By Luke Sparreo
Apr 17 2025
Popular wines you may find yourself sipping on, like Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, or Merlot, are all cultivars descended from a wild European grape species, Vitis vinifera. Sommeliers may be disappointed to learn that Americans in the 1800s enjoyed a much more biodiverse array of wines. Many of America’s first cultivars incorporated a multitude of Vitis species native to the continent, all of which can be found in the Steere Herbarium.
In the 1874 Bush & Son and Meissner nursery catalogue, there are many unfamiliar wine cultivars listed for sale. Distributed from Missouri, an important wine-growing region before Prohibition, farmers could pick from a wide selection of cultivars. Following the introduction of the European Vitis vinifera by colonizers, settlers both intentionally and accidentally created brand new cultivars of wine by combining their own Vitis vinifera with the wild Vitis species of North America. These native Vitis species gave the new hybrid cultivars a suite of beneficial characteristics, such as bold new flavors, winter hardiness, root-rot resistance, and defenses against pests. Before Prohibition restricted the cultivation of wine in the United States, these European-American hybrids enjoyed great popularity.
Take, for example, the Norton grape. Listed in the catalogue as "Norton’s Virginia," recent research has found this cultivar has parentage from the European Vitis vinifera as well as two wild North American species: Vitis aestivalis and Vitis labrusca. Vitis aestivalis, the summer grape, grows across the Eastern United States and is known for its tart yet sweet flavor. It has become one of the most extensively used North American grapes in viticulture. Vitis labrusca, the fox grape, also grows in the Eastern US, but is more restricted to the coast. It is known for its distinct “foxy” flavor in wine, but is perhaps best known as one of the parents of the Concord grape used in juices and jellies. Not only do these North American species give Norton its signature flavor, it is likely their contributions that make Norton resistant to a wide spectrum of diseases that plague non-hybrid varieties. This means Norton is much less reliant on pesticide use and a suitable candidate for organic viticulture.
Prefer a white wine? "Taylor’s Bullit" is also listed for sale in the 1874 catalogue. While you would be hard-pressed to find a vineyard growing this grape today, this cultivar was once vital to the wine industry. Taylor’s Bullit became popular from North America to Europe by serving as a disease-resistant rootstock for more vulnerable wine cultivars. Historical documentation suggests Taylor’s Bullit shares one parent with Norton, Vitis labrusca, and also has ancestry from the North American species Vitis riparia. Vitis riparia grows along riverbanks and has a wide distribution from the East Coast well into the Midwest, approaching the Rocky Mountains to its western limit. Unlike Norton, there has been no modern genetic analyses on the origin of this forgotten cultivar (yet).
While we may think of the plants that make our food and drink as completely domesticated, crop wild ancestors like the North American Vitis species often play an underappreciated role in diversifying and generating beneficial traits for our crops. Maintaining and expanding knowledge of wild ancestors like these Vitis parents through herbarium collections is essential in ensuring we can continue to improve our crops and understand their histories. Take a look at some of New York Botanical Garden’s collections of these Vitis parents that contributed to America’s first wines.
