Hybrid Grapes - Grapevine Species

Grapevine Species

The best-known grape species in reference to viticulture include:

• Vitis vinifera, the so-called European or wine grape, indigenous in the Eurasian area. Classed within this species are the best-known table and wine grape varieties such as Riesling, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Gamay.
• Vitis aestivalis, native to eastern North America.
• Vitis rupestris, native to North America.
• Vitis riparia (also sometimes known as Vitis vulpina), the "river bank grape", native to northeastern North America.
• Vitis amurensis, the Asiatic grape variety, native to Siberia and China.
• Vitis rotundifolia, the muscadines, native to the southern half of the United States
• Vitis labrusca, native to northeastern North America. Concord and Niagara are two prominent domesticated offshoots of this species.

While rare, inter-specific hybrid vines can result in the wild from cross-pollination. Due to the abundance of American Vitis species one finds such natural hybrid vines on the American continent. The majority of the well-known hybrid vines however, have been artificially created. The earliest named hybrid in America was the Alexander grape, discovered around 1740 near a vineyard planted for William Penn along the Schuylkill.