Vitis

The genus of the plant kingdom to which grapevines belong. Within the genus Vitis there are some sixty separate species. The most famous species—and the only one to have originated in Europe—is VITIS VINIFERA, which includes all of the well-known wine grapes, chardonnay, pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon, and so on (and accounts for virtually all of the wines made today). Most species of vines, however, originated in North America. These include VITIS LABRUSCA, Vitis riparia, Vitis rupestris, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis berlandieri, among others.

Where does the name California come from?

A. It's a Native American phrase meaning "bountiful land"

B. It's based on a 16th century romance novel featuring a black warrior queen

C. It's a reference to a presidio (military fort) of the same name in the Mexican state of Sonora

D. It's taken from an early text on methods of religious conversion used by Franciscan missionaries to convert indigenous people to Catholicism

The name California was used officially in Spanish documents as early as 1542. It comes from a description of a fabled, gold-laden island called California in the popular Spanish romance novel Las Sergas de Esplandián (The Adventures of Esplandián) by Garcia Ordonez de Montalvo. The island was ruled by a black warrior queen named Queen Califia who ruled over a kingdom of black women. Some historians believe that the early Spanish explorers who moved north from Mexico may have thought that what is now California was an island.

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Amount of additional beer (in millions of pints) that the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) estimates could have been sold in the UK in April—had lockdown measures not forced them to close—due to the… Continue reading

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