What Are Indigenous Grapes? | Wine Enthusiast

You’ve sipped Chardonnay and swirled Syrah. You’ve poured glasses of Pinot Noir and ordered rounds of Riesling. But are you familiar with Sicilian varieties like Catarratto and Grillo? What about Rkatsiteli or Kakheti?

These lesser-known varietals, many of them indigenous—a.k.a. grapes native to the land in which they are grown—are in the midst of a global resurgence. In fact, there are over 10,000 different grape varieties in the world, many of which are stepping now back into the winemaking spotlight.

Here’s everything you need to know about these historical grapes that have wine geeks thirsting for more.

Indigenous vs. Universal Grapes

Amy Racine, the beverage director of John Fraser Restaurants including The Times Square Edition and Vermilion Club, classifies all grapes into one of two categories: indigenous and universal.

Indigenous grapes are ones grown in their mother country. “They are either grapes unique to an area or varieties that are best grown in their native land,” says Racine.

“Universal varieties are ones you find all over the globe: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir,” says Racine.

While universal varieties are indigenous to somewhere, they’ve spent up to centuries abroad and settled into their new terroir. Take Pinot Noir, for example. Born in Burgundy, it is now grown in California, Argentina, Germany, Australia, France, South Africa and beyond. “It’s everywhere,” says Racine.

Unlike those well-known and beloved universal grapes, indigenous varietals are not widely recognized. This is partially due to how many exist—there are thousands of these native varieties grown in hundreds of different regions.

Take Sicily: Dozens of indigenous grapes are cultivated across the island. “In Contessa Entellina [in the Northwest], we cultivate Grillo, Lucido, Ansonica, Nero d’Avola, Nocera and Grecanico,” says Antonio Rallo, the winemaker, CEO and co-owner of Donnafugata. “In Vittoria [the South], we cultivate Nero d’Avola and Frappato. On Mount Etna, we have Carricante and Nerello Mascalese.”

Italy as a whole boasts over 500 identified varieties of native grapes. There are also A-list indigenous varieties, like Sangiovese in Chianti Classico, or Barolo’s Nebbiolo. Others are sleeper hits: Schioppettino, Barat, Negroamaro and Susumaniello.

Similarly, in Georgia, there are 525 known indigenous grapes. “Some of them are popular, and others are more obscure,” says Michael Kabilnitsky, the founder of Corus Imports, an importer and distributor that focuses on Georgian wines. “At some point in time they were likely growing close to extinction.”

On Pico Island, a tiny Portuguese winemaking region in the Azores, there are just three noble indigenous varieties—Terrantez do Pico, Arinto dos Açores and Verdelho do Pico—that reflect the island’s winemaking heritage. They’re mineral-driven and salt-kissed, reflective of the island’s rugged volcanic terrain.

Seafarers named those three varieties after mainland grapes with similar profiles, but they’re not the same—they’re entirely different. “Azorean Verdelho was first noted in 1584, and is the mother grape of Arinto, which is only grown in Madeira and Azores,” says Filipe Rocha, co-owner of Azores Wine Co. “The mother grape of that is Savagnin—you can track it by the Flemish settlers who came from Northern Europe to Portugal.”

It’s hard even for industry pros to keep up with the diversity, never mind general consumers. And, for growers, cultivating these rare grapes requires education and dedication.

Why Winemakers Are Obsessed With Indigenous Grapes

So, why grow them?

For Rocha, these grapes are a crucial part of Azorean heritage. Ten years ago, there were only 100 hectares of active production on the island after centuries of winemaking. Now, there are over 800 hectares of active plantings. Native grapes are a huge part of the island’s comeback story.

For other winemakers, working with indigenous grapes is romantic—a true expression of terroir.

“Indigenous grapes are deeply connected to the land and climate they’ve evolved with over centuries,” says Emilia Marinig of Querciabella in Greve, Chianti. “They embody tradition, culture and a sense of place. Working with indigenous varieties allows us to tell a story that is uniquely ours, and rooted in our region’s history.”

Roberto Magnisi, the winery director and winemaker at Duca di Salaparuta and Cantine Florio in Sicily finds that working with indigenous grapes, such as Grillo, Nero d’Avola, Frappato and Insolia, allows for his team to connect with their land. “It’s interpreting the indelible bond between the grape and the land,” he says. It “is a winemaking exercise of irresistible beauty.”

