Indigenous American wine recommendations?

December 13, 2016 11:08 AM

I'm looking to get some ~$20 bottles of wine made from North American-native grapes, such as Scuppernong, Niagara, Catawba, Baco Noir, and Norton.

I'm looking for a Christmas present for family friends who pretty much have anything they want, so I thought a uniquely (and hopefully delicious) American wine to try would be a fun gift for them, especially since most wines are from the vitis vinifera species of grape.

Does anyone have recommendations on great native American varietals and wines to look at that I could buy at a place like Binny's for maybe under $20 a bottle? I'm located near Chicago.

posted by FelineoidEntity to Food & Drink (6 answers total)

Duplin Winery specializes in muscadines and scuppernong wines. That's unlikely to be found at Binny's, but they do ship to IL.
posted by aimedwander at 11:23 AM on December 13, 2016 [1 favorite]

Navoo Winery seems to have some bottles made with native grapes. It looks like their wine is available in Illinois locations, and can be shipped as well.
posted by Kpele at 11:25 AM on December 13, 2016

Best answer: Here's a 2010 article on indigenous American grapes, with comments providing some suggestions of wines and wineries to try. The top comment is more recent, from someone at Mercer House Estate Winery in South Carolina. It doesn't look like it's available at Binny's, but they do ship.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:27 AM on December 13, 2016

Digging around Binny's website, you can search for the grapes by name and sift through the results to find things like Illinois Cellars Norton, 'made from "America's First Red Wine Grape",' and there's a few inexpensive Catawba-labeled wines. St. James Pink Catawba has favorable reviews.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:33 AM on December 13, 2016 [1 favorite]

Prairie Berry Winery in Hill City, SD, often uses regionally grown cold-resistant grapes such as Brianna and Frontenac, but they also use local fruits such as chokecherries, black currants, and raspberries. They do ship as well.
posted by SamanthaK at 11:44 AM on December 13, 2016 [1 favorite]

Maybe hit up Elizabeth from Wine for Normal People on Twitter for suggestions? @NormalWine
posted by mon-ma-tron at 5:21 PM on December 13, 2016