Discover the characteristics and qualities of the Nobel Muscadine grape
The first documented attempt to make wine in the New World occurred at Jamestown in 1608, using native scuppernong grapes. Interestingly, some historical accounts suggest that the first wine produced in America may have been made in Jacksonville, Florida around the same time. These early wines, however, did not satisfy European tastes.
Lord Delaware introduced the first European grapevines to the North American mainland in 1619. The colonists had previously abandoned efforts to make palatable wine with native grapes and hoped the French varieties would thrive. Unfortunately, these European vines faced numerous obstacles in the colonies, including warm summers and susceptibility to phylloxera and other diseases that were not present in Europe.
In Florida specifically, French colonists were among the first to attempt winemaking. René Goulaine de Laudonnière, a lieutenant of the French explorer Jean Ribault, established a colony of about 200 settlers in 1564 at Fort Caroline, located on the St. Johns River near present-day Jacksonville. One of the colonists noted in a letter that they had found an abundance of wild grapes and hoped to make wine from them in the near future.
After the Spanish ejected the French from Florida in 1565, Franciscan missionaries established a series of Catholic missions throughout the region. These missionaries cultivated grapes for making sacramental wines. When John Lee Williams of St. Augustine happened upon the site of Mission San Luis de Apalachee near present-day Tallahassee in 1823, he noted that trees and grape vines were growing in distinct rows, despite having been overtaken by other brush, suggesting organized cultivation.
The first European varietals were brought into California in 1767 by Spanish Padres from Mexico who established a chain of missions from San Diego to Sonoma from 1767 to 1833. The grape they introduced, known as the Mission grape, produced wines of modest quality but represented the first successful establishment of European grape varieties in what would become the United States.
When Florida became a United States possession in 1821, incoming settlers and their leaders prioritized determining which industries and agricultural products were best suited to the area. In 1826, a committee of legislators reported on the agricultural potential of the territory, noting that Florida presented "strong inducements" for people who wanted to start groves and vineyards.
Despite this optimism, census data reveals that wine production in Florida remained minimal throughout much of the 19th century. Census takers reported only 50 gallons of wine made across the entire state in 1850, and only 386 gallons in 1860. These figures, while likely underreported, indicate that wine production had not gained significant traction.
Florida actually had a large grape industry in the 1920s, but plantings of V. vinifera and existing hybrids failed due to a disease that was initially known as vine degeneration, later renamed Pierce's disease. This bacterial disease killed V. vinifera grapes and hybrids but was relatively harmless to muscadines. At the time, muscadines were not popular for winemaking or the fresh-fruit market.
Continued interest in viticulture by Florida farmers led to the formal establishment of a UF/IFAS grape breeding program, led initially by Loren Stover and then by John Mortensen. The program focused on developing varieties that could withstand Florida's challenging environment.