Grape
Family Vitaceae
Vitis vinifera, grape (V. vinifera 1), is a vigorous climber, up to 20 m if left unpruned. It climbs by means of forked tendrils. The leaves are long-stalked, palmately lobed and coarsely serrated. The small greenish flowers are borne in racemes, opposite the leaves or terminal. The petals of each flower are joined at the tip and are shed before the flower opens. The fruit is a juicy berry containing 2-4 seeds, varying in size and colour (V. vinifera 2), (V. vinifera 3), (V. vinifera 4), (V. vinifera 5).
The grape, the ‘vine’ of the ancients, is one of the oldest of cultivated plants and is frequently mentioned in the Bible.
Distribution
The plant is probably of western Asian origin and was known to the ancient Egyptians as early as 4000 years before Christ. The ancient Greeks and Romans knew a well-developed viticulture and spread the grape to all their colonies. All these early grapes were derived from the wild variety Vitis vinifera var. sylvestris. However, in the 19th century the European vineyards were destroyed by a root pest, and since then all European grapevines have been grafted on to American stock, because it was discovered that American varieties resist the parasite. The result of this is that almost all vineyards throughout the world consist of vines whose rooted part is of American origin, while the leafy and flowering parts is developed from European varieties.
Use
The classification of grapes is very complex: they may be grouped as wine grapes or dessert grapes; indoor (V. vinifera 6) and outdoor (V. vinifera 7), (V. vinifera 10) grapes; as black or white, the dark types containing anthocyanin in the skin; or according to the time of ripening. From the hundreds of varieties only a few are of outstanding importance, e.g. Chardonnay or Pineau Blanc, with rather small yellowish-green berries from which white Burgundy and Champagne are made; Pineau Noir, with a dark grape used for making red Burgundy and other red wines; Cabarnet, with bluish grapes used for making Bordeaux wines; and Riesling, which is a collective term for a group of green grapes used to make Rhine wine.
Wine is made from grapes in many parts of the world for local use. The juice from the crusted grapes is fermented by yeast occurring naturally on the surface of the fruits. When the alcohol contents reach a certain level, the fermentation stops automatically. The characteristic aroma of the wine is the result of a combination of several factors, like the variety of grape used, the condition of the soil and the climate. Sparkling wines are produced when the liberated carbon dioxide gas is retained to form the characteristic bubbles. Fortified wines like sherry and port are made by adding extra brandy.
Traditional exporting wine countries are France (V. vinifera 8) and Germany, but the last decades quality wines are also produced by South Africa, South America and Australia.
Another important article of commerce are dried grapes:
- raisins (V. vinifera 9) are sun-dried grapes produced on large scale in Spain, Greece, South Africa, Australia and the US;
- sultanas are seedless raisins; and
- currants are made from a small dark grape in Greece.