A little about the Mission Grape. It is thought by the experts that this grape, brought to California by the padres in the late 1700's, and first planted in San Juan Capistrano (Vina Madre, or Mother Vineyard), is most likely the European grape Vitis Vinifera. It could also be a subvariety of the Pais grape of Chile or the Argentine Criolla Chica or Criolla Cereza. In other words, our Mission Grapes could have been imported by the padres or by explorers from South America.
An alternative theory is that it is a hybrid version of the Spanish Vinifera and the wild grapes of California. The most prevalent theory is that it is either Zinfandel, or a hybrid of Zin and other grapes. In fact, the Governor was asked last year to declare Zinfandel California's native grape (which he declined to do). What is known for sure is that the Mission Grape is hardy, requires little care, is resistant to disease and can live for more than a century.
There are currently several wineries in northern CA which claim to be growing and bottling Mission Grapes (Deaver, Story, Shenandoah, etc.). It is also not very well thought of in terms of its body and taste, kind of flabby, it's written, but that may be a reflection of the winery and not the grape. Anyway, it's an important grape historically, and, as you've learned, is probably growing wild in ditches and scrubland all throughout the southwest.
