rupestris
Vitis rupestris is a kind of grape native to the Southern and Western United States that is known by many common names including July, sand, sugar, beach, bush, currant, ingar, rock, and mountain grape. It is used for breeding several French-American hybrids as well as many root stocks. ...
and Vitis berlandieri
Vitis berlandieri
Vitis berlandieri is a species of grape native to the southern North America, primarily Texas, New Mexico and Arkansas.It is primarily known for good tolerance against soils with a high content of lime, which can cause chlorosis in many vines of American origin...
, and is not often used for commercial rootstock
Rootstock
A rootstock is a plant, and sometimes just the stump, which already has an established, healthy root system, used for grafting a cutting or budding from another plant. The tree part being grafted onto the rootstock is usually called the scion...
.
Wine regions
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...
from Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
down to Georgia and westward to the Mississippi river
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. Among the Canadian wine
Canadian wine
Canadian wine is produced in mainly southern British Columbia and southern Ontario. There is also a growing number of small scale producers of grapes and wine in southern Quebec and Nova Scotia. The two largest wine-producing regions in Canada are the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia and the...
regions and American Viticultural Areas (AVA)s that produce wine from labrusca or hybrids derived from labrusca include Ontario, Upper Mississippi Valley, Mississippi Delta, Ohio River Valley, Southeastern New England, Lake Erie as well as several AVAs in the states of New York, Virginia, Ohio and Michigan.
Unlike vinifera, hybrids and Vitis labrusca varieties can better withstand the severe continental conditions of eastern North America with severely cold winters and hot, humid summers. (However, labrusca doesn't do quite as well as varieties like Vitis rotundifolia in the humidity of southeastern US). In fact, in areas of the United States where vinifera does flourish in the west, the conditions during the growing season are often too arid for labrusca vines.
"Foxy" musk
According to University of California, DavisUniversity of California, Davis
The University of California, Davis is a public teaching and research university established in 1905 and located in Davis, California, USA. Spanning over , the campus is the largest within the University of California system and third largest by enrollment...
viticulture
Viticulture
Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...
expert A. J. Winkler, outside of the vinifera Muscat family of grapes, Vitis labrusca varieties have the most pronounced aromas among wine grape varieties. The description of "foxy" doesn't have anything to do with actual animal, but rather serves as a catch-all term to describe the unique, earthy and sweet muskiness that is best epitomized by fresh Concord grapes though some of the "sweet muskiness" can be perceived in grape juice
Grape juice
Grape juice is obtained from crushing and blending grapes into a liquid. The juice is often sold in stores or fermented and made into wine, brandy, or vinegar. In the wine industry, grape juice that contains 7-23 percent of pulp, skins, stems and seeds is often referred to as "must"...
made from Concord and other labrusca varieties like Niagara. In the 1920s, scientists were able to isolate the aroma compound
Aroma compound
An aroma compound, also known as odorant, aroma, fragrance or flavor, is a chemical compound that has a smell or odor...
responsible for the "foxy" musk as methyl anthranilate
Methyl anthranilate
Methyl anthranilate, also known as MA, methyl 2-aminobenzoate or carbomethoxyaniline, is an ester of anthranilic acid. Its chemical formula is C8H9NO2.-Chemical properties:...
.
Notable varieties
- Concord - largest cultivar, estimated at 80% of labrusca production
- CatawbaCatawba (grape)Catawba is a red hybrid grape variety used for wine as well as juice, jams and jellies. The grape can have a pronounced musky or "foxy" flavor. Grown predominantly on the East Coast of the United States, this purplish-red grape is a likely cross of the native American Vitis labrusca and another...
- DelawareDelaware (grape)The Delaware grape is a cultivar derived from the grape species Vitis Labrusca or 'Fox Grape' which is used for the table and wine production....
- Niagara
- IsabellaIsabella (grape)The Isabella grape is a cultivar derived from the grape species Vitis labrusca or 'fox grape' which is used for table, juice and wine production.-Appearance and use:...
- Ives
External links
- Vitis labrusca at the PLANTS national database - Includes map of natural habitat