What Is A Grape Ron Cline E-mail Webmaster Grape , common name of an edible fruit in the buckthorn family, and of the vines that produce the fruit. The European grape has been used as food since prehistoric times. Grape seeds have been found in remains of lake dwellings of the Bronze Age in Switzerland and Italy and in tombs of ancient Egypt.
Botanists believe that the Caspian Sea region was the original home of the European grape.
Distribution of seeds by birds, wind, and water carried the plant westward to the Asian shores of the Mediterranean. Grape culture, practiced in Palestine during biblical times, was introduced in the Mediterranean region by seagoing Phoenicians. The ancient Greeks cultivated grapes, and use of the fruit was later adopted by Rome and its tributary territories. The European grape is now commercially cultivated in warmer regions all over the world, particularly in western Europe, the Balkans, California, Australia, South Africa, and parts of South America. It was introduced to eastern North America during colonial times, but in those days grape cultivation failed due to the attacks of diseases and pests.