{{Short description|Species of grapevine}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2025}} {{For|the other species also called fox grape|Vitis vulpina}} {{speciesbox |name = Fox grape |image = Vitis labrusca 154618896.jpg |image_caption = |status = G5 |status_system = TNC |genus = Vitis |species = labrusca |authority = L. }}
'''''Vitis labrusca''''', the '''fox grape''', is a species of grapevines belonging to the ''Vitis'' genus in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The vines are native to eastern North America and are the source of many grape cultivars, including Catawba, Concord, Delaware, Isabella, Niagara, and many hybrid grape varieties such as Agawam, Alexander and Onaka. Among the characteristics of this vine species in contrast to the European wine grape ''Vitis vinifera'' are its "slip-skin" that allows the skin of the grape berries to easily slip off when squeezed, instead of crushing the pulp, and the presence of tendrils on every node of the cane. ''Vitis labrusca'' also tends to have strong resistance to mildews and phylloxera. Another contrast with European ''V. vinifera'' are unique flavors, best known to most people through the Concord grape.<ref name="Oxford pp 19-20">{{cite book|author1=Robinson, Jancis |title=The Oxford Companion to Wine|url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont00janc |publisher=Oxford University Press|edition=Third |date=2006|ISBN=978-0-19-860990-2|pages=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont00janc/page/18/mode/2up 19-20]}}</ref> The term "foxy" became a sort of catchall for the wine tasting descriptors used for these American wines that were distinct from the familiar flavors of the European viniferous wines.<ref name="Great Grapes">{{cite book|author1=Ramey, B| title=The Great Wine Grapes| chapter=Concord, Catawaba and Delaware entries |publisher=University of California-Davis |date=1977| ASIN=B0006CZP4S}}</ref> These flavors have been described as strawberry, raspberry, cotton candy, and "grapey" (because Americans associate these flavors with popular grape juices, candies, jellies and jams, sodas, and more made with Concord grapes). Occasionally, depending on the winemaking, ''V. labrusca'' grapes can impart a musky flavor to wine, which some find intriguing while others dislike, but this can be mitigated or increased by winegrowing and winemaking practices. ''Vitis labrusca'' is in the parentage of the world's most planted grape variety, Kyoho.
==History== thumb|Concord grapes According to wine historian Edward Hyams and wine expert Jancis Robinson, ''Vitis labrusca'' was probably the species seen by Leif Ericsson growing wild along the coast of Vinland in the 11th century. There is ample evidence that the ''labrusca'' was growing wild in North America before Europeans arrived. The vine was not officially identified and recorded until Carl Linnaeus and his peers started cataloging American vine species in the mid-18th century. In the 19th century, ''Vitis labrusca'' was among the American vines transported to Europe that were carrying the phylloxera louse that caused widespread devastation to the European vineyards planted with ''Vitis vinifera''.<ref name="Robinson pp 8, 18, 228">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/vinesgrapeswines00robi|author1=Robinson, Jancis |title=Vines, Grapes & Wines|publisher=Mitchell Beazley |date=1986 |ISBN=1-85732-999-6| pages=[https://archive.org/details/vinesgrapeswines00robi/page/8/mode/2up 8], [https://archive.org/details/vinesgrapeswines00robi/page/18/mode/2up 18], [https://archive.org/details/vinesgrapeswines00robi/page/228/mode/2up 228]}}</ref>
Also in the 19th century, Ephraim Bull of Concord, Massachusetts, cultivated seeds from wild ''labrusca'' vines to create the Concord grape, which would become an important agricultural crop in the United States.<ref name="Robinson pp 8, 18, 228"/>
==Vine characteristics== The majority of ''Vitis labrusca'' grape varieties are red, although white varieties such as Niagara and "pink-skinned" varieties such as Catawba have dark colored berries high in phenolic compounds that produced strongly flavored wines. As the berries near harvest and become fully ripe, they separate easily from the pedicel (berry stem). If the berry is squeezed gently between two fingers, the thick skin will slip easily off leaving the pulp intact as a ball. This trait gives ''Vitis labrusca'' the name of "slip skin" grapes. Another trait of ''labrusca'' that aids ampelographers in identification of vines and hybrid varieties descended from the species is the large, thick leaves of the vines that have a hairy underside with dense brown or white hairs.<ref name="Oxford pp 19-20"/>
