The grapevine is a word for gossip. Anything heard on the grapevine was learned by word of mouth. In the Civil War, a grapevine telegraph was a gadget used for communicating. From there, people started talking about "the grapevine" as a source of information, especially gossip.

So, how long do grape vines produce fruit? A mature vine will produce fruit for decades! However, typically after 30 years, a grape vine's production decreases—though it's still capable of bearing fruit for much longer. Well-tended vines can live for 50, 80, or even 100 years.

Vines only actually grow for about eight months of the year. In the Autumn they drop their leaves and remain dormant throughout the winter, conserving their energy for the next crop. Even a vine needs to rest at some point to keep producing its best work.

Smarty Plants has never tried to do this,but wild grape vine is a woody plant, and as such produces annual growth rings in the trunks, canes, and cordons. One can determine the age of the plant by counting the rings in a cross section of the stem which would, of course, entail cutting the stem.