Grapes

Category: File - :Table grapes on white.jpg|thumb|250px|Green table grapes

A grape is the non-climacteric fruit, botanically a true berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, drugs, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, and grape seed oil. Grapes are also used in some kinds of confectionery.

A grape is sometimes used as the symbol of conscience.

==Varieties of Muscat Grapes==

*Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains (also called Muscat Blanc, Muscat Canelli, Muscat Frontignan, Moscato Bianco, Muscat de Frontignan, Muscat d'Alsace, Muskateller, Moscatel de Grano Menudo, Moscatel Rosé, Sárgamuskotály and Yellow Muscat). This grape is used for the wines: Asti, clairette de die, and muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise. It is also used for some Tokaji wines.

*Muscat Rose à Petit Grains, Muscat Rouge à Petit Grains, Moscato Giallo (or Goldmuskateller), Moscato Rosa (or Rosenmuskateller) are thought to be closely related colored versions of Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains.

*Moscatel de Setúbal and Moscatel de Favaios are the most widely consumed varieties in Portugal, usually served in bars or as an aperitif at restaurants.

*Muscat of Alexandria (also called Moscatel, Moscatel Romano, Moscatel de Málaga, Muscat Gordo Blanco, Hanepoot, Lexia, Moscatel, Gordo, and Zibibbo) This grape is used for sherry, moscatel or muscatel wines, Moscatel de Valencia, Muscatel Passito and other Muscatel liqueurs and also as a raisin and table grape.

*Muscat Ottonel (also called Moskately) Used for dessert wines in Romania, Bulgaria, Austria, Slovenia and Croatia, and dry wines in Alsace and Hungary.

*Black Muscat (also called Muscat Hamburg, Moscato di Amburgo) Used for some Eastern European wine but mainly for table grapes in Italy and Australia. A dessert wine made from this grape is produced in California.

*Orange Muscat. Used for dessert wines in California and Australia. Not surprisingly, has something of an orange aroma.

*Muscat Crocant. Used for dessert wine of the same name (Muskat Krokan) in Serbia, where it grows only on Pearl Island (Biserno Ostrvo) on Tisza River.

*Moravian Muscat. The most widespread new wine cultivar in Czech Republic.

Altogether there are a couple of hundred Muscat varieties recorded, with many overlapping synonyms.

Abouriou is a red wine grape grown primarily in South West France and, in small quantities, in California. It is a blending grape that along with Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Fer, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Gamay is used to make the French wine Côtes du Marmandais. Though it shares several synonyms with the Beaujolais grape Gamay, the two grapes do not share many characteristics. In California, the grape is sometimes called Early Burgundy as another allusion to the Gamay grape. The vine produces high yields and vigorous growth with a relatively high resistance to disease. It tends to bud and ripen early. J. Robinson Vines, Grapes & Wines pg 204 Mitchell Beazley 1986 ISBN 1-85732-999-6 The grape can also be found as a varietal in some Vin de pays wines. The grape is known for its low acidity and high tannin content. J. Robinson (ed) "The Oxford Companion to Wine" Third Edition pg 1 Oxford University Press 2006 ISBN 0198609906

Concord grapes are a cultivar derived from the grape species Vitis labrusca (a.k.a. fox grape) which are used as table grapes, wine grapes and juice grapes.

The skin of a Concord grape is typically dark blue or purple, and often is covered with a lighter colored "bloom" which can be rubbed off. It is a slip-skin variety, meaning that the skin is easily separated from the fruit. Concord grapes have large seeds and are highly aromatic. They are often used to make grape jelly, grape juice, grape-flavored soft drinks, and candy. The grape is sometimes used to make wine, particularly kosher wine, though it is not generally favored for that purpose due to the strong "foxy" (sometimes described as candied-strawberry/musky) flavor. Traditionally, most commercially produced Concord wines have been finished sweet, but dry versions are possible if adequate fruit ripeness is achieved.

The sultana (also called the sultanina or sultaninini) is a type of white, seedless grape of Turkish, Greek or Iranian origin. In some countries, especially Commonwealth countries, it is also the name given to the raisin made from it; such sultana raisins are often called simply sultanas or sultanis. These are typically larger than the currants made from Zante grapes, but smaller than "normal" raisins. Sometimes, the name "sultana" is applied to all raisins, to the extent that the breakfast cereal known as Raisin Bran in other English-speaking countries adopts the moniker "Sultana Bran"http://www.kelloggs.com.au/Home/Products/Cereal/SultanaBran/tabid/390/Default.aspx.

Sultana raisins have a delicate and unique flavor and are especially noted for their sweetness and golden colour.

