Life Style / Wine Grapes / Alexander: American variety notable for the historical record. According to Hedrick (Grapes of New York, 1912) the early history of this vine is that of two purported varieties, the Schuykill Muscadell and the Clifton Constantia, both reported as originating as found (before 1804) seedlings in the vicinity of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The former vine was also later given the synonym name of Taskers Grape after a well-known grower in Maryland. Similarly the latter vine was later given the synonym name Cape Grape by a local grower claiming that the variety originated in South Africa and under which name it secured wide distribution. (Reference to the Geilweilerhof database - via link above - discloses that the vine is listed as currently having over 20 synonym names). Both vines were later considered to be an identical V.labrusca x V.vinifera hybrid, (not to be confused with the Alexander Winter vine originated in 1884 by an Ohio grower), requiring a long growing season that precluded successful use in New York and New England. Early descriptions claim the vine unevenly ripened in late season (late October?) in the cooler climates of the USA, having black skinned berries considered quite sweet and musky, 'making a very fair wine' but too pulpy and coarse for tablegrape use. Later, when the Catawba variety was widely introduced the older grape was superceded and finally completely dropped from cultivation. On a modern day note it was recently announced (8/2000) that Alexander variety vines have been planted in the Thomas Jefferson Monticello Vineyard, Monticello, Virginia, as part of a long-term plan to create an authentic reproduction of the 18th century vineyard. Otherwise it is currently regarded as a minor variety of only historical interest.
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