ABSTRACT
The first grape juice processed in the U.S. was used as the sacrament on the communion table of Vineland (NJ) Methodist Church. Dr. Thomas B. Welch, a dentist, with the help of his wife and their 17-year-old son, Charles, processed the juice that was derived from Concord grapes (
Vitis labruscana
Bailey). The Welches processed, filtered, pasteurized, and bottled their juice in 1869. Orders for the juice, mainly for communion, increased after that initial effort until most of Welch’s time was devoted to preparing grape juice (Chazanof, 1977). From the new principles of pasteurization developed by Louis Pasteur, Welch established a new industry (Morris, 1985).
