In 2024, what’s the most widely planted white wine grape in the world?
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Dear Dr. Vinny,
What’s the most widely planted white wine grape in the world? I believe it was Airén until recently, but some sources indicate it is now Chardonnay. Can you help?
—Frank, Long Beach Township, N.J.
Dear Frank,
Good question. It’s difficult to get accurate worldwide grape acreage figures since every country tracks and reports this information differently. The last time I answered a similar question, I referenced Kym Anderson’s 2013 publication Which Winegrape Varieties Are Grown Where? A Global Empirical Picture, published by the University of Adelaide.
Back then, Airén—which is commonly used in Spain for making brandy, Sherry and some white wines—was the most planted white wine grape. But according to an updated version published in 2020 (by Kym Anderson and Signe Nelgen), the wine world has changed quite a bit. The book is a fascinating read, if you’re into that sort of thing.
In the new edition, some of the changes have been dramatic. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot plantings have more than doubled; as in 2013, they take the first and second places worldwide. On the white wine side, Airén plantings have dropped quite a bit, and it’s not even the most planted grape in Spain—Tempranillo now is.
Because of this change and many other nuances (drum roll please), Chardonnay is the world’s most planted white wine grape variety.
—Dr. Vinny
