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Scuppernong (Vitis Rotundifolia) Grape Wines
The Scuppernong is a natural white, or more accurately bronze, variety of
Vitis rotundifolia. If we discount any thought that North Carolina was
the fabled "Vinland" of the Vikings, that leaves the European discovery of the
Scuppernong Grape to Giovanni de Verrazano, a French explorer and navigator, who
discovered them in 1524 in the Cape Fear River Valley of North Carolina.
Sir Walter Raleigh's colony is credited with discovering the famed
Scuppernong "mother-vine" on Roanoke Island and introducing it elsewhere (circa
1584-85). The vine had a trunk two feet thick and covered half an acre. It,
along with some neighboring vines, supplied the Mother Vineyard Winery, which
operated in Manteo, NC until 1954.
At first the grape was simply called the "Big White Grape" by settlers.
During the 17th and 18th centuries cuttings of the mother vine were placed into
production around a small town called Scuppernong in Washington County, NC and
along the Cape Fear River east of Fayetteville. The name Scuppernong comes from
an Algonquin Indian name, "Ascopo," for the sweet bay tree. "Ascupernung,"
meaning place of the "Ascopo," appears on early maps of North Carolina as the
name of a river in Washington County that runs into the Albemarle Sound. By 1800
the spelling of the river and town had become Scuppernong. On January 11th, 1811
the "Big White Grape" was first referred to in print (in a newspaper article
reporting the census of 1810) as the "Scuppernong Grape." James Blount took the
census of Washington County, NC and reported 1,368 gallons of wine made from
that abundant grape.
The Scuppernong's unique flavor was marketed nationwide in the 20th Century
by Paul Garrett & Company under the label "Virginia Dare." During the 13
years of Prohibition (1920-33), Garrett kept his wineries busy making
Scuppernong cider, and when Prohibition ended his were the only wineries ready
for immediate production. "Say it again....Virginia Dare" was the first singing
radio commercial for an alcoholic beverage in history.
SCUPPERNONG GRAPE WINE (19th Century Recipe)
Remove grapes from stems and wash. Mash them as best you can and press hard.
Let juice and hulls stand 48 hours. Drain well to extract all juice. To one
gallon of juice add three pounds sugar and stir well. Transfer to fermenting jar
and tie linen over jar. Let stand several weeks, ladle into bottles and apply
corks. Let it lie a month or two before drinking. [Adapted from a Mary Elizabeth
Sproull Lanier recipe, circa 1880]
Comments: I'd love to taste this wine! Made with pure
scuppernong juice and fermented with the wild yeast attached to the grapes, it
has to taste the way scuppernong wine was intended to taste, although I
imagine the alcohol content would only range in the 6-8% neighborhood. If you
live in North Carlina and can get the grape in quantity, you might try it,
although I think I'd use more modern fermentation equipment, adjust the sugar
for dryness, and add a little sauterne or champagne wine yeast. I'd also rack it
every three weeks for at least nine weeks and be darned sure the fermentation
had ceased before bottling. I can almost taste it....
SCUPPERNONG GRAPE WINE (Folk Recipe)
Gather ripe grapes. Remove from stems and wash. Put washed grapes in clean
tub and use a seasoned but clean fence post to mash grapes by dropping upright
post into tub. Do not pound grapes or you'll break seeds and ruin the juice.
Cover the tub with clean flannel for three days, stirring the mashed grapes with
wooden paddle 2-3 times a day. Put mashed grapes in a clean flour sack and lay
this on a clean scrubboard angled about 45 degrees. Press palms on sack to press
out juice, working from top to bottom several times. Depending on your strength,
you should get 1 1/2 to 3 gallons of juice. Add sugar slowly, stirring with
paddle to dissolve it. After each stirring, test an egg in the juice. When it
floats to the top, stop adding sugar. Put into jugs and plug holes firmly with
tightly rolled cloth strips so nothing can get in. There should be 2 inches
between top of juice and cloth stopper. If you have any extra juice, save in a
soda bottle, also stoppered with cloth, for later. Juice will ferment 2-4 weeks.
When fermenting stops, wait another two weeks and pour through clean flannel
into clean jugs. Use water or strained saved juice to fill jugs. Cork tightly
and set in cool dark place. Should be ready by Thanksgiving. [Adapted from a
Georgia folk recipe by Ed Heyward of Macon, GA]
Note: Strictly speaking, this recipe comes from a state
where Scuppernongs are not originally native, although they have been grown
there as cultivars for over a century. Birds have certainly spread the seed and
wild Scuppernongs are now found in Georgia. However, this recipe would probably
work for any sweet, white native grape.
Comments: This is another all-juice, natural yeast wine.
The concern for cleanliness is commendable. As in the previous recipe, more
modern techniques should yield a better wine. These include use of an airlock, a
hydrometer to measure total sugar content and finished dryness, several
rackings, addition of proven wine yeast, and an expanded time frame.
SCUPPERNONG GRAPE WINE
(Adison Martin's Recipe)
Makes 3
Gallons
- 18 lb. scuppernong grapes
- 6 lb. sugar
- 9 quarts water
- 2 tsp. pectic enzyme
- 1 tblsp. yeast nutrient
- 3 crushed campden tablets
- 1 package champagne yeast
Gather ripe grapes. Destem and wash grapes, removing any that are bad. Crush
grapes to extract maximum juice, and place pulp in nylon straining bag. Place
sugar in primary fermentation vessel, then pour water over sugar, stirring well
to dissolve. Add juice and straining bag to primary. Specific gravity should be
1.095-1.100. If not, add more sugar. Add remaining ingredients, except for
pectic enzyme and yeast. Cover primary and set aside 12 hours, then add pectic
enzyme and set aside additional 12 hours. Add activated yeast. Stir daily,
squeezing nylon bag of pulp lightly to extract more juice, until specific
gravity reaches 1.030, about 5-7 days. Remove bag and squeeze to extract juice.
Add squeezed juice to primary and allow to settle overnight, then rack off of
sediment into glass secondary. Attach airlock. When ferment is complete
(specific gravity has dropped to 1.000 or below--about 3-4 weeks) rack into
clean carboy and reattach airlock. Leave wine to clear for about 2-3 months,
then rack into bottles. [Adapted from recipe by Adison Martin] |
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