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The Wild Vine: A Forgotten Grape and the Untold Story of American Wine
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288 pages, Hardcover
First published April 25, 2010
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February 25, 2014
I bought a bottle of Norton from Chrysalis Vineyards at the Total Wine and Beer and drank it while reading the book. I suggest you do the same. Call me a method reader.
So...I met the author one night at a fancy shmancy restaurant in DC. He was reviewing it for the Washingtonian magazine, and we were delighting in a once-in-a-lifetime meal. When my friends and I said we were from Richmond, he started telling us about Danial Norton, the man from Richmond who accidentally discovered the Norton grape! So I am biased about this book because of the fond memories I have of that glorious night at the restaurant, and because I am fascinated that this grape that snuck into my life has been from Richmond VA this whole time and I never knew.
I loved this story because I am into Virginia wines. Sadly most historical books bore the snot out of me. I have to admit, that some parts of this book are a wee bit dull. But...as someone who loves wine I found these parts slogging through. Mentions of Horton Winery got me all excited because I love their wines. So...I have a vested interest.
Unfortunately Todd Kliman spilled the beans at dinner about the twist in the book, so I'm not sure if that would have made a difference while I was reading it. (I won't spoil it...I'm not that kind of girl.) But it is interesting.
The reason I gave this four stars and not five is because of Mr. Kliman's writing style. I like literary journalism, and that is more what this book is than a novel. I had trouble with it because he would tease with nuggets of personal info, and then clobber you over the head with his assessment of what he thought was going on. Sometimes that was OK, but sometimes I felt like saying, hey, please let me make up my own mind about what I think about this fact.
The coolest thing to me was that I went to a Virginia Wine Expo right after reading this book. I was on the lookout for the Norton grape. Lo and behold, I found it at the Cooper Vineyards. They have a wine called Noche with Norton grapes and chocolate flavor that knocks my socks off. The weird thing is...when I came home, I discovered that I had written "Cooper Vineyards - Noche" on my list of good things from about 4 or 5 years ago. I found it interesting because that wild vine that winds through this book also has a path through mine.
So...I met the author one night at a fancy shmancy restaurant in DC. He was reviewing it for the Washingtonian magazine, and we were delighting in a once-in-a-lifetime meal. When my friends and I said we were from Richmond, he started telling us about Danial Norton, the man from Richmond who accidentally discovered the Norton grape! So I am biased about this book because of the fond memories I have of that glorious night at the restaurant, and because I am fascinated that this grape that snuck into my life has been from Richmond VA this whole time and I never knew.
I loved this story because I am into Virginia wines. Sadly most historical books bore the snot out of me. I have to admit, that some parts of this book are a wee bit dull. But...as someone who loves wine I found these parts slogging through. Mentions of Horton Winery got me all excited because I love their wines. So...I have a vested interest.
Unfortunately Todd Kliman spilled the beans at dinner about the twist in the book, so I'm not sure if that would have made a difference while I was reading it. (I won't spoil it...I'm not that kind of girl.) But it is interesting.
The reason I gave this four stars and not five is because of Mr. Kliman's writing style. I like literary journalism, and that is more what this book is than a novel. I had trouble with it because he would tease with nuggets of personal info, and then clobber you over the head with his assessment of what he thought was going on. Sometimes that was OK, but sometimes I felt like saying, hey, please let me make up my own mind about what I think about this fact.
The coolest thing to me was that I went to a Virginia Wine Expo right after reading this book. I was on the lookout for the Norton grape. Lo and behold, I found it at the Cooper Vineyards. They have a wine called Noche with Norton grapes and chocolate flavor that knocks my socks off. The weird thing is...when I came home, I discovered that I had written "Cooper Vineyards - Noche" on my list of good things from about 4 or 5 years ago. I found it interesting because that wild vine that winds through this book also has a path through mine.
September 18, 2020
I started this book when I first moved to the east coast 10 years ago. I got distracted and didn’t make much progress. On the 10th year of my arrival I’m glad I finally finished it. After reading the first few chapters in 2010 I sought out Chrysalis Winery. It became a staple of my Virginia winery visits, bringing friends and dates here over the years, and almost getting married here in 2016 (we chose another winery that had more/better bathrooms haha). Now, after finally reading the rest of the book, I’m shocked to find out some absolutely amazing facts I never knew, including about the Norton grape, the owner Jenni who I’ve had the pleasure of meeting a couple of times, and the history of wine in Virginia. The book, while it starts and ends as a story about Virginia wine, very much becomes a history of wine in all of America. Highly recommend the read, but make sure you pick up a few bottles of Chrysalis Norton (and maybe the amazing 2008 Tannat) to accompany you along the journey.
