description
Vitis vinifera is a member of the Vitaceae family and is a liana growing to 35 yards tall, with flaky bark. The leaves are alternate, palmately lobed, 5–20 cm long and broad. The fruit is a berry, known as a grape; in the wild species it is 6 mm diameter and ripens dark purple to blackish with a pale wax bloom; in cultivated plants it is usually much larger, up to 3 cm long, and can be green, red, or purple (black).

common names & nomenclature
"Vine" is derived from viere (to twist) which possibly references the plant's habit of twining.

Also known as:
grape vine, common grape vine

Vitis vinifera is native to the Mediterranean region, central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran.

climate
Vitis vinifera typically occurs in humid forests and streamsides.

soil
Prefers a deep rich moist well-drained moderately fertile loam soil. Grows best in a calcareous soil, but dislikes excessively chalky soil.

growing
Grape vine is propagated by seeds, layers, cuttings, and grafting. Sow seed in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe. Six weeks cold stratification improves the germination rate, and so stored seed is best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is obtained. Germination should take place in the first spring, but sometimes takes another 12 months. Take cuttings of mature wood of the current season’s growth, December-January in a cold frame. These cuttings can be of wood 15 - 30cm long or they can be of short sections of the stem about 5cm long with just one bud at the top of the section. In this case a thin, narrow strip of the bark about 3cm long is removed from the bottom half of the side of the stem. This will encourage callusing and the formation of roots.

harvesting
Harvest grapes in late summer or early fall and extract the seeds via a press. It takes nearly a ton of fresh grapes to produce one bottle of grapeseed oil. The process is lengthy and done by machine.

preserving
Store dried grapeseeds in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.