Pre-phylloxera Grape Varietals

An answer to the challenges of climate change?

Jul 18, 2024

I often ask people who come on wine walks how many grape varietals they think there are in the world. It generally comes as a surprise to learn there are close to 10,000 and that 1368 of those are used in wine making. This seems an astonishing number when most of us are only able to name a few. Is there any good reason why the most common grape varietals are the only ones most people recognise? How is it these few varietals make up the majority of those used in wine making? How did these familiar names come to be the status quo and dominate the wine world? What impact does limiting the choice of grape varietals have on biodiversity? Is it perhaps time to broaden the ampelographic palette?

Most people don’t query the choices of the most common grape varietals that are used around the world, assuming they have been chosen for good reason, or that that’s simply the extent of it. Those grapes and nothing other, often associating them with, well ‘wine’, unaware that the myriad grape varietals used to make wine around the world even exist. Even among the most planted varietals around the world there are names most people don’t know (Airén for example).

Top grape varieties by planted hectares

1. Cabernet Sauvignon, 840,000 acres (340,000 hectares)
2. Merlot, 657,300 acres (266,000 hectares)
3. Tempranillo, 570,800 acres (231,000 hectares)
4. Airén, 538 700 acres (218 000 hectares)
5. Chardonnay, 518,900 acres (211,000 hectares)
6. Syrah, 470 000 acres (190,000 hectares)
7. Grenache Noir, 402,780 acres (163,000 hectares)
8. Sauvignon Blanc, 299 000 acres (121,000 hectares)
9. Pinot Noir, 285,000 acres (115,000 hectares)
10. Trebbiano Toscano / Ugni Blanc, 274,300 acres (111,000 hectares)

Source: OIV

I had a lunch recently with Jeanne Yerre, a specialist in grape varietals and a wine consultant who is working with pre-phylloxera varietals, specifically because of their value in terms of biodiversity, the effects of a changing climate causing ever more frequent frosts, heat and water stress, along with their resistance to certain cryptogramic diseases. Her work is tripartite - research, communication and accompaniment. Her historical research, which is in partnership with universities, includes the identification and the regional naming of ‘forgotten’ grape varietals, communication around tasting events and publications, and accompanying wine growers in selecting varietals that are adapted to their soils and micro-climates. She works closely with twelve growers who have planted varietals that ‘disappeared’ after phylloxera and distributes their wines in Paris.

She refers to these ‘forgotten’ varietals as something to be rediscovered because they were ‘lost’ after phylloxera. The choice of what was kept after this devastating blight was primarily expedient. It was expensive to graft varietals on to American rootstock, so those grapes that were high in alcohol, easy to cultivate, and the most productive, took precedence. The degree of alcohol was particularly important as wines were sold to ‘caves cooperatives’ and were mixed with water, and so varietals that were light in alcohol were automatically eliminated.

In general, the wine growers Jeanne works with plant an average of six or seven, and up to fifteen different varietals. They still keep the ‘classic’ varietals of the region, but progressively introduce these ‘forgotten’ vines. I asked her about hybrid varietals, which are becoming increasingly common and asked is she works with them as well. Not in the least, she replied.

“I am an historian and my first priority is about preserving viticultural heritage. (Jeanne has also been collaborating on CepAtlas with the University of Tours). That is my first reason, and my second is that I find that hybrids are without interest. The notion of ‘terroir’ is lost. They’re fruity and pleasant, but they’re short, without depth or length.”

“What about the AOC in all of this?”, I asked. “Are these forgotten vines recognised by the AOC?”

“That depends”, said Jeanne, “it’s all a bit unpredictable.”

"Do you work with the INAO?”

“Yes, but not enough. Sometimes. But there’s insufficient interest in these forgotten varietals and so there are too few wine growers who want to re-introduce them, and so they pass as ‘Vin de France’. In order for them to be get AOC recognition, most of the growers in an appellation would have to adopt them. There are very few that have been recognised by the INAO and so most are sold as ‘Vin de France.”