March 7, 2021
The Wild Vine: A Forgotten Grape and the Untold Story of American Wine 3 1/2 stars, rounding down
Another book I found in my travels through the donations at my library. Honestly, I thought it would end up being a DNF. Surprisingly Kliman hooked me.
The book tells the story of a single grape, The Norton, and it's history through the ages. I enjoyed the extensive research by the author, and it has sparked my interest enough to find a bottle of Norton's grape and see if it stands up to the author's praise.🍷 I will let you know!
Another book I found in my travels through the donations at my library. Honestly, I thought it would end up being a DNF. Surprisingly Kliman hooked me.
The book tells the story of a single grape, The Norton, and it's history through the ages. I enjoyed the extensive research by the author, and it has sparked my interest enough to find a bottle of Norton's grape and see if it stands up to the author's praise.🍷 I will let you know!
November 3, 2023
About the Norton grape variety, one of the very few north American grapes that makes decent wine, and withstands diseases wo spraying fungicides .
A good read.
A good read.
June 6, 2025
Extremely well written and interesting. I better appreciate the native Norton grape, and being from Missoura with easy access, I had a few glasses to accompany this read 😁
June 15, 2020
The best section was the middle, about wine country in Missouri. The last 60 pages got a little... strange? Not sure I LOVE him digging into a trans women's past like that, but I think it's meant respectfully, and he takes pains to avoid deadnaming her. (spoilers, I guess? I wasn't expecting this at all in a wine book)
An enjoyable read about a niche history.
An enjoyable read about a niche history.
February 11, 2018
The Wild Vine perhaps didn't contain the most compelling writing, so it's been shelved a few times as other books have caught my attention while reading it. I finally, a couple weeks ago after a trip to Missouri where I brought back a case of Nortons, picked it up again and read it all the way through.
Regardless, I love the idea of exploring the history of a single grape, and doing so in a narrative style. Once I really got into it, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of travelling with the author and searching for the story of one of my favorite wines.
Ever since finishing it I've been searching for more books about interesting wines, and only coming up with dry, encyclopedic collections with just brief descriptions of the people and cultures that made the wine or grape happen. Hopefully there are more books like this one out there somewhere that I've yet to find.
Regardless, I love the idea of exploring the history of a single grape, and doing so in a narrative style. Once I really got into it, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of travelling with the author and searching for the story of one of my favorite wines.
Ever since finishing it I've been searching for more books about interesting wines, and only coming up with dry, encyclopedic collections with just brief descriptions of the people and cultures that made the wine or grape happen. Hopefully there are more books like this one out there somewhere that I've yet to find.
July 19, 2019
Beautifully written story of wine in the United States from the time of Thomas Jefferson to the present and the struggle of two wine growers, one in Missouri(!!) and the other in Virginia, to prove that an American grape can produce great wine. Kliman himself becomes a convert to the Norton grape and so traces its history from its discovery by Norton in Virginia in the early 1800’s, its journey to Missouri by German immigrants searching for a new-world wine-making grape, its award-winning success in Europe, and its disappearance with prohibition. I that time,not only was every bottle and cask of any product with alcohol destroyed,but in the case of winemaking, even the vineyards, and every plant in them were uprooted and destroyed. So in the 12 years before repeal, the Norton grape disappeared. I found this point of view of American history fascinating.
September 26, 2019
3.5 stars. This has a lot of potential and with a little additional editing I think is easily 4 stars and rereadable. There is a lot of information that covers quite a large swath of time, but it bounces around a lot from biography to fan piece to personal memoir and tries to do so using the Norton grape as a common thread. It just feels a bit too much. Any one or even two of the story lines would have felt more cohesive. Aside from what may have just been a personal issue with that story telling technique, a really interesting history of the Norton grape is discussed and makes you want to go out and try some or visit the wineries.
February 18, 2022
A little slow on the start but glad I stuck with it. I picked this book up at Stonehill Winery in Hermann Mo. last year. We visit the area once or twice a year as it is just a couple hours drive. Loved the history of the grape, now I need to get a bottle of Norton as I’m very intrigued by this wine.
January 5, 2025
Couldn't finish this book. It was fine when they were talking about the winery and some of the history of the Norton grape, but this books reads like the author did a lot of research, learned a whole bunch and decided to put every bit of information into this book. It kept winding into dull parts of history that neither lent to the story nor distracted you by being interesting.
February 22, 2011
A beautifully written, evocative book
As a foodie living just across the river from a slew of up-and-coming Virginia wineries, how could I not be drawn to a book on an all-but-forgotten and all-American grape?
