The majority of grapes on the market are European varieties, although there are a quite a few American bunch and European hybrids. Muscadine grapes are native to the southeastern United States and do not grow well in any other area. In the South, though, they thrive, and people often gather wild muscadines for their desserts. Unlike bunch grapes, which ripen all at once and can be snipped off the branch, muscadines ripen one at a time. They are harvested by shaking the plant so that the grapes fall off into a cloth.
Muscadine grapes come in bronze and black cultivated varieties.
The most famous of these is the Scuppernong, a bronze grape that was discovered in the early 19th century by a North Carolina naturalist, Dr. Calvin Jones. There is some evidence that grape juice, or more specifically, the flavonoid pigment in grape juice, might be of benefit to heart patients, because it appears to prevent blood cells from clumping. Aspirin does something similar and is widely taken by those who have suffered heart attacks. The original beverage studied in this context was wine. Originally, to the joy of health-conscious drinkers, alcohol was credited with possessing these healthful properties.