Scuppernong

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Some muscadines in a bowl; the green ones are scuppernongs. Muscadines.Scuppernongs.jpg
Some muscadines in a bowl; the green ones are scuppernongs.

The scuppernong is a large variety of muscadine (Vitis rotundifolia), [1] a species of grape native to the Southern United States. It is usually a greenish or bronze color and is similar in appearance and texture to a white grape, but rounder and larger and first known as the 'big white grape'. [2] The grape is commonly known as the "scuplin" in some areas of the Deep South. It is also known as the "scufalum", "scupanon", "scupadine", "scuppernine", "scupnun", or "scufadine" in some parts of the South. The scuppernong is the state fruit of North Carolina. [3]

Contents

History

A North Carolina wine made from the Scuppernong grape Scuppernog wine from Duplin Winery.jpg
A North Carolina wine made from the Scuppernong grape

The name comes from the Scuppernong River in North Carolina mainly along the coastal plain. It was first mentioned as a "white grape" in a written logbook by the Florentine explorer Giovanni de Verrazzano while exploring the Cape Fear River Valley in 1524. [4] He wrote "...Many vines growing naturally there...". Sir Walter Raleigh's explorers, the captains Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe, wrote in 1584 that North Carolina's coast was "...so full of grapes as the very beating and surge of the sea overflowed them...in all the world, the like abundance is not to be found." He may have been referring to Sargasso seaweed from coral reefs, which can be seen washed up on shore after a major storm off the NC coast. The seaweed has berrylike gas-filled bladders looking much like grapes to keep the fronds afloat. However, in 1585, Governor Ralph Lane, when describing North Carolina to Raleigh, stated that "We have discovered the main to be the goodliest soil under the cope of heaven, so abounding with sweet trees that bring rich and pleasant, grapes of such greatness, yet wild, as France, Spain, nor Italy hath no greater...".

It was first cultivated during the 17th century, particularly in Tyrell County, North Carolina. Isaac Alexander found it while hunting along the banks of a stream feeding into Scuppernong Lake in 1755; it is mentioned in the North Carolina official state toast. [5] The name itself traces back to the Algonquian word ascopo meaning "sweet bay tree".

Cultivation

Scuppernong vines in Mocksville, North Carolina Scuppernong.jpg
Scuppernong vines in Mocksville, North Carolina

The fruit grows where temperatures seldom fall below 10 °F (−12 °C). [6] Injury or freeze can occur where winter temperatures drop below 0 °F (−18 °C). Some cultivars, such as ‘Magnolia’, ‘Carlos’, and ‘Sterling’ will survive north to Virginia and west to the Blue Ridge Mountains’ foothills. Nonetheless, Muscadines have a high tolerance to diseases and pests; more than 100 years of breeding has resulted in several bronze cultivars, such as ‘Doreen’ and ‘Triumph’, in addition to the aforementioned ‘Carlos’ and ‘Magnolia’. All are distinguishable from the Scuppernong variety by being perfect-flowered (male and female flower parts together); the Scuppernong possesses only female flowering parts.

The "Mother Vine"

Scuppernong grape vines at Duplin Winery in Rose Hill, North Carolina Duplin vineyard of Scuppernog grapevines.jpg
Scuppernong grape vines at Duplin Winery in Rose Hill, North Carolina

Possibly [7] the oldest cultivated grapevine in the world is the 400-year-old scuppernong "Mother Vine" growing on Roanoke Island, North Carolina. [8]

Use of scuppernong in the arts

In music

Scuppernong is a piece for piano in three movements by John Wesley Work III. [9]

Broomstraw Philosophers and Scuppernong Wine is a song written by country artist, Larry Jon Wilson.

In literature

Scuppernongs are mentioned in chapters 4, 5, and 22 of To Kill a Mockingbird .

Scuppernong is also mentioned in Charles W. Chesnutt's 1899 collection of short stories The Conjure Woman .

They are also mentioned by the name "scupadine" in chapter 6 of Salvage the Bones .

"In The Scuppernongs" is the title of a chapter in Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone , the ninth book in the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon.

In the movie The Bad Seed , Rhoda Penmark talks about the "scuppernong arbor" in the family's yard. In William Faulkner's novel Absalom, Absalom!, Thomas Sutpen, and Wash Jones drink whiskey and laugh together in the scuppernong arbor on Sutpen's estate.