Little did I know that there would be much more to this book than a lively treatise on American wine history and culture. From the first chapter of Wild Vine, it was patently clear that I was being taken along on a personal quest, a quest that would take me back in time and into the company of mavericks and renegades. In short, this was a tale --one to unfold and develop; one to be savored like fine wine.
I won’t rehash here the essentials of the story, which the publisher’s blurb does quite nicely already, thank you very much. Instead, I’ll address what I found most satisfying about the book, hopefully without giving too much away. (And, dear reader, there is an unexpected surprise in store for you… and that’s ALL I’m going to tell you. Oh, perhaps just a little hint later on… Goodness, I sound like a schoolgirl. Too bad!)
I very much liked Todd Kliman’s style. Let it speak for itself:
“Throughout his twenties and even into his thirties, Daniel Norton had waited in vain for his life to start, and now everything he had worked for and wished for arrived in a rush -- as though Fortune had decided to repay him, all at once, for all it had taken from him, all at once. Lucy bore him five children. A new life, a new wife, and now a boisterous, bountiful household. The gloom was gone. The pallor that hung about the rooms, gone. The brooding, the anguish, the guilt - gone, all of them gone.”
What I like about this particular passage are its cadences. There’s a lushness of vocabulary, too, and a kind of poetic urgency. Some might find Kliman’s prose overwrought, but I find it stops shy of being overwritten. Instead, it’s bold and unafraid of sentiment. The part of me that appreciates the high-seas swashbuckling tales of Rafael Sabitini stood up and cheered.
And I have to say, too, that while I have often criticized authors for inserting themselves unnecessarily into the narrative, I very much enjoyed Kliman’s appearances in this one. There’s a reason he’s in the book – his tale is one of personal journeys, but on multiple levels.
Did I just say multiple levels? Hats off to handling a very complex narrative in a seamless way. There’s a lot of going back-and-forth in time here. (This is another thing that I confess often annoys me – the modern tendency to have multiple “threads” that are successively – and at times needlessly – interwoven. If there’s one thing I admire, it’s making me confront and squash a prejudice.)
But most of all, I enjoyed the people in Wild Vine, which begins with the author’s first visit to the central figure, Jenni McCloud, owner of Chrysalis Vineyards in Virginia. (By the way, the name of that vineyard is the clue to the surprise I mentioned above. There’s another clue the author will give you later on, but I raced right over it with only a momentary furrow of the brow. Perhaps you’ll do better now that I’ve given you a heads-up.)
Almost every chapter introduces yet another link in the Norton chain, each person painted with vigor and dash. I especially liked Henry Vizetelly, “so singular…so flamboyant and unpredictable, given to regarding life as grand, improvisatory theater, that wherever he went, the air stirred in his wake - news was made, and controversy inevitably followed. He atomized a room. “ Poor Daniel Norton, if I may indulge in a slight criticism, pales in comparison. (One is ever so glad when Norton stops moping around Richmond and starts fiddling with grapes.)
In addition to these virtues, Wild Vine was educational. I’m not a wine snob, far from it, but neither am I a wine neophyte. Most people, however, are more intimidated by wine than they’d care to admit. Here Kliman sheds some light on a fascinating world, and he works in a good dollop of American history to boot. For example, did you know that in 1870 Missouri led the U.S. in wine production? Read, too, of how California got its start, quickly overtaking poor Missouri, and how California wines part ways with European tradition. It’s something to ponder next time you uncork a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon.
It’s no coincidence – indeed, it’s clear that the author intentionally wrote a book that has multiple parallels to the cultivation and enjoyment of wine:
“To learn about wine, as I was doing, was to appreciate more than varietals and pairings, more than vintages and estates. It was to appreciate the process, the elemental, irreducible cycle that is at the heart of nature and of life. Before there is something to drink, a seed has to be planted, then nurtured. Then the ripening of the vine and the budding of the fruit. Pressing, extraction, barreling. Finally, fermentation, the mysterious transformation of something sweet and grapey into something fine and subtle."
That “mysterious transformation” is at the heart of the book. Oh dear, there’s another hint. And I said I wouldn’t. Don’t let my mendacious ways prejudice you. This is one hell of a book.
As a foodie living just across the river from a slew of up-and-coming Virginia wineries, how could I not be drawn to a book on an all-but-forgotten and all-American grape?
Little did I know that there would be much more to this book than a lively treatise on American wine history and culture. From the first chapter of Wild Vine, it was patently clear that I was being taken along on a personal quest, a quest that would take me back in time and into the company of mavericks and renegades. In short, this was a tale --one to unfold and develop; one to be savored like fine wine.