“Having AOC recognition is no longer an issue”, I suggested “as there are many wines from around the country that have broken with the AOC, in some instances selling for higher prices than the AOC wines of their region.”

“Yes, while all the new hybrid varieties that have been introduced by the INAO have been accepted into the AOC, whereas these pre-phylloxera varieties have not.”

“What about the organoleptic experience of these varietals? Do they add something to the mix?”

“All of them bring different aromatic profiles to the wine and they’re also interesting because they’re not very high in alcohol. And wines that are not very high in alcohol is something that is being sought after today. They are wines that are light, with low alcohol levels, lots of fruit, good acidity and a lot of freshness.”

“Are there certain of these varietals that are more successful than others?”

“No, but some of them have become recognised because they have been worked for a long time. Thierry Navarre has been working with Oeillade and Riberanc for thirty years so they’re beginning to be known. Grolleau as well because we started working with it quite a while ago.”

“Did you have a hand in that?”

“No, it was Rosé d’Anjou that has brought that up.”

“Grolleau is pretty easy to find.”

“Yet there’s hardly any left. There were 11,000 hectares in 1958 and only 1800 hectares today. Of those 1800 there are 1450 in Anjou and 138 in Indre et Loire, whereas there were 5000 hectares in 1958. It was disappearing completely, but we’ve slowed that by convincing wine growers to plant it. It’s the same with Arbois (also known as Orbois, Pineau Menu, Herbois, Menu Pineau…).”

“Have you spoken with the new growers in the Île-de-France about planting any of these forgotten varieties?”

“I’ve tried to accompany them, but without success. I’ve heard that what they’re planting mainly in the Île-de-France is Pinot Noir, Gamay, Sauvignon and Chardonnay and it’s crazy to plant those varieties. There are much more interesting varietals to use than those. Everyone plants them everywhere in France. They can surely do better than that. That is my work, to try to accompany wine growers in selecting other varietals than those that are already planted everywhere else around the world.”

“So is there a variety that you think better corresponds to the Île-de-France?”

“Yes, there’s a grape that I think would be particularly interesting called Gascon. It is a grape that comes from the East that has been widely planted in the Orléanais.”

“Nothing to do with Gascogne.”

“No, it’s probably because the Gascon grape has the shape of a cherry.”

“According to the dictates of the IGP for the Île-de-France, 76 varieties have been authorised for planting. But I don’t know whether any of those are pre-phylloxera varietals. The only thing they can’t do is make sparkling wine so as to not compete with Champagne.”

“Yes, the North-East of the Île-de-France is right next to Champagne.”

“You mentioned earlier that Grolleau can freeze and then bud again, which is an enormous advantage in regions that are prone to late frosts. Are there other varieties that can do the same thing?”

“For the moment I don’t know of any others, but I haven’t done an exhaustive study of the question. Perhaps there are others, but there are late budding varietals like Arbois or Castets in Bordeaux that only bud in late April, so they’re impervious to frost.”

“I have friends with a vineyard in Pakistan where it gets very hot. What are the varietals that can be used in very hot climates?”

“They need to plant late-ripening vines, what is referred to as 2nd or 3rd epoch, which means varietals that keep their acidity and ripen later.”

“For example?”

“Colombard, if they want white, but I could put together a complete dossier of varietals that would be suitable. I don’t know Pakistan at all, but there’s the question of soil analysis, which also plays an important part in the choice of vines. I’d need to discuss this with my ampelographic colleagues.”

“Something else that I know has been impacting a lot of regions because of climate change is that vines no longer freeze and so they don’t sleep.”

“Yes, so they don’t ever rest in fact. It’s like a lot of trees around us. They’re always in a growth state and so they get tired. Which means they die younger. Another problem is the clones we have chosen.”

“It’s a fascinating subject as I think most people never question the choice of varietals, assuming these choices were made for good reasons. Even grape growers don’t question these choices.”

“There are, but they’re few and far between”.

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Pre-phylloxera Grape Varietals

An answer to the challenges of climate change?

Top grape varieties by planted hectares

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