Vitis

Native eastern North American grape vine, the genetic parent of the Concord cultivar + most American slip-skin table grapes. Vigorous climbing or sprawling vine with three-lobed leaves + clusters of dark purple-black grapes with the distinctive 'foxy' flavor. Highly cold-hardy + disease-resistant compared to European wine grape (Vitis vinifera). Important wildlife fruit resource — songbirds, deer, and mammals consume the fruit + foliage.

The European wine grape — the woody deciduous vine behind nearly all of the world's wine, table grapes, and raisins. It climbs by branched tendrils and, left unpruned, can reach 40-60 feet, but vines grown for fruit are pruned hard to a 3-9 foot framework. Ovate, lobed leaves give way to dense clusters of soft pulpy berries that ripen in summer; the plant is high-maintenance, demanding annual pruning, support, and disease management in humid climates.