I won’t rehash here the essentials of the story, which the publisher’s blurb does quite nicely already, thank you very much. Instead, I’ll address what I found most satisfying about the book, hopefully without giving too much away. (And, dear reader, there is an unexpected surprise in store for you… and that’s ALL I’m going to tell you. Oh, perhaps just a little hint later on… Goodness, I sound like a schoolgirl. Too bad!)
I very much liked Todd Kliman’s style. Let it speak for itself:
“Throughout his twenties and even into his thirties, Daniel Norton had waited in vain for his life to start, and now everything he had worked for and wished for arrived in a rush -- as though Fortune had decided to repay him, all at once, for all it had taken from him, all at once. Lucy bore him five children. A new life, a new wife, and now a boisterous, bountiful household. The gloom was gone. The pallor that hung about the rooms, gone. The brooding, the anguish, the guilt - gone, all of them gone.”
What I like about this particular passage are its cadences. There’s a lushness of vocabulary, too, and a kind of poetic urgency. Some might find Kliman’s prose overwrought, but I find it stops shy of being overwritten. Instead, it’s bold and unafraid of sentiment. The part of me that appreciates the high-seas swashbuckling tales of Rafael Sabitini stood up and cheered.
And I have to say, too, that while I have often criticized authors for inserting themselves unnecessarily into the narrative, I very much enjoyed Kliman’s appearances in this one. There’s a reason he’s in the book – his tale is one of personal journeys, but on multiple levels.
Did I just say multiple levels? Hats off to handling a very complex narrative in a seamless way. There’s a lot of going back-and-forth in time here. (This is another thing that I confess often annoys me – the modern tendency to have multiple “threads” that are successively – and at times needlessly – interwoven. If there’s one thing I admire, it’s making me confront and squash a prejudice.)
But most of all, I enjoyed the people in Wild Vine, which begins with the author’s first visit to the central figure, Jenni McCloud, owner of Chrysalis Vineyards in Virginia. (By the way, the name of that vineyard is the clue to the surprise I mentioned above. There’s another clue the author will give you later on, but I raced right over it with only a momentary furrow of the brow. Perhaps you’ll do better now that I’ve given you a heads-up.)
Almost every chapter introduces yet another link in the Norton chain, each person painted with vigor and dash. I especially liked Henry Vizetelly, “so singular…so flamboyant and unpredictable, given to regarding life as grand, improvisatory theater, that wherever he went, the air stirred in his wake - news was made, and controversy inevitably followed. He atomized a room. “ Poor Daniel Norton, if I may indulge in a slight criticism, pales in comparison. (One is ever so glad when Norton stops moping around Richmond and starts fiddling with grapes.)
In addition to these virtues, Wild Vine was educational. I’m not a wine snob, far from it, but neither am I a wine neophyte. Most people, however, are more intimidated by wine than they’d care to admit. Here Kliman sheds some light on a fascinating world, and he works in a good dollop of American history to boot. For example, did you know that in 1870 Missouri led the U.S. in wine production? Read, too, of how California got its start, quickly overtaking poor Missouri, and how California wines part ways with European tradition. It’s something to ponder next time you uncork a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon.
It’s no coincidence – indeed, it’s clear that the author intentionally wrote a book that has multiple parallels to the cultivation and enjoyment of wine:
“To learn about wine, as I was doing, was to appreciate more than varietals and pairings, more than vintages and estates. It was to appreciate the process, the elemental, irreducible cycle that is at the heart of nature and of life. Before there is something to drink, a seed has to be planted, then nurtured. Then the ripening of the vine and the budding of the fruit. Pressing, extraction, barreling. Finally, fermentation, the mysterious transformation of something sweet and grapey into something fine and subtle."
That “mysterious transformation” is at the heart of the book. Oh dear, there’s another hint. And I said I wouldn’t. Don’t let my mendacious ways prejudice you. This is one hell of a book.
August 29, 2019
A must read for everyone. All about the Norton. The forgotten grape not only known as a Missouri native, my husbands favorites the grape is believed to have first been a native of France. We also loved Divine Vintage, a book about following the wine trail from Genesis to Modern Age.
September 15, 2021
Every American wine lover needs to read this book. The Norton, it is a great fruity grape that I was lucky to work for a winemaker in Oklahoma, Gary Butler, who used the Cynthia Grape for wonderful big reds.
August 29, 2023
A little long winded at times, but overall an enjoyable wine story from American wine history. If you were a reader of Gerald Asher's Gourmet Columns during the mid-90s this will connect a lot of dots for you.
