Insufficient levels of malate and lack of acidity in commercial grape cultivars (V.vinifera) hinders the quality of fruit grown in warm climates. Conversely, excessive levels of malate and sourness in wild Vitis grape, leads to unpalatable fruit and complicates the introgression of valuable disease resistant alleles through breeding. Nonetheless, albeit decades of research, knowledge regarding the molecular regulation of malate levels in grape remains limited.