What was the first wine grape called?

It's impossible to say for certain what the *first* wine grape was called, as winemaking predates written records. However, we can make educated guesses based on archeological evidence and genetic analysis:

* Ancient origins: Winemaking likely originated in the Near East (modern-day Iran, Iraq, Turkey) around 8000-7000 BCE.

* Early cultivars: While there were likely various wild grapes used for winemaking, we don't know specific names.

* Genetic ties: Modern wine grapes, even varieties from different regions, share common genetic ancestry. This suggests early wine grapes likely had some relation to these, but exact names are lost to time.

* Modern understanding: We know some of the oldest cultivated wine grapes are Vitis vinifera, the species that gives us most of our modern varieties.

Therefore, we can't pinpoint the first wine grape's name. It was likely a wild grape variety from the Near East, possibly related to the ancestors of today's Vitis vinifera.