Wine enthusiasts tend to like unusual grape varieties. What is unusual and common however, varies with time. The grape varieties that are the most grown today are not the same as 20 years ago.
Since 1990, cabernet sauvignon and merlot have doubled their surface, tempranillo and chardonnay have tripled theirs, syrah has gone from 36th to 6th place in the top ten list. Sauvignon blanc and pinot noir have increased in a similar way.
The striking thing when looking at grape statistics is that there are so few grapes that dominate. Worldwide, 16 grapes account for 50% of the total surface, down from 21 grapes twenty years ago.
In the New World, only seven grapes account for 50% of the surface of these countries (CS, merlot, chardonnay, syrah, sauvignon blanc, malbec and pinot noir). Which is perhaps not too bad. There’s still 50% left for the wine enthusiast.
The University of Adelaide compiles these fascinating grape statistics.
