Wild Grape Vine: A Field Guide

Seeking sun, grape vines soar high into tree canopies in the wild. If you’re lucky enough to have one in your garden, urge it onto an arch or arbor.

Wild grape vines differ from their domesticated siblings in several ways. Their leaves are glossy, not matte, and smaller. They grow higher and need a little less chill in winter. Their fruit clusters are typically small and loose. Vitus labrusca, the fox grape, is thought by many to be the premier wild grape, but be on the lookout for V. vinifera spp. sylvestris (ancestor of the common grape), V. californica (California wild grape), and V. girdiana (desert wild grape).