Where were grapes first grown?
Minor amounts of fruit and wine come from American and Asian species such as:
- Vitis amurensis, the most important Asian species
- Vitis labrusca, the North American table and grape juice grapevines (including the Concord cultivar ), sometimes used for wine, are native to the Eastern United States and Canada.
- Vitis mustangensis (the mustang grape), found in Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, and Oklahoma
Where did grapes come from the northeast or west?
The official state grape of Missouri, Vitis aestivalis, the summer grape, is native to eastern North America, ranging from Ontario to as far south as Florida and as far west as Texas. It may have been originally cultivated by the Cherokees, but is best known in the modern world as its cultivar the Norton (and its close relative or possible ...
Where were grapes first found?
Shulaveri-Gora in Georgia had residues dated to the 6th millennium BC. Seeds from what are believed to be domesticated grapes have been found in Areni Cave in southeastern Armenia, about 6000 BP, and Dikili Tash from northern Greece, 4450–4000 BCE.
Where does the US get their grapes from?
Resources/Other Links
- American Society for Enology & Viticulture - A scientific organization for the wine and grape industry.
- American Vineyard Foundation, Napa, California.
- California Association of Winegrape Growers
- California Table Grape Commission
- Federal Register Changes in Grape Handling Requirements
- Fresh Deciduous Fruit, Economic Research Service (ERS), USDA, 20147.
Where was grapes first found?
The earliest known cultivation of domesticated grapes occurred in what is now the country of Georgia in the Caucasus region of Eurasia about 6,000 BCE. By 4,000 BCE, viticulture, or the making of wine, extended through the Fertile Crescent to the Nile Delta and to Asia Minor.
Who first used grapes?
The oldest known possible evidence for the use of grapes as part of a wine recipe with fermented rice and honey comes from China, about 9,000 years ago. Two thousand years later, the seeds of what became the European winemaking tradition began in western Asia.Nov 25, 2019
How did grapes get to America?
So it wasn't until Spanish Missionaries discovered the dry climate of New Mexico in 1629 with its sandy soils that the first Vitis vinifera vineyards were planted in what is now the United States. They planted Mission grapes brought over from Spain.May 25, 2018
Why is it called a grape?
Dried grapes are known as raisins, and this versatile berry is used to make many other products, including jelly, juice, and wine. Experts believe the word grape comes from an Old French verb, graper, "catch with a hook" or "pick grapes off the vine."
Where did grapes grow?
Later, the Greeks and Phoenicians extended grape growing to Carthage, Sicily, southern Italy, Spain and France. Under the influence of the Romans, grape production spread throughout Europe. At the time of the fall of the Roman Empire, grape culture and wine making primarily were associated with monasteries.
When did grapes start growing?
Grape culture (or viticulture) is probably as old as civilization itself. Archeological evidence suggests humans began growing grapes as early as 6500 B.C. during the Neolithic era. By 4000 B.C., grape growing extended from Transcaucasia to Asia Minor and through the Nile Delta of Egypt.
How many pounds of grapes does the average American consume?
Europe and North America lead in fresh grape consumption. The average American consumes about eight pounds of fresh grapes each year. Not all of the grapes consumed worldwide belong to the same species. Grapes belong to the Vitaceae family which contains 11 genera and about 600 different species.
How many tons of raisins are produced in a year?
World-wide raisin production averages 800,000 tons per year. Since it takes about four pounds of grapes to produce one pound of raisins, the raisin industry uses about 3.2 million tons of grapes each year. Fresh (table) grapes account for less than 12% of the world’s total grape production.
What is Concord grape?
The latter term refers to the tendency of the skin to separate from the remainder of the berry when eaten fresh. ‘Concord’, a cultivar with V. labrusca parentage, arguably is the most popular American-derived grape. Fanciers of ‘Norton’ (‘Cynthiana’) could make a formidable argument for their cultivar.
What are the uses of grapes?
The three primary uses for grapes are for wine, dried fruit (raisins) and fresh table grapes. The world produces about 7.2 trillion gallons of wine each year, making it by far the most prevalent use of grapes.
What is the most commonly associated with the word "grape"?
Evidently, our fore-father had a very acute sense of smell. European Grapes. The European grape ( V. vinifera) is the species most often associated with the word “grape” and accounts for the majority of the world’s wine production.
Where are old world grapes found?
The old world grapes, found in Europe and the near East, are botanically known as 'vitis vinifera'. This species has more than 10,000 varieties. South America and North Eastern America are the places of origin for other species known as the New World species. Its botanical name is 'vitis rotundifolia'. The superior old world species is native to the area across the southeast coast of the Black Sea (near the south of the Caspian Sea) to Afghanistan and is still found in these regions.
What was the name of the grapes that were grown in the North America?
So, the indigenous species were improved upon and cultivated again. This resulted in a new and more popular version called Concord grapes.
