native American grapes

Grape varieties indigenous to the Americas. Four main species are related to wine production-vitis aestivalis, vitis labrusca, vitis riparia and vitis rotundifolia-none of which produce grapes used to make the world's fine wines. That honor goes to vitis vinifera (which includes cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay and sauvignon blanc grapes), an Asian and European species used in over 99 percent of the world's wines. Native American varieties have made an important contribution to the wine world in that they are phylloxera-resistant, particularly the Vitis riparia species. After European vineyards were devastated by the phylloxera infestation in the 1800s, it was discovered that grafting Vitis vinifera budwood to native American rootstocks produced phylloxera-resistant Vitis vinifera grapes.