Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/437957
8 2 V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T | J a n - F e b 2 015 w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m BY DANNY WOOD or decades, leading Midwest winemakers have worked hard to improve the viticulture and winemaking techniques used to tackle Norton, the only grape in America with predominantly native parentage. The result is that the tricky red grape vari- ety is producing better wines than ever before. Norton is coming of age – again. In the mid-19th century, when Mis- souri was at the heart of a fledgling American wine industry, Norton wines won medals in Europe. In 1873, a Nor- ton was declared the "Best Red of All Nations" at an international competition in Vienna – in Austria, not the town of the same name in Virginia. Soon after- ward, rootstock from Norton vines was saving the French wine industry from its devastating phylloxera virus. Today, on the back of a resurgent Mid- west wine industry, Norton is the most planted grape in Missouri and a focus for quality winemaking across the region. The wine attracts a small but enthusias- tic cult following. "Certainly there have never been bet- ter Nortons on the planet than there are today," said Kansas City native Doug Frost, one of a handful of wine experts in Norton is Coming of Age– Again Altered techniques in the vineyard and winery improve wine quality Norton wines just keep getting better.