October 10, 2024
I found this an entertaining read by a poetic author. It was much more reseaeched than I expected. The personal stories and historical characters were brought to life, from both the past and recent present.
August 5, 2019
Not a page-turner, but good book on history of American wine.
August 28, 2021
If you want to learn more about the original US grapes and wine history, this is a great read! Thoroughly enjoyed it!
September 5, 2021
Lots of interesting bits of history but not as organized as I'd like and has a habit of dtifting off into philosophizing.
January 5, 2024
A very interesting read; covering the early wineries in Virginia and Missouri; tying them to California and grape varietals. Also some nice life lessons. A lot of information; but not a dry read.
February 10, 2014
"She runs her fingers through the tiny blue-black orbs, like a jeweler showing off the quality of the pearls. 'That's history, right there. The native grape of America. Good old Norton. Born right here in Virginia, in Richmond.'" Jenni McCloud is the exuberant woman who introduces the author to the Norton grape and Kliman credits her with so much knowledge of "the doctor" that she could be his biographer.
In 1821 Daniel Norton was "at a single blow of destiny made a childless widower." In his depression over the loss of his wife and child, he contemplated suicide. "What saved him was a grape." His garden had always been his respite, he was an amateur horticulturist so that is where he went for healing from his loss, to the soil. The grape and vine became Norton's salve from sorrow and in time he "produced a wine on native ground that would not succumb to disease and was above all drinkable." At long last!
Daniel Norton's life finally turns around when he remarries a young woman, Lucy Marshall fisher and they eventually have five children. In the golden age of Norton, roughly 1870-1890 the wine was prized nearly as much for medicinal purposes as it was for plain old enjoyment. But the gold medal at an international exhibition in Vienna in 1873 was the pinnacle of success.
But by forty-seven, Daniel is dead of dysentery and it is then that F. W. Lemosy comes along to claim his father discovered the 'Norton' grape around 1835 near Richmond. An 1883 nursery catalog, Bush & son & Meissner, credit a Dr. F. A. Lemosq for the grape's discovery. Norton is dead and there is no defending himself against the claim and thus discredited, fades into oblivion.
Thomas Jefferson tried without success for thirty years at his Monticello home to grow a good wine grape. Destiny almost brings the two men together when on March 22,1824 cuttings of Norton's grapes arrive at the counting house of Jefferson's agent. Intending the cuttings for Jefferson's grandson, Jefferson Randolph, Norton never hears back from him.
Growing good wine grapes in America, however, started long before the 1800's. It was actually a priority when the colonies were established in the 1600's. The problem was that the grapes grown produced a wine with 'foxiness' and had the bouquet of wet dog. It was such a priority that the households were required to plant and maintain ten vines with the purpose of producing wine. Penalty for not doing so was death. The problem with that edict is that the colonists were water drinkers not wine drinkers and to the Governor that was an inexcusable error on the part of the colonists.
This history of the Norton grape and wine making in America in general makes very interesting reading. And good Americans love to root for the underdog and find at long last, "that the despised and condemned grape" eventually proves its worth.
I really appreciated the history of American wine and the Norton grape. The east coast has always seemed a terrible place for growing wine grapes and frankly, I have had some bad wine produced in Maryland and Virginia so this was very interesting to read that it all began there and not California.
I also liked Todd Kliman's conversant style about the history of wine in America and the lives of those who made it happen. Kliman manages to give us historical accuracy and give it in a very engaging style.
In 1821 Daniel Norton was "at a single blow of destiny made a childless widower." In his depression over the loss of his wife and child, he contemplated suicide. "What saved him was a grape." His garden had always been his respite, he was an amateur horticulturist so that is where he went for healing from his loss, to the soil. The grape and vine became Norton's salve from sorrow and in time he "produced a wine on native ground that would not succumb to disease and was above all drinkable." At long last!
Daniel Norton's life finally turns around when he remarries a young woman, Lucy Marshall fisher and they eventually have five children. In the golden age of Norton, roughly 1870-1890 the wine was prized nearly as much for medicinal purposes as it was for plain old enjoyment. But the gold medal at an international exhibition in Vienna in 1873 was the pinnacle of success.
But by forty-seven, Daniel is dead of dysentery and it is then that F. W. Lemosy comes along to claim his father discovered the 'Norton' grape around 1835 near Richmond. An 1883 nursery catalog, Bush & son & Meissner, credit a Dr. F. A. Lemosq for the grape's discovery. Norton is dead and there is no defending himself against the claim and thus discredited, fades into oblivion.
