Concord
Concord is a dark blue or purple grape variety derived from the American species Vitis labrusca, also known as the fox grape. It is grown mainly in the United States, where most of the crop goes into grape juice, jelly and other mass-market products, which makes it one of the country's most recognisable grapes.
History
The Concord was developed in 1849 in Concord, Massachusetts, when Ephraim Wales Bull planted seeds from wild Vitis labrusca. Bull assessed more than 22,000 seedlings, among them hybrids crossed with Vitis vinifera, before settling on the one he judged ideal. Later genetic testing confirmed that roughly one-third of its genetic makeup comes from Vitis vinifera, and systematic SSR analysis identified the Catawba as one of its parents.
In 1853 Bull's grape took first prize at an exhibition of the Boston Horticultural Society, and it reached the market a year later. In the early twentieth century it was also planted widely in the western United States, and by 1923 it was the most widely grown grape variety on the continent, accounting for at least 75 percent of the vines in the eastern United States. Cultivation in the Yakima Valley of Washington State began in 1904, and over time that state came to produce more Concord grapes than any other.
The industrial leap came with juice. In 1869 Dr Thomas Bramwell Welch made the first Concord grape juice in his house, and pasteurisation kept it from fermenting. Welch moved his operations to Westfield, New York, and by 1897 was processing 300 tons of grapes into juice. Later the company built a large plant in Grandview, Washington, which remains one of the main centres of juice production for this variety.
Culture
In everyday American life, the Concord belongs mostly in the pantry. Its juice is among the most widely drunk in the country, and its jelly, dark and intensely fruity, sits on the shelves of nearly every supermarket. It is also the usual grape in the classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a combination familiar to generations of American children.
Its aroma is one of its most recognisable traits. It is often described as "foxy", a sweet, musky accent that sets it apart from the European grapes used for wine. That profile explains why it is used for drinks and sweets, and why grape-flavoured soft drinks and candies are often dyed purple so that consumers recognise them, even though the colour comes from additives rather than the fruit.
The Concord also has a place in religious life. Some churches use its dark juice as a non-alcoholic alternative to wine at communion. In winemaking, the grape is used for sacramental and kosher wines, and the oldest sacramental winery in America, O-Neh-Da Vineyard, still produces a Concord wine for the altar. Most commercial Concord wines are sweet, although dry versions are possible when the fruit reaches adequate ripeness.
As a table grape it appears less often, though it turns up occasionally, especially in New England. In the vineyard it has one practical quirk: its skin slips easily away from the flesh, which suits pressing for juice, but it is prone to black spot, a physiological disorder that growers must watch closely. Today it remains a reference grape in the United States, tied to the food industry and to everyday habits.