Farmed grape varieties
We can group the farmed grape varieties in:
- Autochthonous: popular in their original native area like Teroldego rotaliano (province of Trento, Italy)
- Local: through history, some grape varieties have found their own expression in places far from where they were originally from. An example is given by Monemvasia which is an autochthonous Greek variety that spread around the Mediterranean and is nowadays called Malvasia in Italy and Molvosia in France
- International: these grapes have started to become widespread in the last 100 years in areas where they were not as popular before and they are not originally from. They easily adapt to new climatic regimes keeping their own features and characteristics. They are, for example, Merlot and Cabernet sauvignon
The issues of international varieties
- International varieties have started to be widespread in the last 30 years and they have basically taken the place of local and autochthonous varieties
- their success is given by their adaptability and fitness in environments without losing their consistency and quality
- Customers tend to prefer wines they can rely on to so this has contributed to their spread
- Big companies can automatize the supply chain in a short time so they are happy to please customers with such needs
- On the other hand, small producers have a lower margin so they tend to run out of business if they do not absorb the change. They need to struggle to keep up their own special brand or to actually make it economically sustainable
→ It is therefore a lack of sustainability, especially at local level.