Alexander (also known as Tasker's GrapeWilliam Bartram, ''Account of the Species, Hybrids, and Other Varieties of the Vine of North-America'', Medical Repository, (1804), vol. 7 econd series, vol. 1 p. 19-24.) is a spontaneous cross of vines from which the first commercial wines in

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

were made. It was discovered in 1740 in the neighborhood of Springgettsbury,

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, in a vineyard where James Alexander (d. 1778),

Thomas Penn Thomas Penn ( – 21 March 1775) was an English landowner and mercer who was the List of colonial governors of Pennsylvania, chief proprietor of Pennsylvania from 1746 to 1775. He was one of 17 children of William Penn, the founder of the colo ...

's gardener, had originally planted cuttings of ''

Vitis vinifera ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, is a species of flowering plant, native to the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean region, Central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern ...

'' in 1683. It was popularized by the Bartram family at Bartram's Garden, Philadelphia, and widely distributed after the American Revolution by William Bartram.Pinney, Thomas (2007)
''A History of Wine in America, Volume 1: From the Beginnings to Prohibition''
University of California Press, 2nd ed. p. 85. The Alexander grape is a

hybrid grape Hybrid grapes are grape varieties that are the product of a Hybrid (biology), 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 grape ...

of ''

Vitis labrusca ''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, ...

'' and another species, which may probably be ''Vitis vinifera''.

History

In the 18th century and much of the 19th century it was impossible to grow European wine grapes in the open air in the eastern half of North America. The Alexander combined disease and pest resistance from North American grapes with some of the better qualities of European wine grapes. It was an acceptable grape for large-scale planting and wine production. The Alexander was the basis for the first successful North American wine industry over much of the east coast, in Pennsylvania in the 1790s, in Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, and in

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

in 1806. The Alexander grape may be extinct, and it is not known if any live material of the variety still exists. In the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains near the Hocking Hills Le Petit Chevalier Vineyards and Farm Winery provides guests the opportunity to taste Alexander wine from vines grown in the vineyard.

Synonyms

Alexander is also known under the

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

s Alexandria, Black Cape, Black Grape, Buck Grape, Cape, Cape Grape, Clifton's Constantia, Clifton's Lombardia, Columbian, Constantia, Farkers Grape, Madeira of York, Rothrock, Rothrock Of Prince, Schuylkill, Schuylkill Muscadel, Schuylkill Muscadine, Springmill Constantia, Tasker's Grape, Vevay, Vevay Winne, Winne, and York Lisbon.

Other grape varieties

Alexander is also a synonym of another American hybrid grape variety,

Isabella Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpo ...

. There is also a separate Alexander Winter grape variety.

References

{{American wine Hybrid grape varieties