The science of grape varieties (ampelos = grch. vine) is a branch of oenology. According to Greek mythology, the first grapevine grew from the body of Satyrn Ampelos, who was killed in a hunt. His companion Dionysus first planted it into a bird's bone. When the bird bone became too small, he put it into the bone of a lion and finally into the bone of a donkey. So he could take the vine with him wherever he went. Attempts to differentiate between grape varieties were already made in Roman antiquity and Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) discovered that one and the same grape variety was often hidden behind different regional names. From the later Middle Ages, there are lists of authors with the names of regionally cultivated grape varieties. However, the descriptions are often imprecise, so that one can only speculate about the actual grape varieties.