Thomas Jefferson tried without success for thirty years at his Monticello home to grow a good wine grape. Destiny almost brings the two men together when on March 22,1824 cuttings of Norton's grapes arrive at the counting house of Jefferson's agent. Intending the cuttings for Jefferson's grandson, Jefferson Randolph, Norton never hears back from him.
Growing good wine grapes in America, however, started long before the 1800's. It was actually a priority when the colonies were established in the 1600's. The problem was that the grapes grown produced a wine with 'foxiness' and had the bouquet of wet dog. It was such a priority that the households were required to plant and maintain ten vines with the purpose of producing wine. Penalty for not doing so was death. The problem with that edict is that the colonists were water drinkers not wine drinkers and to the Governor that was an inexcusable error on the part of the colonists.
This history of the Norton grape and wine making in America in general makes very interesting reading. And good Americans love to root for the underdog and find at long last, "that the despised and condemned grape" eventually proves its worth.
I really appreciated the history of American wine and the Norton grape. The east coast has always seemed a terrible place for growing wine grapes and frankly, I have had some bad wine produced in Maryland and Virginia so this was very interesting to read that it all began there and not California.
I also liked Todd Kliman's conversant style about the history of wine in America and the lives of those who made it happen. Kliman manages to give us historical accuracy and give it in a very engaging style.
February 26, 2017
If you're at all interested in wind and its American 'roots,' this is an excellent read. And if you're from Missouri, it should be mandatory reading.
January 19, 2013
The Wild Vine by Todd Kilman
This a very interesting book about the history of Wine in America. More specifically it is about the first attempt to make wine from a Native American grape, vitus nortoni, or the Norton grape. Though Thomas Jefferson was not able to jump start the American Wine Culture, a life time pursuit of his, his enthusiasm and support eventually set many colonial farmers on the path to cultivating grapes for wine in America. Dr. Daniel Norton, an amateur horticulturalist, while attempting to graft a self-fertilizing species of V. labrusca, accidentally left the stigmata exposed in the field, by not covering it with a bag. The pollen of a native variety V. aestivalis, which he had planted near by, fertilized the V. labrusca and produced the first Norton Grape.
The grape was cultivated in Virginia and Missouri for many years and made many inroads toward wine production in America. In 1873 at an exhibition in Vienna, a bottle of Norton won a medal and was declared one of the greatest red wines in the world. In 1878 a Norton bottle won another medal at the Universal Exhibition in Paris.
The native American wine industry appeared to be on it’s way by the late 1800s, but sadly Prohibition reared up its ugly head and in a period of a few years wiped out the fledgling American wine industry. Areas closes to the seat of the federal government were the hardest hit. Virginia, and Missouri, where the Norton was mainly cultivated, saw its wineries destroyed. Casts and barrels cut to pieces with wine spilling into the streets. Wine making equipment destroyed. In the fields and vineyards, vines were uprooted, by Carrie Nation’s rabid supporters and Federal agents.
It would not be till around the 1960s that the Norton would start a comeback after a few wild vines were found growing in an old bootlegger’s farm.
To this day, America is still reluctant to accept the Norton and make it its’ own. The marketing and popularity of California wines, grown from European vines still predominates.
This a very interesting book about the history of Wine in America. More specifically it is about the first attempt to make wine from a Native American grape, vitus nortoni, or the Norton grape. Though Thomas Jefferson was not able to jump start the American Wine Culture, a life time pursuit of his, his enthusiasm and support eventually set many colonial farmers on the path to cultivating grapes for wine in America. Dr. Daniel Norton, an amateur horticulturalist, while attempting to graft a self-fertilizing species of V. labrusca, accidentally left the stigmata exposed in the field, by not covering it with a bag. The pollen of a native variety V. aestivalis, which he had planted near by, fertilized the V. labrusca and produced the first Norton Grape.
The grape was cultivated in Virginia and Missouri for many years and made many inroads toward wine production in America. In 1873 at an exhibition in Vienna, a bottle of Norton won a medal and was declared one of the greatest red wines in the world. In 1878 a Norton bottle won another medal at the Universal Exhibition in Paris.
The native American wine industry appeared to be on it’s way by the late 1800s, but sadly Prohibition reared up its ugly head and in a period of a few years wiped out the fledgling American wine industry. Areas closes to the seat of the federal government were the hardest hit. Virginia, and Missouri, where the Norton was mainly cultivated, saw its wineries destroyed. Casts and barrels cut to pieces with wine spilling into the streets. Wine making equipment destroyed. In the fields and vineyards, vines were uprooted, by Carrie Nation’s rabid supporters and Federal agents.
