Marion is an old variety of unknown parentage but so closely resembling Clinton in both botanical and horticultural characters as to be clearly of the type of that variety. In many grape regions it is held that this variety surpasses Clinton as both a table and a wine grape. The growth of Marion is vigorous, the vine is hardy but hardly sufficiently productive, and is susceptible to mildew and to leaf-hoppers. The fruit is pleasantly sweet and spicy though not of high enough quality for a table grape, but making, according to the following, from a French authority, a very good dark red wine.[199]
“With regard to intense coloring, without any foxy taste, nothing equals the wine made of the Marion grape; one-twentieth part is sufficient to give to water even a superior wine color; the somewhat violet shade is easily transformed into a lively red by adding some acid wine or a very small quantity of tartaric acid.”
The fruit colors early in the season but ripens very late, hanging well on the vines and improving with a light touch of frost. Marion is not much grown in New York as a wine grape, though it might prove of value because of its coloring properties for the making of some wines.
This variety was brought to notice by a Mr. Shepherd of Marion, Ohio, over fifty years ago. It was first known as Black German but this name was changed to Marion Port. At about the same time, Nicholas Longworth received a variety resembling the Isabella from Marion, Ohio, probably also from Shepherd, which he disseminated under the name Marion. Owing to the similarity of the names, the two varieties became badly confused. The true Marion, which many believed to be identical with York Madeira, was soon dropped from cultivation and the Marion Port assumed the name of Marion. Shepherd did not know where the Marion Port had originated but stated that it had come originally from Pennsylvania. It is quite possible that it is some old variety reintroduced under this name. The species of the variety is usually given as Riparia but as the tendrils are often continuous, there is evidently an admixture of Labrusca blood.
Vine vigorous, usually hardy, medium to productive, susceptible to injury from leaf-hoppers. Canes very long, intermediate in number and thickness, dark reddish-brown, surface covered with blue bloom; nodes slightly enlarged, flattened; internodes very long to medium; diaphragm thin; pith of average size; shoots glabrous, younger shoots tinged with reddish-purple; tendrils continuous, sometimes intermittent, long, bifid.
Leaf-buds nearly medium in size and thickness, short, conical, often strongly compressed, open early; young leaves tinged on under side and along margin of upper side with carmine. Leaves unusually large, of average thickness; upper surface dark green, glossy; lower surface pale green, somewhat cobwebby to nearly smooth; veins well defined; leaf not lobed with terminus acuminate; petiolar sinus very deep, narrow, often closed and overlapping; basal and lateral sinuses lacking; teeth shallow, rather wide. Flowers sterile, open very early; stamens reflexed.
