An international variety is a grape variety that is widely planted in most of the major wine producing regions and has widespread appeal and consumer recognition. These are grapes that are highly likely to appear on wine labels as varietal wines and are often considered benchmarks for emerging wine industries. There is some criticism that the popularity of so-called international varieties comes at the price of a region's indigenous varieties. The majority of declared international varieties are French in origin (most notably Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay), though in recent years the popularity of Spanish (such as Tempranillo) and Italian varietals (like Sangiovese and Nebbiolo) has seen an increase in worldwide plantings and these may also be considered "international varieties".[1]
- ^ J. Robinson (ed.), "The Oxford Companion to Wine", Third Edition, p. 358, Oxford University Press, 2006, ISBN 0-19-860990-6