View source for Concord grape

{{short description|Dark blue or purple grape cultivar}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox grape variety
| name=Concord grape
| color=Noir
| image=ConcordGrapes.jpg
| caption=Concord grapes on the vine
| species=''[[Vitis labrusca]]'' hybrid<ref name="Huber Röckel Schwander Maul">{{Cite journal |last1=Huber |first1=Franziska |last2=Röckel |first2=Franco |last3=Schwander |first3=Florian |last4=Maul |first4=Erika |last5=Eibach |first5=Rudolf |last6=Cousins |first6=Peter |last7=Töpfer |first7=Reinhard |year=2016 |title=A view into American grapevine history: Vitis vinifera cv. 'Sémillon' is an ancestor of 'Catawba' and 'Concord' |journal=Vitis - Journal of Grapevine Research |volume=55 |issue=2 |pages=53–56 |doi=10.5073/vitis.2016.55.53-56 |s2cid=87513053}}</ref>
| also_called=
| origin=[[United States]]
| hazards=
| regions=[[United States]]
| notable_wines=
}}

The '''Concord grape''' is a [[cultivar]] derived from the [[grape]] species ''[[Vitis labrusca]]'' (also known as fox grape) that are used as [[table grape]]s, [[wine grapes]] and juice grapes. They are often used to make grape [[Jelly (fruit preserves)|jelly]], grape juice, [[grape pie]]s, grape-flavored [[soft drink]]s, and candy. The grape is sometimes used to make [[wine]], particularly [[Sacramental_wine|sacramental]] and [[kosher wine]]. Traditionally, most commercially produced Concord wines have been finished sweet, but dry versions are possible if adequate [[fruit ripeness (wine)|fruit ripeness]] is achieved. The grape is named after the [[Concord, MA|town in Massachusetts]] where it was developed. The grapes are cultivated in many different parts of the world now.

The skin of a Concord grape is typically dark blue or purple and often is covered with a glaucous [[epicuticular wax]] "bloom" that can be rubbed off. It is a slip-skin variety, meaning the skin is easily separated from the fruit.  Concord grapes have large seeds and are highly aromatic. The Concord grape is particularly prone to the physiological disorder [[black spot leaf disease|black spot]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Irvine |first=Ronald |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/37862425 |title=The wine project : Washington State's winemaking history |date=1997 |publisher=Sketch Publications |others=W. J. Clore |isbn=0-9650834-9-7 |location=Vashon, WA |oclc=37862425}}</ref>

In the United States, 417,800 tons were produced in 2011.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Noncitrus Fruits and Nuts 2011 Summary |url=http://usda01.library.cornell.edu/usda/nass/NoncFruiNu//2010s/2012/NoncFruiNu-07-06-2012.txt |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231002232/http://usda01.library.cornell.edu/usda/nass/NoncFruiNu//2010s/2012/NoncFruiNu-07-06-2012.txt |archive-date=31 December 2013 |access-date=8 October 2012 |publisher=United States Department of Agriculture}}</ref> The major growing areas are the [[Finger Lakes]] District of New York, [[Lake Erie]], [[Lake Ontario]], Southwestern [[Michigan]], and the [[Yakima Valley AVA|Yakima Valley]] in Washington.<ref name="nationalgrape">{{Cite web |title=Concord grape |url=http://www.nationalgrape.com/02b_ccd.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120925073642/http://www.nationalgrape.com/02b_ccd.shtml |archive-date=25 September 2012 |access-date=8 October 2012 |publisher=National Grape Association}}</ref> They are sometimes found growing wild.

