A grape is the fruit that grows on the woody vines of the family Vitaceae. Grapes grow in clusters of 6 to 300, and can be black, blue, golden, green, purple, red, pink, brown, peach or white. They can be eaten raw or used for making jam, grape juice, jelly, wine and grape seed oil. Cultivation of grapevines occurs in vineyards, and is called viticulture. One who studies and practices growing grapes for wine is called a viticulturalist.

Raisins are the dried fruit of the grapevine, and the name actually comes from the French word for "grape". Wild grapevines are often considered a nuisance weed, as they cover other plants with their usually rather aggressive growth.

The leaves of the grape vine itself are considered edible and are used in the production of dolmades. Grape-leaf dolma, more precisely called yaprak dolma or sarma, may include tomatoes and peppers stuffing. However, the stuffing may include meat. Meat dolma are generally served warm, often with sauce; meatless ones are generally served cold and eaten along with yoghurt or yogurt.

The grape appears in many biblical stories and is referred to as the 'fruit of the vine'. It is used in communion to signify Christ's blood and the sacrifice he made for those on earth. Grapes have also come to signify life, immortality, revelry and joy, while the grapevine signifies peace and abundance in religion.

There are thousands of grape varieties in the world that can make wine.  It is said that Italy alone has over 2,000 different selections.  And while it is true that the juice of ripe grapes can make wine, there are only a relatively small number that make wine that is both interesting and delicious.

Introduction
In the year 1000 AD, Leif Ericsson the Lucky sailed from Norway across the North Atlantic Ocean and returned with stories about a new country he named "Vinland" because of the abundance of wild grapes found growing there. It is not know exactly where this was, but historians agree that "Vinland" was one of the Eastern maritime provinces of Canada.

Cultivated varieties of grapes have been grown on a large scale in the Old World since the dawn of history. The art of grape growing was said in Greek legend to have been introduced by Dionysus; Bacchus was the god of wine. Throughout history, the grape has been a symbol in art and literature of revelry and joy.

Wine grapes mostly grow between the 30th and the 50th degree of latitude, in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Grapes will sometimes grow beyond this range and minor amounts of wine are made in some very unexpected places. The equitorial side of these zones produce wines characterized by warm climate viticulture; the areas near the poles produce cool climate wines. The unique flavor of each wine is the result of multivariate interactions between the geography, climate, cultivar, vineyard management and enology.

Of the many varieties of grapes for the winemaker, only the classification vitis vinifera matters. The genus vitis and the species vinifera are responsible for all the world's great wines. Of course, there are many sub genus that account for all the different kinds of grapes that are used to make wine.

Of the many named varieties of wine grapes on earth, perhaps on about 40 have really recognizable flavor and character. Of these a dozen have moved into international circulation and the dozen can be narrowed again to those that have characteristics so definite that they form the basis of a whole international category of wine.

Grapes may be classified as red, blue and white - which are actually pale green in color. Each kind has its own particular character for wine making and as a table grape. Grapes, like fruit trees, require a stable climate in order to provide a dependable growing environment.