Scuppernongs are mentioned in Chapter 25 of MacKinlay Kantor's Civil War novel Andersonville .

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grape</span> Fruit growing on woody vines in clusters

A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus Vitis. Grapes are a non-climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Concord grape</span> Dark blue or purple grape cultivar

The Concord grape is a cultivar derived from the grape species Vitis labrusca that are used as table grapes, wine grapes and juice grapes. They are often used to make grape jelly, grape juice, grape pies, grape-flavored soft drinks, and candy. The grape is sometimes used to make wine, particularly sacramental and kosher wine. Traditionally, most commercially produced Concord wines have been finished sweet, but dry versions are possible if adequate fruit ripeness is achieved. The grape is named after the town in Massachusetts where it was developed. The grapes are cultivated in many different parts of the world now.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zinfandel</span> Variety of grape

Zinfandel is a variety of black-skinned wine grape. The variety is grown in over 10 percent of California vineyards. DNA analysis has revealed that it is genetically equivalent to the Croatian grapes Crljenak Kaštelanski and Tribidrag, as well as to the Primitivo variety traditionally grown in Apulia, Italy, where it was introduced in the 18th century, and Kratošija in Montenegro. The grape found its way to the United States in the mid-19th century, where it became known by variations of a name applied to a different grape, likely "Zierfandler" from Austria.

<i>Vitis rotundifolia</i> Variety of grape

Vitis rotundifolia, or muscadine, is a grapevine species native to the southeastern and south-central United States. The growth range extends from Florida to New Jersey coast, and west to eastern Texas and Oklahoma. It has been extensively cultivated since the 16th century. The plants are well-adapted to their native warm and humid climate; they need fewer chilling hours than better known varieties, and thrive in summer heat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assyrtiko</span> Variety of grape

Assyrtiko or Asyrtiko is a white Greek wine grape indigenous to the island of Santorini. Assyrtiko is widely planted in the arid volcanic-ash-rich soil of Santorini and other Aegean islands, such as Paros. It is also found on other scattered regions of Greece such as Chalkidiki. Assyrtiko is also being grown by the Paicines Ranch Vineyard in the San Benito AVA of California with Margins Wine making the wine, by Jim Barry Wines in Clare Valley, South Australia, at the Abbey of New Clairvaux in Northern California since 2011, and at Kefi Winery in Monroe, North Carolina by a first generation Greek family. The original Assyrtiko cuttings were imported in the USA in 1948 by Harold Olmo, grape breeder at the University of California, Davis, where they were stored until the abbey of New Clairvaux took interest in the early 2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old vine</span> Category of wine

Old vine, a common description on wine labels, indicates that a wine is the product of grape vines that are notably old. There is a general belief that older vines, when properly handled, will give a better wine. There is no legal or generally agreed definition for old.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yadkin Valley AVA</span>

The Yadkin Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area that includes land in seven counties of northwestern North Carolina. The AVA encompasses an area of approximately 1,400,000 acres (5,666 km2) in the Yadkin River valley. The Yadkin Valley AVA includes all of Wilkes, Surry, and Yadkin counties, and parts of Davie, Davidson, Forsyth, and Stokes counties. Yadkin Valley is home to 44 wineries.

<i>Vitis aestivalis</i> Species of grapevine

Vitis aestivalis, the summer grape, or pigeon grape is a species of grape native to eastern North America from southern Ontario east to Maine, west to Oklahoma, and south to Florida and Texas. It is a vigorous vine, growing to 10 m or more high in trees. The leaves are 7–20 cm long, suborbicular, and usually a little broader than long; they are variable in shape, from unlobed to deeply three- or five-lobed, green above, and densely hairy below. The flowers are produced at every 3rd node in a dense panicle 5–15 cm long. The fruit is a small grape 5–14 mm diameter, dark purple or black in colour. It is the official state grape of Missouri. Summer grape prefers a drier upland habitat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hybrid grape</span> Variety of grape

