Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
The taste of the Concord, an American native, is familiar to most Americans - whether
or not they have actually ever seen the grape. It's the flavor they know so well from grape
juice, grape jelly and grape jam (and Mogen David wine). When grape growing was still
centered in New York, this was the dominant variety. Concord grapes have a distinctive
flavor that is usually described in wine circles as "foxy," whatever that means. For those
with a more chemical bent, the smell of a Concord is that of the chemical ester methyl
anthranilate.
It is odd that the grape that was the inspiration for "grape flavor" is now so difficult
to find. At the turn of the last century, Concord was king. Much of it was eaten out of
hand, fresh, but much of it also went to the burgeoning juice business, which got its start
in New Jersey. There, in 1869, a dentist named Thomas Welch began experimenting with
the newly developed process of pasteurization. He found that by using it, he could make a
grape juice that wouldn't turn into wine.
Although the Muscat grape isn't as widely known as the Concord, it is more complex,
full of allusion even on a chemical level. It comes from a mix of compounds called terpen-
oids: geraniol (also found in nutmeg and ginger), linalool (also found in flowering herbs
such as lavender and jasmine), and nerol (also found in orange blossoms and cardamom).
This heavenly floral perfume is probably most familiar from wines that are made from the
grape: the Italian Moscato and Moscato d'Asti and the French Muscat de Beaumes de Ven-
ise. Muscat grapes are seldom used in American wines, although maverick wine producer
Randall Grahm makes a delicious dessert wine from it called Vin de Glacier.
You might wonder about eating other wine grapes out of hand - Cabernet Sauvignon,
Chardonnay, Pinot Noir. Actually, these have never been very popular fresh. Winemakers
value different attributes than grape eaters, including thicker skins (for better color) and a
lower ratio of sugar to acid (less sweet and more tart). Although these qualities can make
exquisite wine, they do not appeal to the popular palate.
A true grape fan can also mourn the loss of other great old-time grapes such as Chas-
selas Dore, Italia, Lady Finger and Ribier. Almost all of them have now vanished - at least
as far as commercial table grape production is concerned. The dominant table grapes today
are varieties such as Thompson Seedless, Ruby Seedless, Crimson Seedless and Flame
Seedless. Their primary selling point is self-explanatory. It's hard to be a popular conveni-
ence food when people have to interrupt their snacking to spit out the pips. This is not
to say that all seedless grapes are by nature bad. Thompson Seedless (the familiar green
grape) is a prime example.