Where Are Grapes Grown? A Quick Look at Global Planting Distribution in One Chart
No idea about the global state of grape growing? Come take a look at these charts with us.
Have no idea about the grape growing situation in the world? Let's look at these pictures.
The International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) recently released its 2016 report on world grape growing and wine production. Let's look at a few charts from the report to quickly understand the global grape growing situation.
Image source: OIV
Among all grape-growing countries, the grapes produced are used for different purposes, mainly for table grapes, winemaking and raisin production. China, for example, is a major producer of table grapes, with Kyoho grapes as the main variety grown. In major wine-producing countries such as France, Germany, Spain and Argentina, the grapes grown are mainly wine grapes. In regions with a relatively dry climate suitable for making raisins, such as Turkey and Iran, a large proportion of the grapes produced is used for raisins.
Image source: OIV
From the chart showing the proportion of major grape varieties grown in each country, we can see that most countries are dominated by a few varieties. For example, Airen and Tempranillo together account for 43% of Spain's grape growing area, while Kyoho accounts for 44% of China's grape growing area. Italy can be described as the country with the richest variety diversity: Sangiovese, the variety with the largest growing area, accounts for only 8% of the total growing area, while a large number of other native varieties are distributed across different regions of the country. This is one of the reasons why the country's wines are so complex and hard to understand.
Image source: OIV
According to data from the OIV report, there are more than 1,000 grape varieties in the world (including table grapes and wine grapes). However, the 33 common grape varieties alone account for 50% of global grape plantings, and the top 13 grape varieties account for about one third of global grape plantings.
Image source: OIV
The most widely grown grape in the world is Kyoho, mainly used as a table grape, with a growing area of 365,000 hectares. Cabernet Sauvignon, the wine grape most favoured by winemakers, also has a global growing area that cannot be underestimated, reaching 340,000 hectares, or 5% of the global growing area. Some of what we often call "international varieties", such as Merlot and Chardonnay, are widely distributed across major wine-producing countries, with considerable growing areas. (Text/Zoe)