A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus Vitis. Grapes are a non-climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters.
A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards are often characterised by their terroir, a French term loosely translating as "a sense of place" that refers to the specific geographical and geological characteristics of grapevine plantations, which may be imparted to the wine itself.
Zante currants, Corinth raisins, Corinthian raisins or outside the United States simply currants, are raisins of the small, sweet, seedless grape cultivar Black Corinth. The name comes from the Anglo-French phrase "raisins de Corinthe" and the Ionian island of Zakynthos (Zante), which was once the major producer and exporter. It is not related to black, red or white currants, which are berries of shrubs in the genus Ribes and not usually prepared in dried form.
Table grapes are grapes intended for consumption while fresh, as opposed to grapes grown for wine production, juice production, or for drying into raisins.
Vitis vinifera, the common grape vine, is a species of flowering plant, native to the Mediterranean region, Central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran. As of 2012 there were between 5,000 and 10,000 varieties of Vitis vinifera grapes though only a few are of commercial significance for wine and table grape production.
Vitis labrusca, the fox grape, is a species of grapevines belonging to the Vitis genus in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The vines are native to eastern North America and are the source of many grape cultivars, including Catawba, Concord, Delaware, Isabella, Niagara, and many hybrid grape varieties such as Agawam, Alexander and Onaka. Among the characteristics of this vine species in contrast to the European wine grape Vitis vinifera are its "slip-skin" that allows the skin of the grape berries to easily slip off when squeezed, instead of crushing the pulp, and the presence of tendrils on every node of the cane. Another contrast with European vinifera is the characteristic "foxy" musk of V. labrusca, best known to most people through the Concord grape. This musk is not related to the mammalian fox, but rather to the strong, earthy aromas characteristic of the grapes that were known by early European-American settlers in the New World. The term "foxy" became a sort of catchall for the wine tasting descriptors used for these American wines that were distinct from the familiar flavors of the European viniferous wines.
Vitis riparia Michx, with common names riverbank grape or frost grape, is a vine indigenous to North America. As a climbing or trailing vine, it is widely distributed across central and eastern Canada and the central and northeastern parts of the United States, from Quebec to Texas, and eastern Montana to Nova Scotia. There are reports of isolated populations in the northwestern USA, but these are probably naturalized. It is long-lived and capable of reaching into the upper canopy of the tallest trees. It produces dark fruit that are appealing to both birds and people, and has been used extensively in commercial viticulture as grafted rootstock and in hybrid grape breeding programs.
Vitis californica, with common names California wild grape, Northern California grape, and Pacific grape, is a wild grape species widespread across much of California as well as southwestern Oregon.
Vitis × labruscana is a subgroup of grapes originating from a hybridization of Vitis labrusca and Vitis vinifera. Popular examples include Concord and Niagara grapes, which comprise nearly all grapes processed for juice or jelly in the United States. Such cultivars are frequently referred to as "labrusca", however many are as little as half Vitis labrusca in their pedigree. Another common term, arguably more accurate, is "labrusca-type". These varieties do in fact possess many of the traits of Vitis labrusca, frequently including slipskin fruit, strong "foxy" flavor/odor, and large leaves with lighter colored and pubescent undersides. Most are self-fertile, unlike wild Vitis labrusca.
Canadian wine is wine produced in Canada. Ontario and British Columbia are the two largest wine-producing provinces in Canada, with two-thirds of Canada's vineyard acreage situated in Ontario. However, wine producing regions are also present in other provinces, including Alberta, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
The Isabella grape is a cultivar derived from the grape species Vitis labrusca or 'fox grape,' which is used for table, juice and wine production.
Vitis (grapevine) is a genus of 81 accepted species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus consists of species predominantly from the Northern Hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, both for direct consumption of the fruit and for fermentation to produce wine. The study and cultivation of grapevines is called viticulture.
The history of American wine began when the first Europeans explored parts of North America, which they called Vinland because of the profusion of grape vines found there. However, European settlers, namely the Spanish, would later discover that the wine made from the various native grapes, had flavors which were unfamiliar and which they did not like. This led to repeated efforts to grow familiar Vitis vinifera varieties. The first vines of Vitis vinifera origin came up through New Spain (Mexico) and were planted in Senecu in 1629, which is near the present day town of San Antonio, New Mexico.
The Finger Lakes AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in Upstate New York, south of Lake Ontario. It was established in 1982 and encompasses the eleven Finger Lakes, but the area around Canandaigua, Keuka, Seneca, and Cayuga Lakes contain the vast majority of vineyard plantings in the AVA. Cayuga and Seneca Lakes each have their own American Viticultural Areas completely contained within the Finger Lakes AVA. The Finger Lakes AVA includes 11,000 acres (4,452 ha) of vineyards and is the largest wine-producing region in New York State.
Vitis berlandieri is a species of grape native to the southern North America, primarily Texas, New Mexico and Arkansas.
Thomcord is a seedless table grape variety and a hybrid of the popular Thompson Seedless or Sultanina grape and Concord grape. Thomcord was developed in 1983 by Californian grape breeders working for the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), as part of a test to better understand a new seedless grape breeding procedure.
The Jupiter grape is an interspecific seedless Muscat grape developed at the University of Arkansas in 1998. It is a cross of Arkansas 1258 x Arkansas 1762. The Muscat flavor comes from “Gold” variety; the seedlessness comes from “Reliance” variety. Contains V. labrusca and V. vinifera. This grape variety is patented by the University of Arkansas.
Termarina rossa is a red Italian wine grape variety that is grown in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The grape is unique among Vitis vinifera varieties in that it is naturally seedless. Historically Termarina rossa was grown in the provinces of Parma and Reggio Emilia for use in production of jams and saba, a sweet syrup, made from boiling the must but today it is used as a blending variety in some of Indicazione geografica tipica (IGT) wines of the area.
Autumn Royal is a seedless table grape variety first produced in California, and released in 1996. Its parentage includes many types of grapes, including Black rose, Calmeria, Flame Seedless and Ribier.
