Vitis vinifera is the scientific name for the European Wine Grape. This grape is the grape used to produce almost all wine. It is native to areas bordering the Mediterranean, and other river valleys in southern Europe, stretching into the northern Mideast. There are also over 5000 varieties of this grape cultivated throughout the world for winemaking, or consumtion via other means. Winemaking using these grapes probably began about 10,000 years ago; the actual cultivation of the grape probably started about 6000 years ago. Wine grapes are now grown in many other temperate parts of the world as well, such as California, Australia, New Zealand, and Argentina.

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