Hybrid grapes are grape varieties that are the product of a crossing of two or more Vitis species. This is in contrast to crossings between grape varieties of the same species, typically Vitis vinifera, the European grapevine. Hybrid grapes are also referred to as inter-species crossings or "Modern Varieties." Due to their often excellent tolerance to powdery mildew, other fungal diseases, nematodes, and phylloxera, hybrid varieties have, to some extent, become a renewed focus for European breeding programs. The recently developed varieties are examples of newer hybrid grape varieties for European viticulturalists. Several North American breeding programs, such as those at Cornell and the University of Minnesota, focus exclusively on hybrid grapes, with active and successful programs, having created hundreds if not thousands of new varieties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scuppernong River (North Carolina)</span> River in North Carolina, United States

The Scuppernong River is a blackwater river that flows through Tyrrell County and Washington County, North Carolina, into the Albemarle Sound. The river shares its name with the Scuppernong grapes native to the area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American wine</span> Wine making in the United States of America

Wine has been produced in the United States since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84 percent of all US wine. The North American continent is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Childress Vineyards</span> Winery in North Carolina

Childress Vineyards is a winery in Lexington, North Carolina owned by NASCAR Cup Series championship team owner Richard Childress. The connection between NASCAR and fine wine is reflected in the labeling of some of the wines produced by Childress, featuring a checkered flag motif.

<i>Vitis</i> Genus flowering plants in the grape family Vitaceae

Vitis (grapevine) is a genus of 81 accepted species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus consists of species predominantly from the Northern Hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, both for direct consumption of the fruit and for fermentation to produce wine. The study and cultivation of grapevines is called viticulture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Carolina wine</span>

Wine has been produced in the North Carolina area since the early days of European colonization in the 17th century. Wine growers in North Carolina were the first to cultivate a Native American grape variety, the Scuppernong, which produces a sweet wine, examples of which are still being made in the state. Most wine produced in North Carolina since the year 2000 is made from Vitis vinifera grape varieties, although French hybrid and Vitis labrusca varieties remain common.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mississippi wine</span> Wine made from grapes grown in Mississippi, United States

Mississippi wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The hot and humid climate of Mississippi makes it very difficult to cultivate vitis vinifera or French hybrid grapes. The three commercial wineries in Mississippi focus almost entirely on the Muscadine grape, a variety also used for non-alcoholic grape juices, jams, and jellies. Most of the Mississippi Delta AVA, a designated American Viticultural Area, lies within the state boundaries of Mississippi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solaris (grape)</span> Variety of grape

Solaris is a variety of grape used for white wine. It was created in 1975 at the grape breeding institute in Freiburg, Germany by Norbert Becker.

Old Stone Winery is a family-owned winery estate located outside of Salisbury, NC. Sited on 130 acres (0.53 km2) of land, and with more than 20 acres (0.081 km2) of vineyard, it was founded in 2001 by Mark Brown and Stefon Lira, Barbara and Marcus Brown.

<i>Vitis tiliifolia</i> Species of plant

Vitis tiliifolia is a New World liana in the grape family commonly known as Caribbean grape. Other names include West Indian grape, water vine, Agrá and Bejuco de Agua and water tie-tie and water-wise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grape hull pie</span>

Grape hull pie, also called muscadine pie, is a dessert found in the cuisine of the Southern United States.

References

  1. "USDA Plants Profile Muscadine". Plants.usda.gov. Retrieved 2012-08-09.
  2. "North Carolina State University Muscadine Grapes". Ces.ncsu.edu. 1914-06-30. Retrieved 2012-08-09.
  3. "Official State Symbols of North Carolina". ncpedia.org. Retrieved 2012-09-26.
  4. "North Carolina Wine & Grape Council and NCDOC". Scuppernongs.com. Retrieved 2012-08-09.
  5. "GS_149-2 "A Toast" to North Carolina 2005". Ncleg.net. Retrieved 2012-08-09.
  6. Poling, Barclay & Fisk, Connie (June 2006). "Muscadine Grapes in the Home Garden". NC State University Horticulture Information Leaflets. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
  7. "North Carolina History Project : Mother Vine". Northcarolinahistory.org. Retrieved 2012-08-09.
  8. Kozak, Catherine (14 July 2008). "Mother of all vines gives birth to new wine". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  9. Wesley, John. "Scuppernong (Work III, John Wesley) - IMSLP". IMSLP Petrucci Music Library. Retrieved 25 January 2024.

Further reading

"Scuppernong: North Carolina's Grape and Its Wines", Clarence Gohdes (Duke University Press, 1982) ISBN   0822304600

Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg The dictionary definition of scuppernong at Wiktionary