American vine
Cynthiana
How to read this
Capitals mark the stressed syllable. “an” is a nasal vowel: say it through the nose, with no n. The recording is the reference.
Cynthiana is a black American vine, by DNA markers a hybrid with Vitis aestivalis and vinifera in its ancestry, listed in VIVC with Norton as a synonym, tried in the Gironde as a direct producer after phylloxera.
Cynthiana is a black-berried American grape. VIVC lists Norton and Norton’s Virginia among its synonyms, and DNA markers recorded there show that it is a cross of the wild species Vitis aestivalis with a vine that itself descends from Bland, aestivalis, and vinifera. Bordeaux had already joined the 2 names. Reporting in 1881 on the Domaine de Maillard at Yvrac, the commission of the International Phylloxera Congress in Bordeaux set them side by side, after the Herbemont: “The Norton or Cynthiana are also very vigorous, bear far less fruit, but produce an extremely colored wine” («Les Norton ou Cynthiana sont aussi très vigoureux, offrent beaucoup moins de fruits, mais produisent un vin extrêmement coloré.»).
Its best showing was in the Entre-deux-Mers. At Nérigean, in Mme Decazes’s vineyard, the commission found 600 vines laden with Herbemont, Jacquez, and above all Cynthiana, planted only 4 years before. It grew at Langoiran too, and at Cenon M. Sursol granted that it bore few grapes but said it had no mildew. Pierre Viala, the plant pathologist, placed Cynthiana among the vines most resistant to anthracnose in Les maladies de la vigne (1893).
Oldest record in my library: Compte rendu général du Congrès international phylloxérique de Bordeaux, 1881
The family
Parents unknown.
Cynthiana
The discovery: VIVC records Norton as a synonym of Cynthiana (read October 2026), the identity the 1881 Bordeaux congress already wrote as “Norton ou Cynthiana.”
In today’s rules
Not named in the rules of any Bordeaux appellation today.
In the books
“The Norton or Cynthiana are also very vigorous, bear far less fruit, but produce an extremely colored wine.”
Les Norton ou Cynthiana sont aussi très vigoureux, offrent beaucoup moins de fruits, mais produisent un vin extrêmement coloré.
“The Cynthiana is yellow and bears few grapes, but it has no mildew, M. Sursol affirms.”
Le Cynthiana est jaune, porte peu de raisins; mais il n'a pas le mildew, affirme M. Sursol.
“Six hundred vines laden with grapes of Herbemont, Jacquez, and above all Cynthiana astonish the visitor all the more since these vines are only four years old.”
Six cents pieds chargés de raisins d'Herbemont, de Jacquez et surtout de Cynthiana étonnent d'autant plus le visiteur que ces vignes ne datent que de quatre ans !
Sources
- Röckel et al. (2026): Vitis International Variety Catalogue, www.vivc.de, accessed October 2026 (passport CYNTHIANA, VIVC 3304: pedigree as given AESTIVALIS X V.VINIFERA; confirmed by markers VITIS AESTIVALIS X ( (BLAND X VITIS AESTIVALIS) X VITIS VINIFERA); synonyms include NORTON, NORTON'S VIRGINIA; breeder Norton, D.N.)
- Congrès international phylloxérique de Bordeaux, Compte rendu général du Congrès international phylloxérique de Bordeaux (Gironde), du 9 au 16 octobre 1881, 1881, pp. 119 to 121 (Yvrac, Langoiran, Cenon, Nérigean)
- Pierre Viala, Les maladies de la vigne, 3e éd., 1893, p. 215 to 216 (Anthracnose)
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