The first documentation of grapevines growing in the Americas was discovered in researching the logbook of navigator Giovanni de Verazzano, who reported in 1504 that a large "white grape" was vigorously growing at Cape Fear, North Carolina. The English explorer of the New World, Sir Walter Raleigh, confirmed in a letter to Arthur Barlowe in 1585, the discovery of a white grape (scuppernong), when he landed in coastal North Carolina.

The 1500's ancient discovery of native grapevines growing in America was followed by numerous Spanish settlements along the coast of the United States where introduced old world grapevines were planted alongside the native American grapevines. That interplanting resulted in natural crosses of hybrid grapevines, a blending of the characteristics of both types. The French navigators were also exploring territories and lands surrounding Louisiana and were planting European grape vine varieties from the South of France, that also hybridized with native American grapevines. The English settlers established colonies in 1733 in Savannah, Georgia and Fort Frederica, on Saint Simon's Island, Georgia, under General James Oglethorpe, who was the first Governor of Georgia. These English colonies brought in seeds of grapes from Europe that were planted and grown in small farm vineyards. Those transplants intermixed with native grapevines that grew in woods nearby, and this intermixing resulted in new grape hybrids that were spread by the Indians and colonists everywhere. It is believed that these hybrids produced some selections such as Concord, Niagara, Catawba, and others that were identified as growing naturally in the woods by the great American explorer William Bartram, in his book, Travels, as Vitis labrusca by botanists today.

Henry Laurens, who served as President of the American Continental Congress after the year 1755, lived near Charleston, South Carolina, and introduced olive trees, lime trees, everbearing strawberries, ginger, red raspberry, and blue grapes into the colonies to be grown for food. Henry Laurens was a good friend of John and William Bartram, the famous father and son, botanist explorers, and author of the book, Travels, in 1773. From Southern France, Henry Laurens introduced "apples, pears, plums, the white chasselas grape (vine) which bore abundantly." Laurens claimed that he raised the fruit of the olive tree that he pickled and explained was "equal to those exported."

William Bartram wrote in his botanical book, Travels, in 1773, that he left Augusta on the way to Savannah, Georgia, and viewed a plantation growing grapes. "Vitis vinifera, for wine, Vitis corinthiaca, for Currants, Vitis allobrogia, for Raisins, olives, figs, Morus (mulberry), for feeding silkworms, Citrus aurantium, Citrus limon, Citrus verrucosa, the great sweet scented Citron."

When crossing the Saint John's River in Eastern Florida, Bartram wrote that the "grape vines in this place were astonishing to behold." He wrote that the grape was "small and ill tasted" but the strength and bulk of the vines could be imagined to pull the giant mighty trees down to Earth, but actually served to uphold the trees since the 12 inch wide vines twined up the trees and then "spread along their limbs, from tree to tree, throughout the forest." In Alabama, Bartram wrote that the trees "were entangled with grape vines (Vitis campestris) of a particular species; the bunches (racemes) of fruit were very large, as were the grapes that composed them, though yet green and not fully grown, but when ripe they were of various colors, and their juice sweet and rich." Bartram wrote that the Indians gathered, dried, and stored them (raisins) as provisions.

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