What Are The Most Popular Wine Grapes In The World?

A team of researchers from the University of Adelaide in South Australia has compiled what it’s calling the first-ever catalog of the world’s wine grape regions and varieties, providing a comprehensive breakdown of the industry that covers approximately 99 percent of global wine production.

Funded by the Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation, the new database covers a staggering 1,271 different grape varietals from 521 wine regions in 44 wine-producing countries. Kym Anderson of the University Of Adelaide School Of Economics said the catalog fulfilled a longstanding need within the wine industry.

“In the wake of wine’s globalization, wine producers need to exploit their geographical and varietal distinctiveness in order to boost their competitiveness. This database, for the first time, offers transparency across the world’s wine varieties and regions,” Anderson explained.

The detailed database not only reveals which wine grapes are most prevalent throughout the globe, but also uncorks changing trends in consumer behavior. Twenty years ago, for instance, the most widely grown grape in the world was a white wine variety from Spain called Airen. Now it’s Cabernet Sauvignon.


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