Which grape varieties should you know?

The OIV counts roughly 10,000 known wine grape varieties worldwide, of which only a small number are planted widely.

In its study on the distribution of grape varieties worldwide, the OIV arrives at a sharp ratio: thirteen varieties together cover more than a third of the vineyard area, and thirty-three varieties together half. The study covers 75 percent of the world’s area and uses data from 44 countries.

The rest of those ten thousand varieties therefore share the other half, often in small areas where they have traditionally belonged.

Cabernet Sauvignon is, at 341,000 hectares, the most widely planted wine grape variety in the world.

Behind it, in the OIV count, follow merlot with 266,000 hectares, tempranillo with 231,000 hectares, airén with 218,000 hectares, chardonnay with 210,000 hectares, syrah with 190,000 hectares and sauvignon blanc with 123,000 hectares. The figures relate to 2015.

Strikingly, blue and white varieties alternate in that list, and a variety such as airen is found almost entirely in Spain.

Airen, chardonnay and sauvignon blanc are the three white varieties with the largest acreage in the world.

Airen covers 218,000 hectares, chardonnay 210,000 hectares and sauvignon blanc 123,000 hectares. You will find chardonnay and sauvignon blanc in almost every wine country, from Burgundy to Chile and New Zealand.

In addition, riesling, pinot grigio, chenin blanc, verdejo and albariño run through the shelves as familiar names, each tied to its own region.

In many European regions of origin the place of origin is on the label and not the variety, because the area already determines which varieties are permitted.

An appellation prescribes in its regulations which varieties may be used and in what proportion. Anyone who knows which varieties belong to an area therefore reads the variety indirectly from the label.

In the New World and in Germany it is the other way round: there the variety name is usually shown large on the bottle.

If a grape variety is stated on the label in the European Union, at least 85 percent of the wine must be made from that variety.

If two or more varieties are named, the wine must consist 100 percent of those varieties, and the names appear on the label in descending order of the quantity used, in letters of equal size. The rule is in article 50 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/33.

A bottle with a single grape variety name can therefore still contain up to 15 percent of other varieties.