Since 2005, in which country will you find the largest grape vine in the world?

Hampton Court Palace is a royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. The palace and its gardens are open to the public. Other points of interest for visitors include the celebrated maze, the historic royal tennis court, and the huge grape vine, the largest in the world as of 2005.

The Great Vine, Vitis vinifera 'Schiava Grossa' (synonym: Black Hamburg), is now 250 years old and is the largest grape vine in the world. It was planted in 1768 while Lancelot 'Capability' Brown was in charge of the gardens at Hampton Court. Lancelot directed the planting of the Great Vine from a cutting taken at Valentines Mansion in Essex.

In 1887 it was already 1.2 metres (4') around the base. It is now four metres (13') around the base and the longest rod is 36.5 metres (120'). The Vine is grown on the extension method where one plant fills a glasshouse, as Victorian gardeners thought this method would produce a larger crop.

The average crop of black dessert grapes is about 272 kilograms (600lbs), however in the autumn of 2001 it was 383 kilograms (845 lbs) - the best crop ever. The grapes are ripe after August Bank Holiday and are sold during the first three weeks of September in the palace shop.