Norton grape: Let us sing its praises

I have three bottles of wine in the closet, and I’m waiting for the right moment to share them. They’re not red Bordeaux, Napa cabernet, or even white Burgundy. They’re nortons.

The norton is one of the great success stories in the American regional wine business, a native American grape, probably a naturally-occurring hybrid that was first identified in Virginia in the mid-19th century. Nortons made in Virginia and Missouri are well-known and respected around the world -- big, dry red wines with bright berry fruit and big tannins that can age for a decade.

So why haven’t you heard about norton before?