==Usage==
Concord grapes are often used to make grape [[Jelly (fruit preserves)|jelly]] and are only occasionally available as table grapes,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why can't I find Concord grapes in the grocery store? |url=http://www.concordgrape.org/bodyfacts.html#question10 |access-date=8 October 2012 |publisher=Concord Grape Association}}</ref> especially in [[New England]]. They are the usual grapes used in the jelly for the traditional [[peanut butter and jelly sandwich]], and Concord grape jelly is a [[Staple food|staple product]] in U.S. supermarkets. Concord grapes are used for grape juice, and their distinctive purple color has led to grape-flavored soft drinks and candy being artificially colored purple. [[Methyl anthranilate]], a chemical present in Concord grapes, is used to give "grape" flavor.  The dark-colored Concord juice is used in some churches as a non-alcoholic alternative to wine in the service of [[Eucharist|communion]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Peck |first=Garrett |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mcOcdrBWedEC&pg=PA180 |title=The Prohibition Hangover: Alcohol in America from Demon Rum to Cult Cabernet |date=3 August 2009 |publisher=Rutgers University Press |isbn=978-0-8135-4849-4 |page=180}}</ref>  Concord grapes have been used to make [[kosher wine]]<ref name="atlantic">{{Cite web |last=Appelbaum |first=Yoni |date=April 14, 2011 |title=The 11th Plague? Why People Drink Sweet Wine on Passover |website=[[The Atlantic]] |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/life/archive/2011/04/the-11th-plague-why-people-drink-sweet-wine-on-passover/73193/ |access-date=2011-11-04}}</ref> and sacramental wine. The oldest sacramental winery in America, O-Neh-Da Vineyard, still produces a Concord wine for the altar.<ref>{{Cite web |title=O-Neh-Da Authentic Sacramental Wine |url=http://www.onehda.com/Home.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090510231800/http://www.onehda.com/Home.php |archive-date=10 May 2009 |access-date=30 December 2012 |publisher=O-Neh-Da Vineyard}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Ephraim Bull Concord Grape Original Vine.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ephraim Bull (1806–95), of Concord, Massachusetts, and the original Concord grape vine which he propagated and named in 1849.]]
The Concord grape was developed in 1849 by [[Ephraim Wales Bull]] in [[Concord, Massachusetts]].<ref name="cga">{{Cite web |title=The History of the Concord Grape |url=http://www.concordgrape.org/bodyhistory.html |access-date=30 December 2012 |website=Concord Grape Association }}</ref> Bull planted seeds from wild ''[[Vitis labrusca]]'' and evaluated over 22,000 seedlings before finding what he considered the ideal Concord grape.<ref name="cga" />  [[Genetic testing]] confirmed that Concord grape has roughly one-third ''[[Vitis vinifera]]'' parentage.<ref name="gaa">{{Cite journal |display-authors=etal |vauthors=Sawler J, Reisch B, Aradhya MK, Prins B, ((Zhong G-Y)) |year=2013 |title=Genomics Assisted Ancestry Deconvolution in Grape |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=8 |issue=11 |pages=e80791 |bibcode=2013PLoSO...880791S |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0080791 |pmc=3823699 |pmid=24244717|doi-access=free }}</ref> The selected Concord vine was planted next to other cultivars, including [[Catawba (grape)|Catawba]], which was later confirmed to be a parent of Concord using systematic [[Microsatellite#Genetic_linkage_analysis|SSR analysis]].<ref name="Huber Röckel Schwander Maul" />

In 1853, Bull's grape won first place at the [[Massachusetts Horticultural Society|Boston Horticultural Society]] Exhibition.<ref name="cga" />  It was then introduced to the market in 1854. Dr. [[Thomas Bramwell Welch]] developed the first Concord [[grape juice]] in his house in 1869.<ref name="cga" /> Through the process of [[pasteurization]], the juice did not [[fermentation (wine)|ferment]].<ref name="cga" /> Welch transferred the juice operations to [[Westfield, New York]], processing 300 tons of grapes into juice in 1897.<ref name="cga" />

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">

Image:ConcordGrapes2.jpg|Ripe grapes (foreground) and unripe grapes (background).  Unripe grapes can be made into [[verjuice]].
File:Concord grapes on Grape Island.jpg|Concord grapes growing on [[Grape Island, Massachusetts]].
File:Concord grape.jpg|Photographic plate of Concord grape from the book ''The Grapes of New York'', 1908 by [[Ulysses Prentiss Hedrick]]
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Muscadine]]
* [[Scuppernong]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Concord grapes}}
* [http://www.concordgrape.org/ Concord Grape Association]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20000819055952/http://www.nationalgrape.com/ National Grape Cooperative]

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

[[Category:Concord, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Table grape varieties]]
[[Category:Red wine grape varieties]]
[[Category:Hybrid grape varieties]]