Editing Niagara (grape)

{{Short description|Variety of grape}}
{{Infobox grape variety
| name=Niagara
| color=Blanc
| image=Niagara Grapes.jpg
| caption=Niagara grapes
| species=''[[Vitis labrusca]]''
| also_called=
| origin=[[Eastern United States]]
| hazards=
| regions=[[United States]]
| notable_wines=
}}

'''Niagara grapes ''' are a variety of the [[North America]]n [[grape]] species ''[[Vitis labrusca]]'' (botanical family [[Vitaceae]]) and are used as [[table grape]]s and for [[wine]]s, as well as jams and juice.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hedrick |first=Ulysses Prentiss |url=https://archive.org/details/grapesofnewyork00hedruoft |title=The grapes of New York |last2=Booth |first2=Nathaniel Ogden |date=1908 |publisher=Albany : J.B. Lyon Co., State printers |pages=[https://archive.org/details/grapesofnewyork00hedruoft/page/359 359]-362}}</ref>  Niagara is the leading green grape grown in the United States. A purple variety, known as "pink" niagara (niágara rosada),   exists and is the main niagara cultivated in southern [[Brazil]], principally in the states of [[São Paulo (state)|São Paulo]], where the variety first occurred in 1933,<ref>{{Cite web |date=27 January 2006 |title=Tradição do cultivo da uva niagara no Estado de São Paulo |url=http://www.iea.sp.gov.br/ftpiea/publicacoes/tec4-0106.pdf |website=www.iea.sp.gov.br |publisher=Secretaria de Agricultura e Abastecimento - Instituto de Economia Agrícola (IEA) |language=pt}}</ref> and [[Rio Grande do Sul]]. The Niagara grape was created in [[Niagara County, New York]],  in 1868 when [[Claudius L. Hoag]] and [[Benjamin W. Clark]] cross-bred [[Concord grape|Concord]] grapes with white [[Cassady (grape)|Cassady]] grapes. It was first sold commercially in 1882. Niagara grapes are considered to be poor shipping grapes, and so are usually only found near where they are grown. They are most commonly found in the [[United States]] in [[New York (state)|New York]], [[Pennsylvania]], [[New Jersey]], [[Michigan]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], and [[Ohio (wine)|Ohio]], and are also grown in [[Ontario]] in [[Canada]], as well as in [[Brazil]], and [[New Zealand]]. While only rarely available fresh outside these areas, Niagara grapes are well known to most American consumers as the source of most white [[grape juice]].

==Wines==
[[File:Niagara grape.jpg|left|thumb|Photographic plate of Niagara grape from the book ''The Grapes of New York'', 1908 by [[Ulysses Prentiss Hedrick]]]]
The fresh grape is large and juicy, round to oval-shaped, pale greenish-white in color and has a sweet, very pleasant aroma. It also has a sweet and generally pleasant flavor, sometime being described as "[[Foxy (wine)|foxy]]". One reviewer, Paul Bulas, attempted to characterize the "foxy" description. In analyzing the Niagara grape, he detected aromas like candied lemon rind, a [[Riesling]]-like diesel aroma, flowery jasmine-like notes, and what he called "a high-toned, candied muskiness." This latter descriptor he felt was the primary element of the term "foxy". His opinion of wines made with the grape is that they have unique and interesting properties that are not well known due to Niagara's reputation as a less-than-optimum wine grape.  A diesel aroma in wine is considered to be a positive attribute, but it can be excessive in wines made with the Niagara grape. One opinion is that Niagara grape skins should not contact the [[must]] for too long a time after [[pressing (wine)|pressing]] to avoid an excess of this characteristic.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.winelabels.org/artniag.htm Unusual Wines - Niagara Grape Variety]
* [http://www.wineloverspage.com/community/paulbulas/getting-to-know-niagara.htm Getting to Know Niagara, the Grape]

{{Hybrid grape varieties}}
{{American wine}}

[[Category:Hybrid grape varieties]]
[[Category:American wine]]