The organic sugar compounds found within the grapes, make it possible to ferment and preserve the juice into wine for later drinking. When the sugars are converted into ethyl alcohol, a preservative, and when bottled in an atmosphere without oxygen the resulting wine will keep for centuries. It is not surprising that European grapes (Vitis vinifera) were developed commercially and grown as separate cultivars.
Grapes were selected over the centuries, based on which grape produced the finest flavored wines with the most desirable aroma and taste - that not only depended on the weather, the grape vine cultivar selected, but also by the influence of the earth that the vines would grow in. These selections evolved from Europe and were hybridized with wild grape vines from America by Cornell University researchers and New York Agricultural College at Ithaca and Geneva, New York. Those scientists created new cultivars with thinner skins that were seedless and perfect for fresh eating and the finest wine production. Seedless grapes were also developed for obvious reasons. It is clear that the American wild species of grapes that were found growing in the Southern U.S., were more resistant to diseases of grapes, because of the thicker skin and the bigger seeds of the muscadine grape and scuppernong grape vines, so that these were planted for grocery store sales and for pick-your-own vineyard operations.