Which country has the most grapes?
China has recently become one of the world's biggest grape producers. The country is home to world's second largest wine growing area, comprised of nearly two million acres of vines. Wine production is second to table grapes, which are consumed in the country or shipped to Southeast Asia.
How many tons of grapes are produced in the world?
Global grape production currently amounts to more than 75 million metric tons per year. Today there are well over 18 million acres of cultivated vineyards worldwide. Italy produces the majority of the world's grapes, with an annual grape production of 8,307,514 metric tons.
What is the most popular grape in the world?
Nearly all of the world's most popular wine grapes are French varieties, having either originated in France or become famous through French winemaking. Many of these grape varieties are household names to wine consumers, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, and Syrah.
How many varieties of grapes are there in the world?
Grapes are a popular agricultural crop all over the world. There are more than 10,000 different varieties of grapes worldwide, which are consumed in a variety of forms. Whole grapes intended for fresh consumption are called "table grapes.".
How many wineries are there in Italy?
Italy is home to more than one million vineyards located in almost every region of the country, and wine has been produced here for thousands of years. Starting in the second century BC, the Romans pioneered techniques of large-scale wine production and developed innovative storage solutions for barrel making and bottling.
Where is wine produced?
Over 60% of the world's wine is consumed within Europe, with Italy, Spain, and France dominating the world's wine export market.
Which countries produce the most metric tons?
France and the United States aren't far behind, with annual productions of 6,740,004 and 6,206,228 metric tons, respectively. Spain and China each produce well over 5 million metric tons each year. Turkey produces 3,763,544 metric tons annually. Argentina, Iran, and Chile have an annual output of more than 2 million metric tons, ...
Which continent produces the most grapes?
The Spaniards introduced this crop in North America. At present, Europe is the main producing continent, standing for half of the world-wide production of grape. It is followed by Asia. The areas with a smaller amount of grape cultivation are Africa and Oceania.
Which country produces the most wine grapes?
The great majority of main producers are European. The first is Italy, followed by France, the United States and Spain. The following table shows the countries with greater production of table and wine grape: The following table shows the main countries exporting grape (table and wine grape).
Which continent has the largest grapevine?
At present, the continent with larger production is Europe. The grapevine is thought to originate in the Caucasus and western Asia and it was probably already harvested in the Palaeolithic. It is certain that there existed wild grapevines during the Tertiary Age.
Which country imports grapes?
Among the import countries, the United States is the first one, followed by Germany, China, United Kingdom and France.
Who knew grapevines?
They gradually selected the species with better production, until they obtained the current grapevines, of great fruit. The Egyptians knew the grapevine, but the Greeks and the Romans where the ones who developed its culture to a greater extent, spreading it all over the Roman Europe.
Where were grapes found?
Seeds from what are believed to be domesticated grapes have been found in Areni Cave in southeastern Armenia, about 6000 BP, and Dikili Tash from northern Greece, 4450–4000 BCE.
Where were grapes grown in China?
Archaeological evidence from the steppe society Yanghai Tombs indicates, however, that grapes were grown in the Turpan Basin (at the western edge of what is today China) by at least 300 BCE.
How many Vitis vinifera are there?
The Vitis family consists of about 60 inter-fertile species that exist almost exclusively in the Northern Hemisphere: of those, V. vinifera is the only one extensively used in the global wine industry. Approximately 10,000 cultivars of V. vinifera exist today, although the market for wine production is dominated by only a handful of them.
What is a domesticated grapevine?
Updated December 04, 2018. Domesticated grapevine ( Vitis vinifera, sometimes called V. sativa) was one of the most important fruit species in the classic Mediterranean world , and it is the most important economic fruit species in the modern world today. As in the ancient past, sun-loving grapevines are today cultivated ...
How many V. vinifera cultivars are there?
Approximately 10,000 cultivars of V. vinifera exist today, although the market for wine production is dominated by only a handful of them. Cultivars are typically classified according to whether they produce wine grapes, table grapes, or raisins.
What is the difference between domestic and wild grapes?
The main difference between wild and domestic forms of grape is the wild form's ability to cross-pollinate: wild V. vinifera can self-pollinate, while domestic forms cannot , which allows farmers to control a plant's genetic characteristics.
Where did V. vinifera originate?
Most evidence indicates that V. vinifera was domesticated in Neolithic southwest Asia between ~6000–8000 years ago, from its wild ancestor V. vinifera spp. sylvestris, sometimes referred to as V. sylvestris. V. sylvestris, while quite rare in some locations, currently ranges between the Atlantic coast of Europe and the Himalayas. A second possible center of domestication is in Italy and the western Mediterranean, but so far the evidence for that is not conclusive. DNA studies suggest that one reason for the lack of clarity is the frequent occurrence in the past of purposeful or accidental cross-breeding of domestic and wild grapes.
