Concord Grape Pie

Judy McConnell, like most owners of old rambling New England houses, has a grape arbor of old rambling Concord grapes. The Concord, however, is a relative newcomer. Before the Concord, our wild native grapes, Vitis labrusca and Vitis aestivalis, rambled undeterred by New England cold, but abundance did not guarantee taste. John Josselyn found that although some wild grapes were “reasonably pleasant, others have a taste of Gunpowder and these grow in swamps and low wet grounds.