Like many other American vine species, ''Vitis labrusca'' has some natural resistance to many grape diseases, including phylloxera. However, its resistance and grafting compatibility is not as high as that of other species, such as ''Vitis aestivalis'', ''Vitis rupestris'' and ''Vitis berlandieri'', and it is not often used for commercial rootstock.<ref name="Oxford pp 19-20"/> It is a robust plant, and in many states can be considered weedy or invasive.<ref>{{cite web|title=Vitis labrusca L. fox grape|url=http://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile?symbol=VILA8|publisher=United States Department of Agriculture|access-date=11 October 2014}}</ref>
==Wine regions== right|thumb|Botanical features of ''Vitis labrusca'' ''Vitis labrusca'' is located along the eastern seaboard of North America from Nova Scotia down to Georgia and westward to the Mississippi River. Among American Viticultural Areas (AVA)s that produce wine from ''labrusca'' or hybrids derived from ''labrusca'' include Alexandria Lakes, Upper Mississippi Valley, Mississippi Delta, Ohio River Valley, Southeastern New England, Lake Erie as well as several AVAs in the states of New York, Virginia, Ohio, Michigan and Minnesota.<ref name="Viticulture">{{cite book |author1=Winkler, Albert J.|author2=Cook, James A.|author3=Kliewer, William Mark |author4=Lider. Lloyd A.|url=https://archive.org/details/generalviticultu0000wink/mode/2up |title=General Viticulture |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley|isbn=978-0520025912 |edition=2nd |date=1974 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/generalviticultu0000wink/page/17/mode/2up 17–20], [https://archive.org/details/generalviticultu0000wink/page/59/mode/2up 59], [https://archive.org/details/generalviticultu0000wink/page/166/mode/2up 166-167] |ref=refWinkler1974}}</ref> In the Canadian Province of Ontario, the use of ''Vitis labrusca'' varieties is not permitted by the VQA regulatory and appellation system, except for Vidal, a hybrid grape varietal.<ref name="Fine_Vintage">{{cite web |author1=Cluer, James MW |title=The Fine Vintage Canadian Wine Scholar Study Guide |url=https://www.finevintageltd.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Fine-Vintage-Canadian-Wine-Scholar-Study-Guide.pdf |website=Fine Vintage International |date=2019-12-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251004033903/https://www.finevintageltd.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Fine-Vintage-Canadian-Wine-Scholar-Study-Guide.pdf|archive-date=2025-10-04 |url-status=live}}</ref>
Unlike ''vinifera'', hybrids and ''Vitis labrusca'' varieties can better withstand the severe continental conditions of eastern North America with severely cold winters and hot, humid summers. (However, ''labrusca'' doesn't do quite as well as varieties like ''Vitis rotundifolia'' in the humidity of southeastern US). In fact, in areas of the United States where ''vinifera'' does flourish in the west, the conditions during the growing season are often too arid for ''labrusca'' vines.<ref name="Viticulture"/>
=="Foxy"== According to University of California, Davis viticulture expert A. J. Winkler, outside of the ''vinifera'' Muscat family of grapes, ''Vitis labrusca'' varieties have the most pronounced aromas among wine grape varieties. While the description "foxy" has been thought to describe a unique, earthy and sweet muskiness that can be perceived in fresh Concord grapes as well as grape juice made from Concord and other ''labrusca'' varieties, the flavors also most commonly associated with these grapes include fruity aromas and flavors of strawberry and raspberry. In the 1920s, scientists were able to isolate the aroma compound responsible for the "foxy" musk as methyl anthranilate.<ref name="Viticulture"/> These compounds are used to produce grape-flavored juices, candies, sodas, and other "grape-flavored" products.
==See also== * List of grape varieties * Bangalore Blue
==References== {{Reflist|2}}
==External links== *[https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:307691-2 Plants of the World Online: ''Vitis labrusca''] *[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242417483 Flora of North America: ''Vitis labrusca'']
{{Vitis (grape) species}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q311720}}
labrusca Category:Flora of the Eastern United States Category:Flora of Eastern Canada Category:Crops originating from North America Category:Plants described in 1753 Category:Botanical taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Category:Fruits originating in North America