WHAT ARE NATIVE AMERICAN GRAPES?

The Main Native American Grape Species:

1. Vitis labrusca

The most widely known native grape species.

Famous varieties:

• Concord – classic “grape juice / jelly” flavor
• Niagara – often used for sweet or semi-sweet wines
• Catawba – historic American wine grape, pink-skinned

Flavor profile:

• “Foxy” aroma — a distinct wild, grapey, sometimes musky note
• Less tannic, lower alcohol potential than vinifera
• Very cold-hardy and disease-resistant

Uses: juice, jelly, sweet wines, hybrid breeding

2. Vitis rotundifolia (Muscadine)

A Southern grape species.

Famous varieties: Scuppernong, Carlos, Noble
Where it grows: Southeast U.S. (very heat- and humidity-tolerant)

Characteristics:

• Thick skins
• Very high antioxidants
• Typically sweet, floral, tropical flavors
• Mostly used for sweet wines and juices

3. Vitis aestivalis

Best known for producing one of the top-quality native wine grapes:

Norton (a.k.a. Cynthiana)
– Often considered the best wine grape native to North America
– Produces rich, dark, dry red wines
– Missouri’s state grape

4. Vitis rupestris, Vitis riparia, and others

These are primarily used in rootstock and hybrid breeding, not usually for winemaking on their own.

Why? Exceptional:

• disease resistance
• cold hardiness
• phylloxera resistance (critical for modern vineyards)

They are parents of many French American hybrids like Chambourcin, Vidal Blanc, Baco Noir, and Seyval Blanc.

Why Native Grapes Matter

• Resilience: More resistant to American pests, diseases, cold, and humidity.
• History: Used by Indigenous peoples long before European colonists arrived.
• Diversity: Key contributors to the development of modern hybrid wine grapes.
• Flavor: Offer distinctly different aromas and profiles from European vinifera grapes.