Genomic evidence supports an independent history of Levantine and Eurasian grapevines

Societal Impact Statement Grapevine is a major horticultural crop that has been intertwined with human culture for Millennia. The Levant was an important center of the ancient winemaking industry until collapse Byzantine Empire. Consequently, identity grapevine varieties considered lost. Here, we study domestication history Levantine samples using whole‐genome sequencing data and show some are authentic descendants they conform to independent lineage. This precious germplasm paves route bridge modern varieties. However, accelerated anthropogenic development in this region poses threat sampling locations; thus, additional efforts urged explore conserve other collections Levant. Summary wine have inspired beliefs rituals societies. Despite their importance, original wine‐grape were lost due cultural turnovers commencing 7th century CE, leading flourishing region. We generated sequence diversity panel wild domesticated accessions. Demographic models, pedigree analysis, genome scans conducted estimate divergence among four distinct groups. models designated Caucasus predated emergence represented further explored relationship grapevines identified intriguing between “Chardonnay” variety Genomic genetic load analyses supported lineage Eurasian Tracking crops challenging especially perennial species like grapevine. Although represent genomic background, it remains unclear whether extensive gene‐flow or direct sparked