Norton (grape)
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{Short description|Variety of grape}}
{{Infobox grape variety
| name = Norton
| image = Norton grapes growing in Missouri.jpg
| caption = Norton grapes growing on the vine
| alt =
| color = Noir
| color_alt =
| species = V. vinifera, V. aestivalis, V. labrusca hybrid
| also_called =
| origin =
| pedigree0 =
| pedigree1 =
| pedigree2 =
| regions =Missouri USA
| notable_wines =
| soil =
| hazards =
| breeder = Daniel Norborne Norton
| institute =
| crossing_year =
| selection_year =
| protection_year =
| seeds_formation =
| flowers_sex =
}}
Norton is grown in the Midwestern United States, the Mid-Atlantic States, and northeastern Georgia. Nuclear and chloroplast DNA data are consistent with 'Norton' being a complex hybrid with ancestry from V. aestivalis, V. vinifera, and V. labrusca.{{Cite journal |last1=Sparreo |first1=Luke |last2=Talavera |first2=Alicia |last3=Nie |first3=Ze-Long |last4=Johnson |first4=Gabriel |last5=Literman |first5=Robert |last6=Handy |first6=Sara |last7=Wen |first7=Jun |date=13 March 2025 |title=Phylogenomic insights into the origin of the Norton grape |journal=Plants, People, Planet |language=en |volume=n/a |issue=n/a |doi=10.1002/ppp3.70012 |issn=2572-2611|doi-access=free }}{{cite web|author=Ed Stover |author2=Malli Aradhya |author3=Judy Yang |author4=John Bautista |author5=Gerald S Dangl |url=https://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publication/?seqNo115=238484 |title=Investigations into the Origin of 'Norton' Grape using SSR Marker; In: Proceedings of Florida State Horticultural Society. 122:19-24|publisher=Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture|date=1 March 2010}}
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.A. Garfunkel [http://www.saucemagazine.com/a/233 "Norton: Missouri's State Grape Harbors Juicy Little Secrets"] Sauce Magazine May 31, 2004{{Cite web |url=http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2009/11/25/missouris-grape-grows-popularity/ |title=Missouri's state grape grows in stature and popularity – Columbia Missourian |access-date=2009-11-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225001750/http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2009/11/25/missouris-grape-grows-popularity/ |archive-date=2012-02-25 }} Daniel Norton first purveyed the Norton cultivar during the early 19th century from his vineyards in Virginia, USA.{{cite web |author1=Stefanie Gans |title=The Ultimate Guide To Understanding Virginia Wine |url=https://northernvirginiamag.com/food/drinks/2019/09/26/want-to-understand-virginia-wine-know-the-4-main-grapes/ |publisher=Northern Virginia Magazine |access-date=April 6, 2022 |date=September 26, 2019}}
History
File:120 Year Old Norton Cynthiana Grapevine.JPG
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.{{cite web | author=Rebecca and Clifford Ambers | title=American Wine Society Journal | work=Daniel Norborne Norton and the Origins of the Norton Grape | url=http://chateau-z.com/downloads/AWS-V36-No3-2004.pdf | access-date=2006-09-06 | archive-date=September 28, 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928210514/http://chateau-z.com/downloads/AWS-V36-No3-2004.pdf }}{{cite web | author=Paul L. Roberts | title=The Wineman International | work=Norton, America's True Grape ...Whence, and Whither? | url=http://www.thewineman.com/nortongrape.htm | access-date=2006-03-06}} 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.{{cite journal | last1=Hammers | first1=Mia | last2=Sapkota | first2=Surya | last3=Chen | first3=Li-Ling | last4=Hwang | first4=Chin-Feng | title=Constructing a genetic linkage map of Vitis aestivalis-derived "Norton" and its use in comparing Norton and Cynthiana | journal=Molecular Breeding| volume=37 | issue=5 | date=April 27, 2017 | issn=1380-3743 | doi=10.1007/s11032-017-0644-6 | page=64| bibcode=2017MBree..37...64H | s2cid=37724086 }}
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. 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 {{convert|69|acre|ha}} of Norton grapes.
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.{{cite journal |vauthors=Muñoz-Espada AC, Wood KV, Bordelon B, Watkins BA |title=Anthocyanin quantification and radical scavenging capacity of Concord, Norton, and Marechal Foch grapes and wines |journal=Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry |volume=52 |issue=22 |pages=6779–86 |date=November 2004 |pmid=15506816 |doi=10.1021/jf040087y|bibcode=2004JAFC...52.6779M }}
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.{{cite web | url=http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/dietary-factors/phytochemicals/flavonoids | title=Flavonoids | publisher=Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State University, Corvallis | work=Micronutrient Information Center | date=2016 | access-date=October 24, 2016}}{{cite journal |author=Mazza GJ |title=Anthocyanins and heart health |journal=Annali dell'Istituto Superiore di Sanità |volume=43 |issue=4 |pages=369–74 |year=2007 |pmid=18209270 |url=http://www.iss.it/publ/anna/2007/4/434369.pdf |access-date=2009-11-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225134422/http://www.iss.it/publ/anna/2007/4/434369.pdf |archive-date=2012-02-25 }}
See also
References
{{reflist|2}}
External links
{{commons category|Norton grape}}
- [https://missouriwinecountry.com/featured/norton-americas-true-grape-whence-and-whither/ Norton, America's True Grape]
{{Hybrid grape varieties}}
{{American wine}}
Category:Red wine grape varieties