It would not be till around the 1960s that the Norton would start a comeback after a few wild vines were found growing in an old bootlegger’s farm.
To this day, America is still reluctant to accept the Norton and make it its’ own. The marketing and popularity of California wines, grown from European vines still predominates.
October 28, 2011
I read this book after an improbable discovery. Three summers ago I went with my wife on a wine tasting tour around Birmingham, Al (one of our favorite short vacation cities). My mother suggested a North Alabama Wine Trail due to the fact that wineries are springing up there. We went to one of the recommended ones and honestly I wasn't expecting much. The taster said that the wine was grown on their property. I was anticipating some skunky muscadine. What I tasted blew me away. I asked them again, "you grow this, here, in Alabama?" The wine that I tasted was made from the Norton grape, which is what this book is all about. It's kind of like a biography of the true American grape, complete with it's father (Dr. Daniel Norton of Richmond Virginia, circa 1810), it's early years of being established in a small town in Missouri, it's rise to prominence (it won the 1873 World Wine Cup in Vienna and was declared the best wine of all the nations) and it's disappearance during prohibition and final rediscovery during the past 20 year. The book also tells the story of it's current champions and vinters and their drive to revive the grape to national prominence.
I've now tasted some of the best Norton's in the country and recently went back to the same winery in Alabama where I originally made the discovery. The book was a great read and not just about the grape, but the development of American viticulture. I recommend it to anyone that likes wine, just make to have a glass of Norton available because you will want to drink while you read!
I've now tasted some of the best Norton's in the country and recently went back to the same winery in Alabama where I originally made the discovery. The book was a great read and not just about the grape, but the development of American viticulture. I recommend it to anyone that likes wine, just make to have a glass of Norton available because you will want to drink while you read!
August 14, 2016
One of the pieces of advice that people often give for public speaking is that you shouldn't say something like "I am not much of a public speaker..." when you begin. It automatically tells the audience you have no confidence and perhaps are not worth listening to.
Throughout this book, the author frequently undermines the reasons why I should care about the Norton grape. At the 1873 Vienna World Exposition, a Norton wine from Hermann, Missouri won a gold medal. OK, that is interesting, but if a tree falls in the woods and no one hears it, does it make a sound? Apparently not. No one outside of Hermann, Missouri even thought it worth reporting on. Even the newspapers from St. Louis, just 80 miles away didn't mention it.
So, why try to make a whole book that follows the rise and fall of the Norton grape in Missouri and later in Virginia? I guess I don't know.
I would argue that the book could have been half the length, and it was only 288 pages to begin with. Much of the rest of the book is filled with mediocre and sometimes poor writing. The main characters that the author trails in trying to learn something of the modern Norton grape are lacking charisma.
I had high hopes for this book and ended up very disappointed.
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Gift from Genna
Throughout this book, the author frequently undermines the reasons why I should care about the Norton grape. At the 1873 Vienna World Exposition, a Norton wine from Hermann, Missouri won a gold medal. OK, that is interesting, but if a tree falls in the woods and no one hears it, does it make a sound? Apparently not. No one outside of Hermann, Missouri even thought it worth reporting on. Even the newspapers from St. Louis, just 80 miles away didn't mention it.
So, why try to make a whole book that follows the rise and fall of the Norton grape in Missouri and later in Virginia? I guess I don't know.
I would argue that the book could have been half the length, and it was only 288 pages to begin with. Much of the rest of the book is filled with mediocre and sometimes poor writing. The main characters that the author trails in trying to learn something of the modern Norton grape are lacking charisma.
I had high hopes for this book and ended up very disappointed.
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Gift from Genna
September 3, 2016
One can’t have an interested in local food in mid-Missouri without being aware of the Norton grape. Norton is the “serious red” made from a native grape, and now, once again, produced by a few of the new wineries growing up in the Midwest, as well as some in Kliman’s Virginia. Around 2004-2005 David Lind, a friend of mine, was involved in project for MU –extension, producing a map of regional food and wine. I think he was the first person I knew to actually drink Nortons and talk up the local grape. I have even bought Nortons on occasion, especially when visiting local vineries that produce them. If not exactly a fan, I am acquainted. Kliman’s prose is occasionally overwrought, and he does ramble a bit, but I enjoyed his attempt to trace the history of this mostly neglected grape. He spends some time in the archives, tracing the story of Dr. Daniel Norton of Virginia, who in the 1820s cultivated and registered the Norton grape. Other chapters are centered on the winemaking industry in nearby Hermann, Missouri—its rise with German immigrants who began making Norton wine in the 1870s, and the near demise during prohibition. Kliman seeks out fellow enthusiasts who are now makingcommercial wine from the Norton grape. This is an easy read, and fun for the local lore.
