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 (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

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

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

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

Thomas Penn Thomas Penn (8 March 1702 – 21 March 1775) was an English landowner and mercer who was the chief proprietor of Pennsylvania from 1746 to 1775. Penn is best known for his involvement in negotiating the Walking Purchase, a contested land cessi ...

'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 region, Central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran. There are curre ...

'' 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'' 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 in 1806. The Alexander grape may be extinct, and it is not known if any live material of the variety still exists.

Synonyms

Alexander is also known under the synonyms 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 unincorpora ...

. There is also a separate Alexander Winter grape variety.

References

{{Hybrid grape varieties Hybrid grape varieties