The Norton grape
Norton, America’s grape
Missouri’s state grape and the wine Hermann was built on. The story of Norton, and the wines we make from it.
What is Norton?
A thoroughly American grape
Norton is a red wine grape native to North America and the official state grape of Missouri. It makes deep-colored, dry red wines with dark fruit and bright acidity, and for more than 175 years it has been the signature grape of Hermann.
Norton is hardy, high in acidity and needs a long growing season, which makes it a near-perfect grape for Missouri. Long, hot summers let it ripen fully where many European varieties struggle. The small, round, thick-skinned berries are blue-black and give little juice, but the juice they give is of the richest quality.
Norton at a glance
- Also known as: Norton’s Virginia Seedling, Cynthiana
- Species: mostly Vitis aestivalis, a native American vine
- First cultivated: Dr. Daniel Norton, 1820s, from a natural cross
- Wine style: dry red, deep purple, dark fruit, bright acidity
- Missouri state grape: since 2003
- Most famous win: Best Red of All Nations, Vienna, 1873, for Stone Hill
History
How Norton made Hermann famous
1820s to 1840s · Finding a home
A lucky cross
Dr. Daniel Norborne Norton (1791 to 1842) was a physician who took over Magnolia Farm near Richmond, Virginia. After his wife died, he threw himself into an experimental vineyard, and there in the 1820s he found a chance seedling, a natural cross that became the grape that carries his name.
In 1822 William Prince’s nursery in New York listed “Norton’s Virginia Seedling” for sale. Its 1830 Treatise on the Vine praised a vine that “resists the cold of the most severe winters” and grapes whose juice is “of the richest quality.”
Cuttings were sent to Monticello, though they were never planted there. Growers in Ohio tried it and gave up, because their summers were too short for it to ripen. Cuttings from those Ohio growers and from the Prince nursery were the two sources that brought Norton to Hermann, where it found its true home.
1840s to 1873 · Hermann
Missouri’s great red
In the Missouri River valley, with its long, hot summers, Norton finally thrived. One of the first Hermann plantings dates to 1843, and Jacob Rommel and Michael Poeschel made the first Missouri Norton in 1846.
Poeschel founded Stone Hill in 1847, and Norton was among his favorite grapes. In 1873 Stone Hill Norton was named the Best Red of All Nations at the Vienna World’s Fair, and the winery kept winning at World’s Fairs into the 1900s.
1920 · Prohibition
Nearly lost
Prohibition hit Missouri’s German wine country hard. Vines were torn out and barrels destroyed. A few farm families kept old vines alive under a rule allowing 300 gallons a year for home use, but by the 1960s Norton was thought to be lost.
1965 · Rediscovered
Jim and Betty find the Rauch vines
When Jim and Betty Held reopened Stone Hill in 1965, they wanted to bring back the grape Hermann was built on. They heard of the Rauch family, homesteaders a little more than four miles west of Hermann, who had tended a vineyard since 1863 and kept making wine through Prohibition.
The Rauchs still had the papers for the vines their family bought in the 1860s. It was Norton. Jim pruned and restored the old vines, and that fall Stone Hill made Norton again. The original 1863 planting is still farmed today. The Old Vine Registry lists it as the second-oldest vineyard in the United States, and its fruit becomes our Old Vine Reserve Norton.
1979 · A winemaker’s vintage
Norton, made like a great red
Winemaker Dave Johnson joined Stone Hill in 1978, and his 1979 Norton changed how people saw the grape. He made it the way the world’s great reds are made, and the wine showed the depth of character, structure and quality of a great Rhône.
That vintage proved what Norton could be. It set the standard every Stone Hill Norton has been made to since, and helped lead the rediscovery of Norton as a fine wine.
1988 to today · Around the world
Norton’s second life
Beginning in the late 1980s, growers from other states came to Stone Hill for cuttings from the Rauch vines. Today Norton grows across Missouri and the eastern United States, and as far away as Japan, Brazil, France and Australia. Almost all of it traces back to the vines Stone Hill saved.
