There is an interesting and somewhat mysterious history behind the 'Mission grape' in Texas. I have been interested by this grape for years. Today, I came across a history lesson in Vintage Texas that led to Wine Production in El Paso and the Grapevine Inventory of 1775, by Rick Hendricks, New Mexico State Historian. The essay was probably written around 2004.
The article has a somewhat mangled description of the grape variety in use:
"The vine introduced in New Mexico was of the species Vitis vinifera, the so-called Mission grape. This European grape is assumed to have come from the Mónica, a variety common in Spain. Vitis vinifera produces a grape with a high level of sugar, but it is deficient in acid and color, a fact noted by colonial observers who commented on its characteristics. The wine produced from the Mission grape is sweet. The vine is hardy even in harsh climates and is disease resistant."
This should probably read 'The vine introduced in New Mexico by 1660 is now called 'Mission grape', a European grape. The 'mission' grape is thought to be Mónica, a common Spanish variety. known for high levels of sugar, but deficient acid (flat taste) and color (light red). Colonial commentators pointed out these characteristics when tasting New Mexico wine. The wine produced from the Mission grape is sweet. The vine is hardy even in harsh climates and is disease resistant."
The Monica variety is a minor grape native to Sardinia. Made into both a dry, red wine and also a sweet, spicy red wine.
This seems to match the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) quotes information taken from www.wine-lovers-page.com with regard to the variety 'Mission": "Earliest grape planted in 17th century in what is now the state of California, where it is currently (1997) used to make several styles of wine - 'Criolla' as table wine, 'Angelica', a very long-aged (50+ years) french Ratafia-like fortified wine and some late harvest wines aged for 20+ years that are made from sun-dried grapes. Thought to have arrived in the America's by Spanish conquistadores importation. Known to be identical with the Pais grape widely grown in Chile and thought to originate from the Monica grape of Spain and Sardinia."
Is the link between the 'Monica' and 'Mission' grape valid, though. Compare the two brief descriptions. Do they match? I think the link is weak.
Another clue can be found in the Hendricks article when the talks about a law forbidding harvesting of grapes until September 15: "The grapes were usually ripe near the end of July. Ideally, they were left on the vine until October so that they could attain maximum sweetness. In fact, by law they could not be harvested until 15 September."
This suggests the grapes were allowed to raisin, probably because they were of limited use as a wine grape until drying out on the vine (turning into raisins) had raised their sugar content enough for wine making. This doesn't sound like Monica.
GRIN's 'Mission' page actually tells two stories. Here is the other one:
"Per Hedrick (1911. The Grapes of New York. unspecified pg. 489): "The exact origin of Mission is unknown but is believed to have originated in the remote Missions of northern Mexico at a time when grape-growing was forbidden by Spain. The variety was introduced into California at a very early day and was raised by the Mission fathers, hence the name. Mission is believed by some to be a hybrid between Vinifera and Girdiana. Vigorous; canes short-jointed, dull dark brown to grayish; leaf above medium size, slightly oblong, five-lobed; stamens erect; clusters slightly shouldered, loose, distinctly compound; berries medium, round; skin thin, purplish-black with heavy bloom; flesh tender, vinous, sweet; very good; ripens with Concord in Texas; said to be imperfectly self-fertile."
Note that in this version of the story, Mission is a cross of European and a vine native to Southern California (Girdiana). This is problematic, too. The 'mission' vine came to California, it wasn't bred there.
What is a more reasonable place for 'Mission' to be bred? Probably the older missions of northern Mexico. Just to confuse things a bit more, 'Carignane' seems to be another name for 'Mission'. Of this, Hedrick (1911) wrote: ""The exact origin of Mission [Carignane] is unknown but is believed to have originated in the remote Missions of northern Mexico at a time when grape-growing was forbidden by Spain."
This may be of interest to few outside of Texas, but the history and pedigree of the 'Mission' grape are important element of Texas viticultural history. To really solve this, we need a DNA marker study to identify the parentage of Mission.
Here is my speculation on the subject (If I haven't put more than enough here already). The vines seem to be cuttings from older church vineyards in Mexico far south of New Mexico. At these locations, Pierce's Disease (PD) if endemic. Vines that could survive PD would be quickly popularized, and sent to new churches/missions such as the ones in New Mexico.
Given the contemporary commercial interest in European vines, it isn't surprising that the North American heritage could easily be forgotten. It think it telling that the breeders of the 1890 era thought Mission a cross of European and North American stocks, but more recent authors call it European.
Think about it. How long would it take for a cutting to be shipped from Spain to New Mexico (assuming this was the route used)? I doubt the cutting would survive since there was no way to cool it during the entire journey. Shipment from a Mexican vineyard seems far more likely, and this would require PD tolerance.
