Paign’s Isabella

The red grape variety originates from the USA. The most important of the 80 or so synonyms are Albany, Albany Surprise, Alexander, Americano, Amerikanska Loza, Ananas, Ananaszoeloe, Arkansastraube, Bangalore Blue, Bellina, Black Cape, Blaue Isabella, Blaue Isabelle, Bromostaphylo, Captraube, Catalan Negro, Champania, Christie's Improved Isabella, Čimavica, Constantia, Constanziatraube, Dorchester, Edes, Eperzamatu, Fragola, Fragola Crna, Framboisier, Fraula, Frutilla, Georgina, Gibb's Grape, Gros Framboisé, Gürcü Üzümü, Isabel, Isabella Nera, Isabelle, Isabelle d'Amerique,

Isabellinha, Izabella, Kepshuna, Kerkyraiso, Kokulu Üzüm, Koreos, Lidia, Loipe Makedonia, Moschostaphylo, Nostrano, Odessa, Ontessa, Paine's Early Sanborton, Payne's Early, Paynes Isabella, Raisin du Cap, Raisin Fraise, Raisin Framboise, Sainte Helene, Saluda, Sampanija, Sauborton, Schuykill, Schuylkill, Strawberry Grape, Tzampela, Tzortzidika, Tzortzidika Chalkidiki, Tzortzines, Utkopro, Uva Cimice, Uva Fragola, Uva Fraula, Vernet, Woodward and Zampela.

Origin

The vine was found in a garden near the (no longer existing) town of Dorchester in the US state of South Carolina. According to Bernard Laspeyre, it is said to have travelled from Spain to Charleston, South Carolina. The amateur breeder George Gibbs from Brooklyn/New York (who introduced many grape varieties from Austria and the Habsburg monarchy a few years later, including Zinfandel) passed it on to William Robert Prince from Long Island/New...