Can anyone hazard a guess at which variety of grapes these might be?

These are growing in Venezuela, if that helps in any way.

All I see is leaves and no grapes.

Can a variety be somewhat determined from the leaves alone?

I can't hazard a guess but maybe this will help: http://amarchinthevines.org/2015/08/23/turning-over-a-new-leaf/

I don't know if the photos below are accurate or not but some of the leaves shown match yours.

That's interesting, how different and distinct each variety is. Maybe Granache?

Ditto

Masbustelo said:

That's interesting, how different and distinct each variety is. Maybe Granache?

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I second for granache

Masbustelo said:

That's interesting, how different and distinct each variety is. Maybe Granache?

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Based on the illustration, that's what I was thinking.

Considering there are thousands of varieties of grapes showing less than 20 of them in a picture really is just too little to make a call on your variety. Is your vine one that was planted or is it a native wild vine? Just not enough information to make even a WAG (Wild As$ Guess).

Grapeman The vine was planted by someone at some point. There might be native grape vines around here but I've never seen any. I agree with the point that there are thousands of varieties. Of this one I've been told that it is a red grape with seeds. Its plausible that it could be a Grenache because of its global popularity, and apparently it is a variety that suffers high temps and little rain fairly well.

I think you might as well keep it growing and at some point you should get some grapes. From that you can try the grapes and see what they are good for. It looks pretty small now so will probably take a couple years to be bearing. What would you like to do with the grapes? If you want to make wine, why not plant several at least of a known variety that will grow there. It won't take much longer and then you will know what you have instead of guessing and hoping they are good for what you want.

The vine is growing in the shade, so I am trying to air layer a new plant off of it and then transplant properly. One of the things this particular vine has going for it is that it has survived in its environment with much neglect. There is no wine industry here, so I would have no idea where to locate named varieties. Supposedly in the tropics new vines can fruit in 18 months. I would like to try and make wine with it. It is a wine grape of some type. No table grapes are grown here.

@ grapeman- If it were a wild vine what do you think it would be? I think its too far south for v.caribaea.

Masbustelo said:

The vine is growing in the shade, so I am trying to air layer a new plant off of it and then transplant properly. One of the things this particular vine has going for it is that it has survived in its environment with much neglect. There is no wine industry here, so I would have no idea where to locate named varieties. Supposedly in the tropics new vines can fruit in 18 months. I would like to try and make wine with it. It is a wine grape of some type. No table grapes are grown here.

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That's an interesting point. If it were vinifera, it wouldn't last long on its own. There are only a few places around the world that vinifera can survive without care. I wonder if it's not a hybrid.

marquettematt said:

@ grapeman- If it were a wild vine what do you think it would be? I think its too far south for v.caribaea.

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I have no idea what the native grape species would be in Venezuela if there is even one (or more) there. Whatever that is, it would be the first one to suspect or rule out before trying to identify what this one vine is.

Thanks guys for your interest in answering. My clone has been transplanted and is taking off. I've read that they can produce in 18 months in this climate. If I get some grapes I'll take pictures and try to update later. I've been studying online articles about varieties used in Sicily, which may have a somewhat similar climate.

I'm interested in learning how it works out. Good luck with your experiment.