Vitis Vinifera A little botany to understand the vine Everything relates to the botanical family of Vitaceae, which has about 50 species. One of these is Vitis, which is subdivided into two species: muscadiniae and euvitis. It is this latter which interests the winegrowing world. It has 22 species classed into three groups according to their geographical origin. The European one is Vitis vinifera (in turn divided into two subspecies, sativa, the cultivated variety, and silvestris, the wild one) from which thousands of cultivated varieties have been derived, in order to produce the best wines. If Vitis vinifera is fundamental for production of the type of grape, with white berries or red berries, other species of North American origin are just as important: these phylloxera-resistant types saved European viticulture and are used as rootstocks.