Missouri named Norton its official state grape in 2003.
Our Nortons
Our Nortons
Norton is the wine we hang our hat on. Each of ours comes from a different vineyard or way of winemaking, and each tells a different story.
Estate
Estate Norton
Our flagship Norton, grown in our own vineyards around Hermann.
Single vineyard
Cross J Norton
From Cross J Vineyard, on steep bluffs above the Missouri River just west of Hermann. The 2022 vintage won the 2024 trifecta: the Governor’s Cup, the C.V. Riley Award and Best of Class. The 2018 vintage was the American Wine Society’s Best Native Wine.
1863 vines
Old Vine Reserve Norton
From the original Rauch Vineyard planting, the vines that saved Norton.
For wine club members and Noble Norton guests
Single vineyard
Kemperberg Reserve Norton
From Kemperberg Vineyard, two miles southwest of Hermann, beside the farm where Hermann Grape Nurseries once supplied the area’s early vineyards.
Whole cluster
Whole Cluster Carbonic Norton
Whole clusters fermented by carbonic maceration, for a brighter, fruit-forward side of Norton.
Available at the winery to wine club members and guests of the Noble Norton Experience. Coming soon: a Norton ice wine.
An April tradition for 36 years
The Norton Dinner & 10-Year Vertical Tasting
Ten vintages of our Norton poured side by side, then a three-course paired dinner at Vintage 1847 Restaurant. See the Norton Dinner and Vertical Tasting
Tasting and pairing
How Norton tastes
Norton pours a deep, inky purple. Expect blackberry, black cherry and plum, with notes of spice and earth, and the bright acidity that makes it lively with food. Its acidity also helps it age, which is why we pour ten vintages side by side at our annual Norton Dinner.
Pair it with grilled and smoked meats, barbecue, burgers, game, mushroom dishes, aged cheeses or dark chocolate.
Recognition
The most awarded Norton
1873
Best Red of All Nations, Vienna
8
C.V. Riley Awards for best Missouri Norton
4
Norton trifectas, most recently 2024
2020
Best Native Wine, American Wine Society
Stone Hill Norton may yet do for Missouri what Cabernet Sauvignon has done for California.
Gerald Asher, Gourmet, 1993
We believe Norton will soon be counted among the world’s finest wines once again.
Taste it here
The Noble Norton Experience
Taste six Nortons, including bottles you can only try at the winery, draw a sample from the barrel, and finish with a walking tour. About 60 minutes, $55, at 11:15 am and 2:15 pm.
Each year our Norton Dinner pours the last ten vintages side by side with a menu from Vintage 1847.
Questions
Norton FAQ
What is Norton?
Norton is a red wine grape native to North America, a natural cross found by Dr. Daniel Norton in the 1820s. It makes deep-colored, dry red wines, made Hermann famous for wine in the 1800s, and is the official state grape of Missouri.
Is Norton the same as Cynthiana?
Cynthiana is a traditional name for Norton, and the two names have long been used for the same grape in Missouri and Arkansas.
Is Norton wine dry or sweet?
Norton is almost always made as a dry red wine. All of our Nortons are dry.
What does Norton taste like?
Expect deep purple color, dark fruit such as blackberry, black cherry and plum, notes of spice and earth, and bright, refreshing acidity.
What food goes with Norton?
Norton’s acidity and dark fruit suit grilled and smoked meats, barbecue, burgers, game, mushroom dishes, aged cheeses and dark chocolate.
Where is Norton grown?
Norton is grown across Missouri and the Eastern and Midwestern United States, and in Japan, Brazil, France and Australia. Almost all of those plantings trace back to the Rauch Vineyard vines Stone Hill saved in 1965.
Why is Norton Missouri’s state grape?
Norton made Missouri famous for wine before Prohibition, and Missouri growers brought it back afterward. The state named it the official state grape in 2003.
Where can I taste Norton in Hermann?
At Stone Hill Winery. Our Noble Norton Experience pours six Nortons, including bottles you can only taste here, with a barrel sample and a walking tour.