April 16, 2010
I was fortunate in getting a publisher's ARC copy of this book a couple months before release. Great book about the truly American Norton grape and its wines (not to be confused with eastern muscadine wine and worse). This book reads like a novel as the author ping pongs you back-and-forth between 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries introducing wonderful characters that all were concerned in making legitimate American wines. Bottom line, after two centuries of experimentation, America now has wonderful examples of Norton (Cynthiana)wines being produced in 180 vineyards in twenty-two states. Treat yourself to a good read with a good wine. You will learn that this is a wine that needs to breathe (open up for 30 minutes) before consuming. I suggest Norton wine examples from Cooper & Chrysalis (VA); White Oaks (AL); Three Sisters (GA); Elk Creek (KY); Stone Mountain Cellars (PA); Crown & Century Farms (TN), and Blumenhof, Heinrichshaus, Chandler Hill, Adam Pushta, Montelle, Robller, & Stonehill's Cross J (MO). Todd Kliman's research provides a beautifully presented, sensitive account of a hard story which needs more understanding and exposure.
May 8, 2013
Are you interested in wine and wine-making? And in Virginia wines and wine-making, in particular? If you are, this could be the book for you.
The book starts with Thomas Jefferson, who during his time in France became enamored with French wines, and wanted to grow the same grapes near Monticello. Alas, he never succeeded.
But during this same time, a physician was experimenting with hybridizing grapes in his own attempt to develop a strain that would grow in the US. And he succeeded!
Alas, when grapevines were ripped out of the ground during Prohibition (earlier version of the War on Drugs), this grape variety was almost lost.
In modern days the book tells the story of a winemaker, now near Middleburg, who is dedicated to producing wine from this American grape. That, too, is a fascinating story.
The book is written by an experienced journalist, so it's a very enjoyable read. The narrative carries you along, keeping your interest as the story develops.
I enjoyed the book, and now keep a couple of wines made from the Norton grape in my cellar, and enjoy them from time to time.
The book starts with Thomas Jefferson, who during his time in France became enamored with French wines, and wanted to grow the same grapes near Monticello. Alas, he never succeeded.
But during this same time, a physician was experimenting with hybridizing grapes in his own attempt to develop a strain that would grow in the US. And he succeeded!
Alas, when grapevines were ripped out of the ground during Prohibition (earlier version of the War on Drugs), this grape variety was almost lost.
In modern days the book tells the story of a winemaker, now near Middleburg, who is dedicated to producing wine from this American grape. That, too, is a fascinating story.
The book is written by an experienced journalist, so it's a very enjoyable read. The narrative carries you along, keeping your interest as the story develops.
I enjoyed the book, and now keep a couple of wines made from the Norton grape in my cellar, and enjoy them from time to time.
August 12, 2014
I wanted to rate this higher. I do think it's worth reading because the story it tells is fascinating. I just wish someone else had told the story. The Wild Vine tells the story of the Norton grape, the only grape native to the United States that makes a really great red wine. In telling the story of the Norton, we learn about the early obsession of the Europeans who came to this continent with producing wine on American soil, the importance of wine in the British Colonies and newly independent U.S., and an interesting German wine-making settlement in Missouri. The author revolves his story around a modern winemaker in Virginia who is passionate about the Norton grape and who has a very interesting story of self-transformation. It all should be so engaging. But it's not. If you're in Virginia go to the Chrysalis or Horton wineries and let them tell you the story and taste the wine. If you're on the west coast, not even the most knowledgeable wine shop sommeliers have even heard of the Norton grape (but there is a Norton winery in Chile that is very popular here).
July 9, 2014
I purchased The Wild Vine in Hermann, MO after drinking a very good bottle of red wine produced from the Norton grape at the local Stone Hill Winery. I have a weakness for local histories. I pick them up during our cross-country travels. They rarely disappoint, even if they aren't always outstanding examples of literary skill. The Wild Vine is no exception. Kliman tells his tale as a mix of economic and cultural history, a romance and a mystery. The different approaches clash occasionally but the core of the story kept me interested--the search for and creation of a hybrid American grape that would be the foundation of a red wine made from an American grape. I learned about the spread across middle America of the Norton grape in the 19th Century, its disappearance with the onset of Prohibition and its re-emergence since the mid-1960s. The book is a fun read. It is a portrait of American ingenuity. I plan to stop more frequently at local wineries on our cross-country journeys to learn what other gems are out there.
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