It’s named after Concord, Massachusetts.
That’s where, in the 1840’s, a farmer named Ephraim Wales Bull cultivated a hardy grape that could thrive in chilly New England. After planting 22,000 seedlings, a single vine met his standards for taste and quality — the Concord grape was born. Ephraim’s original vine still exists today.
It became a favorite at the World’s Fair.
Thomas Bramwell Welch made Welch’s Concord Grape Juice as an alternative to wine for churchgoers. Later, his son Charles brought Welch’s Grape Juice to the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago so the millions of people who attended could try it. Charles’s hunch was right: Welch’s became an American favorite.
It goes into more than juice.
Welch’s has been making Concord grapes into jam since 1918, when we invented “Grapelade.” The initial quantity was purchased by the U.S. Army and shipped to service members fighting in World War I. When they came home, they brought their love for Welch’s jam with them. Welch’s Concord Grape Jelly arrived a few years later, in 1923.
Its harvest season is short and sweet.
Don’t blink or you’ll miss the Concord grape harvest. We’re exaggerating, but picking season is brief — just a few weeks in the fall. In that time, Welch’s farmers must harvest all their grapes and send them to be pressed. And fast. To be good enough for Welch’s, the grapes must go from vine to press in eight hours or less, ensuring that their sweet, bold taste stays perfectly fresh.
Its beauty is skin, and seeds, deep.
At Welch’s, we use all of the Concord grape - skin, seeds and all - so you get all of the nutrition. Which is pretty great, because the Concord grape is a superfruit when it comes to heart health. Learn more about the polyphenol-packed power of The Mighty Concord.