Editing 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]]'', ''[[Vitis labrusca|V. labrusca]]'' hybrid
| also_called     = 
| origin          = 
| pedigree0       = 
| pedigree1       = 
| pedigree2       = 
| regions         =[[Missouri wine|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 (U.S. state)|Georgia]]. Nuclear and chloroplast DNA data are consistent with 'Norton' being a complex hybrid with ancestry from [[Vitis aestivalis|''V. aestivalis'']], ''[[Vitis vinifera|V. vinifera]]'', and ''[[Vitis labrusca|V. labrusca]]''.<ref>{{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 }}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref>

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.<ref name=gans/><ref>A. Garfunkel [http://www.saucemagazine.com/a/233 "Norton: Missouri's State Grape Harbors Juicy Little Secrets"] Sauce Magazine May 31, 2004</ref><ref>{{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  }}</ref> Daniel Norton first purveyed the Norton [[cultivar]] during the early 19th century from his vineyards in Virginia, USA.<ref name="gans">{{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}}</ref>  

==History==
[[File:120 Year Old Norton Cynthiana Grapevine.JPG|thumb|A bottle of Norton wine sits next to what is believed to be a 170-year-old Norton/Cynthiana grapevine in Hermann, MO.]]

The Norton cultivar was introduced by Daniel Norborne Norton of Richmond, Virginia, who selected it from among what he believed were [[seedling]]s 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''.<ref name=gans/><ref name="Ambers">{{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  }}</ref><ref name="Norton">{{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}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Hammers">{{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 }}</ref>

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 (wine)|Missouri]] and [[Ohio (wine)|Ohio]] in the United States.<ref name="Norton"/> 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 grape]]s 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 [[winery|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.<ref name=gans/>

==Anthocyanin content==
Notable for deep blue-purple [[pigment]]ation, the skin of Norton grapes has a higher content of total [[anthocyanin]]s (888&nbsp;mg per 100 g) than other purple grape [[cultivar]]s, [[Concord (grape)|Concord]] or [[Marechal Foch (grape)|Marechal Foch]] grapes.<ref>{{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 }}</ref>

Anthocyanins are the largest group of [[water-soluble]] pigments in the plant kingdom and belong to the family of compounds known as [[polyphenols in grape|polyphenol]]s. Major sources of anthocyanins are [[Blueberry|blueberries]], [[Cherry|cherries]], [[Raspberry|raspberries]], [[Strawberry|strawberries]], [[blackcurrant]]s, purple grapes, and red wine. Anthocyanins are under [[basic research]] to understand if they have any biological role in humans.<ref name="lpi">{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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  }}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Missouri wine]]
*[[Virginia wine]]

==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]]
[[Category:Hybrid grape varieties]]
[[Category:Missouri wine]]
[[Category:Virginia wine]]
[[Category:Economy of Richmond, Virginia]]