Grapes

Most grapes eaten fresh, dried as raisins, or pressed for wine belong to Vitis vinifera. Its wild ancestor, often classified as Vitis vinifera subsp. sylvestris, once grew broadly from western Asia and the Caucasus into the Mediterranean. Because those vines occupied a large interconnected range, cultivated grapes do not have one universally agreed birthplace.

Archaeological and genetic evidence places crucial early cultivation and winemaking in the South Caucasus and neighboring western Asia during the Neolithic period. People selected vines for larger, sweeter fruit and more reliable crops. Domestication also favored vines with separate male and female flowers replaced by self-fertile forms, making vineyards easier to establish and propagate.

Grape cultivation spread through Anatolia, the Levant, Egypt, Greece, and the wider Mediterranean. Phoenician, Greek, and Roman trade helped carry vines, winemaking practices, and named varieties across Europe and North Africa. Later, European settlers introduced Vitis vinifera to many other suitable climates, including California, South America, South Africa, and Australia.

Today, grapes are grown on nearly every continent with temperate or Mediterranean-style farming regions. California is the leading U.S. producer, while Washington, Oregon, New York, and Michigan also support important industries. North America has its own native grape species—including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, and Vitis rotundifolia—which have contributed distinctive fruit and valuable rootstocks, but they have a different origin from the Eurasian grape that dominates global commerce.