The sultana raisin was traditionally imported to the English-speaking world from the Ottoman Empire. According to popular folklore from the Empire, the sultana was invented when the Sultan left his grapes in the sun after fleeing a tiger attack, hence the name sultana, from the feminine form of sultan. Turkey and Australia are major producers.

The sultana grape is cultivated in the United States under the name Thompson Seedless, named after William Thompson, a viticulturist who was an early grower in California and is sometimes credited with the variety's introduction. According to the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, the two names are synonymous. Virtually all of California raisin production (approximately 97% in 2000) and roughly one-third of California's total grape area is of this variety, making it the single most widely-planted variety.

Not all speakers of English in Anglo America make clear distinctions between different types of dried grapes (raisins, sultanas, currants), and golden-coloured raisins made from other grape varieties may be marketed as sultanas. In addition, virtually all California raisins are produced from the Thompson Seedless grape, even those which, because of different drying processes, are not golden like the traditional sultana raisin. The term sultana is not commonly used to refer to any type of raisin in American English; as most American raisins are from sultana grapes, they are called simply raisins or golden raisins, according to colour. The latter, which at least in colour resemble the traditional sultana raisin, are artificially dried and sulfured, in distinction to "natural" raisins. Most non-organic sultana grapes in California and elsewhere are treated with the plant hormone gibberellin.Gibberellin and Flame Seedless Grapes from a University of California, Davis website Retrieved on 2009-04-13

As well as serving as a snack food without further processing, sultana raisins are used in a variety of dishes and baking, such as in scones, often prepared by soaking in water, fruit juice, or alcohol. The sultana grape is even used to make white wine, in which capacity it is known for its 'sweet blandness'.

Cardinal is a table grape first produced in California in 1939. The grape is a cross of the Flame Seedless (or Flame Tokay) and Ribier table grapes. In the United States, Bulgaria France, Italy, Romania, and Spain the grape is used as a typical table grape for eating and making raisins. In Thailand and Vietnam it is used widely in wine production. J. Robinson (ed) "The Oxford Companion to Wine" Third Edition pg 139 Oxford University Press 2006 ISBN 0198609906

The Delaware grape is a cultivar derived from the grape species Vitis Labrusca or 'Fox Grape' which is used for the table and wine production. [http://wine.appellationamerica.com/grape-varietal/Delaware.html]

The skin of the Delaware grape when ripened is pale red almost pinkish in colour that has a tender skin and juicy sweet flesh. [http://www.answers.com/topic/delaware-grape] It has small fruit clusters with small berries that do not have the pronounced 'foxiness' of other Labrusca grapes. It is a slip-skin variety, meaning that the skin is easily separated from the fruit. The grapes are used to make wines including dry, sweet, icewine but is famed for spicy sparkling wines that do not have much of the objectionable foxiness character that other labrusca grapes contribute to their wines.[http://wine.appellationamerica.com/grape-varietal/Delaware.html] The wine is light pink to white in colour.

It is a commercially viable grape vine which is grown in the North East and Mid West of America and is vigorous when grafted onto a phylloxera resistant root stock. The Delaware grape is susceptible to downy mildew and ripens earlier than Concord [http://mtngrv.missouristate.edu/MWFHU/Delaware.htm]

The Delaware grape is also a table grape variety sold in supermarkets throughout Japan, where labrusca grape varieties are popular for their fragrance. Delaware Punch is named for the Delaware grape from which its flavor is derived.

Agiorgitiko (; also known as Aghiorghitiko, Mavro Nemeas and St. George) is one of the two widely-grown heat-resistant Greek wine-making grape varieties, the other being Xynomavro. It is a red variety that has traditionally been grown in the Nemea region of the Peloponnese. It is one of the more commercially important indigenous Greek varieties, and it can take on a large range of characteristics, from soft to very tannic, depending on factors in the growing and winemaking processes.

Grape juice is a juice obtained from crushing grapes. The juice is often fermented and made into wine, brandy, or vinegar. In the wine industry, grape juice that contains 7-23 percent of pulp, skins, stems and seeds is often referred to as "must".

Aglianico (pronounced "ah-LYAH-nee-koe") is a black grape grown in the Campania and Basilicata regions of Italy. The vine originated in Greece and was brought to Campania by Greek settlers. The name may be a corruption of Vitis hellenica, Latin for "Greek vine". J. Robinson Vines, Grapes & Wines pg 213 Mitchell Beazley 1986 ISBN 1857329996 Another etymology derives the name Aglianico from a corruption of Apulianicum, the Latin adjective which indicates the whole of southern Italy in the Roman age. In early Roman times, it was the principal grape of the famous Falernian wine which was the Roman equivalent of a First Growth wine today.