Hi:
I am a Canadian historian who has been interested for years in the Vinland grapes story. I don't have the Sagas in front of me, so I do this from memory.

There are problems with the Sagas' account. When they landed in North America, the Vikings did not know what grapes looked like. A German who happened to be with them identified "wild grapes" at the place they landed. The only certain archeological Viking remains are at L'Anse aux Meadows at the northern tip of Newfoundland. It is impossible to say for certain if that was the location of "Vinland" or "Wineland" or "Leif's settlement," but it seems to me to be likely. However, if the Sagas' account of the times of the solistice at Vinland are correct, the place was not that far north.

When I finally got around to visiting L'Anse aux Meadows (a beautiful place) a few years ago, one thing that struck me was the enormous variety and profusion of berries in that part of the world. Some of them resemble grapes. Many of them are very tasty. I am no winemaker, but I suppose you could make wine from any of them.

In any case, I don't think Leif the Lucky named Vinland as a marketing ploy. I think he mistook wild berries for grapes. But that is just my guess. No-one knows for sure.

Best,

Bob Beal.

Thanks Bob, good point, honest mistakes happen!

"What if this weren't a hypothetical question?" -- unknown

I have read another theory that Vinland can also mean Meadowland or Grassland or something like that depending on where you put the accent. The "Vikings" (they never called themselves that) often carried cattle with them on long voyages and would have been more likely to be looking for grass for their cattle and not grapes for wine. Besides, the Scandinavian drink of choice was mead made from honey not wine made from grapes.