Humans discovered thousands of years ago that grapes – which originated 130 million years ago according to archeological finds – make wine naturally. That happens when airborne yeast and enzymes land on grape skins and cause partial or total fermentation. The earliest record of a fermented drink from grapes was in China about 7,000-6,600 BCE.

The earliest known cultivation of domesticated grapes occurred in what is now the country of Georgia in the Caucasus region of Eurasia about 6,000 BCE. By 4,000 BCE, viticulture, or the making of wine, extended through the Fertile Crescent to the Nile Delta and to Asia Minor. Grapes pictured in hieroglyphics in Egyptian tombs and wine jugs found in the burial sites have been traced back as far as 5,000 BCE. Red wine was among the things the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamon had in his tomb.

In the timeline of history, table grapes, the ones we buy in clusters for snacks or to set out with cheese trays, are a fairly recent development. Prior to the 16th century, while some doctors in Europe used wine and wine vinegar as an anesthetic and disinfectant, grapes essentially had an exclusive purpose: making wine. The first use of table grapes has been traced to the French King Francois I (1494-1547). Ruling France from 1515 until his death, he had a fondness for the Chasselas grape as dessert, thus earning him the distinction of the originator of the table grape.

Today, there are three primary uses of grapes: table grapes, raisins, and wine. Not surprisingly, more grapes are used to make wine than for any other purpose.