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Welcome to 'Bunches of Flavor', fanlisting for one of my favorite fruits, red grapes. It is such a pleasure to bring this awesome fanlisting to you. Thank you to Kryz for letting me adopt it from her collective. |
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What is a fanlisting? A fanlisting is a website that devotes itself to a certain subject matter (TV show, actor/ actress, characters, etc.) and asks others from all over to join in and show the world that they're a fan, too! |
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What are grapes? A grape is the non-climacteric fruit that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the family Vitaceae. Grapes grow in clusters of 6 to 300, and can be black, blue, golden, green, purple, red, pink, brown, peach or white. They can be eaten raw or used for making jam, grape juice, jelly, wine and grape seed oil. Cultivation of grapevines occurs in vineyards, and is called viticulture. One who studies and practises growing grapes for wine is called a viticulturist. Raisins are the dried fruit of the grapevine, and the name actually comes from the French word for "grape". Wild grapevines are often considered a nuisance weed, as they cover other plants with their usually rather aggressive growth. The leaves of the grape vine itself are considered edible and are used in the production of dolmades. According to the "Food and Agriculture Organization" (FAO), 75,866 square kilometres of the world is dedicated to grapes. Approximately 71% of world grape production is used for wine, 27% as fresh fruit, and 2% as dried fruit. A portion of grape production goes to producing grape juice to be used as a sweetener for fruits canned "with no added sugar" and "100% natural". The area dedicated to vineyards is increasing by about 2% per year. Comparing diets among western countries, researchers have discovered that although the French tend to eat higher levels of animal fat, surprisingly the incidence of heart disease remains low in France. This phenomenon has been named the French Paradox. Many scientists now believe the reason is the greater consumption of red wine in France. Something in the grape helps to lower cholesterol levels in the body and thus slows the build up of deposits in the arteries. Compounds such as resveratrol (a polyphenol antioxidant) have been discovered in grapes and these have been positively linked to fighting cancer, heart disease, degenerative nerve disease and other ailments. Doctors do not recommend excessive consumption of red wine, but three or four glasses a week is beneficial and encouraged. Red or not, grapes of all colors offer comparable benefits. Red wine offers health benefits not found in white wine, because many of the beneficial compounds are found in the skins of the grapes, and only red wine is fermented with the skins. Seedlessness is a highly desirable trait in table grape selection, and seedless cultivars now make up the overwhelming majority of table grape plantings. Because grapevines are vegetatively propagated by cuttings, the lack of seeds does not present a problem for reproduction. It is, however, an issue for breeders, who must either use a seeded variety as the female parent or rescue embryos early in development using tissue culture techniques. There are several sources of the seedlessness trait, and essentially all commercial cultivars get it from one of three sources: Thompson Seedless, Russian Seedless, and Black Monukka. All are members of Vitis vinifera. |
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About The Webmaster... My name is Amanda and I live in Brooklyn, NY. I am currently the owner of several websites, several fanlistings and namelistings and 3 forums. I've always been a fan of red grapes! You can reach me anytime at Sel416331@aol.com and on AIM. All images, html, and codes are the property of me! Please visit the credits page for more info on those who helped out. |