ICYMI: Alton Brown Came to Town This Week

America’s favorite food nerd was in Concord earlier this week to celebrate the one-of-a-kind fruit born here in 1849.

Alton Brown, the food historian and Food Network star, came to town Tuesday, June 25, for a ceremony at Welch’s new headquarters on Baker Avenue that honored Concord grape creator Ephraim Wales Bull with the dedication of a new vineyard, grown from his original grapevine.

“The Concord grape is one truly American fruit with a history as distinctive as its flavor and health benefits,” said Brown, per a BusinessWire press release. “Thanks to Ephraim Bull and the family farmers who followed in his footsteps, Concord grapes have been enjoyed by Welch’s lovers for generations.”

Bull, as the story goes, set out to cultivate an earlier-ripening grape that could thrive in the Northeast, where the growing season’s short and the climate can get harsh. Originally a gold-beater by trade who grew grapes in his backyard garden in Boston, Bull moved out to Concord in the 1830s, got friendly with his Transcendentalist neighbors and began the horticultural experiments—think cross-pollination and planting full grapes … that kind of thing—that would eventually produce the Concord grape.

For more on Ephraim Wales Bull’s cultivation of the Concord Grape, check out this piece Harry Beyer wrote for Patch a few year’s back.

But getting back to the present…

Welch’s, a cooperative owned by a cooperative of more than 1,000 family farmers, has been headquartered in Concord—ground zero for the grape featured in many of its juices, jellies and other grape-based products —since the 1970s.

Bull’s original vine still bears fruit on his property by Revolutionary Ridge on Lexington Road. And so when Welch’s moved to its new digs earlier this year, the BusinessWire press release says, employees decided to propagate the original grapevine and honor Bull with a new vineyard. 

“The town of Concord is steeped in American history,” said Welch’s President and CEO Brad Irwin, via the press release. “When we moved our corporate headquarters this year, we were proud to continue to stand with Concord and celebrate our legacy. We’re honored to be able to deepen and extend the connection we have to local heritage.”

While the Concord grape was developed to be hearty enough to thrive in New England, Brown, the “Good Eats” host who partnered with Welch’s back in 2009, often lauds the fruit for its health benefits.