For other producers, working with indigenous grapes is an act of cataloging, preserving heritage and future-proofing the region’s history. In Valdobbiadene, a northern Italian region known for Prosecco production, Valdo winemaker Gianfranco Zanon works with grapes like Verdiso, Bianchetta and Perera.

Those varieties have fallen out of fashion in recent decades and their existence is dwindling. “In the early 20th century, they were much more present in the hills of Conegliano-Valdobbiadene and then gradually disappeared,” he says.

Growing them now is a commitment to what came before.

Old Ways Forging a Brighter Future

Reverting back to historical grapes is also helping to better understand the land and climate. Old-school varieties can be hardier and less prickly in the face of shifting climates.

“Over the centuries, our native grape varieties have developed an extraordinary ability to adapt to the territories in which they are grown,” Zanon continues. “It allows the vineyard to better withstand climatic adversity.”

In Priorat and Penedes, Familia Torres has been investing in indigenous and lost varieties, like Forcada, in an effort to better understand what grapes will better weather the changing climate.

The Portuguese government has funneled significant funds to researching and preserving indigenous varietals and their clones, so winemakers have more to work with as the climate becomes less predictable. “The goal is to gain over 50,000 clones of 250 varieties by 2050,” says António Graça, the head of Research and Development at Sogrape Vinhos. He works with a painter’s palette of indigenous grapes at the Douro’s Casa Ferreirinha.

Luca Belluzzo, winemaker at renowned Friulian white wine house Jermann, has been pleased to find a lot of his indigenous grapes—Ribolla Gialla, Friulano and Malvasia—ripen later than international varieties. “It’s a positive because we know the temperature will climb during the next few years,” he says.

The Highs and Lows of Indigenous Grapes

These climate attributes are a boon to farmers, but in many cases, these easier-to-grow grapes don’t command the same return for farmers as universals.

In the Alto Adige region of Italy, grapes like Schiava, a charming, juicy red varietal, have been grown for ages. But its affordability poses a problem for viticulturalists. “It’s not economical for them,” Karolina Walch of Elena Walch. “They would get double the money for Gewürztraminer.”

Lesser-known native grapes can also be a hard sell to consumers who aren’t familiar with their various flavor profiles. They don’t have the name-brand appeal of, say, Sauvignon Blanc or Syrah. For sommeliers and wine shop staff, they often require more storytelling to entice customers.

“There’s more effort needed to introduce their potential to a public who is more familiar with international varieties,” says Magnisi.

Marinig, who focuses on Sangiovese, finds underlining the importance of heritage when speaking about varieties. “We explain the grape’s history, how it interacts with our specific terroir, and why it stands apart from more widely known varieties,” she says. “This approach helps overcome hesitations, and aligns perfectly with consumers who are increasingly looking for a genuine connection to the land and its history.”

Seeking the New and Unknown

The IWSR recently noted that young drinkers are increasingly adventurous and open to exploring new regions and categories, specifically ones with strong stories.

Producers and importers are noticing a shift. “When we started selling Georgian wines back in 2006, it was very hard,” says Kabilnitsky. “People did not even know about Georgia, let alone Georgian grapes and Georgian wines.”

Now, wine drinkers seem more open to exploring. He finds they even tend to prefer indigenous grapes over Cabernet Sauvignon or Sauvignon Blanc from the region. “People are more curious about the native grapes that belong to Georgia,” he says. However, he points out that language remains a problem: ”The names of the wines are very hard to pronounce for the American public.”

But even if Rkatsiteli doesn’t roll off the tongue, it and other indigenous varietal’s origin stories are a unique selling point—a conversation piece that helps customers connect with the region on a deeper level.

“Indigenous grapes allows us to create a one-of-a-kind product that, while maintaining the typical characteristics of Conegliano-Valdobbiadene DOCG, from the aromaticity of Perera [an indigenous grape], to the savoriness of Bianchetta, to the balsamic nature of Verdiso,” says Zanon.

Though it’s not always easy, this interconnection is what the movement around indigenous grapes is all about. “It’s very difficult to sell these wines compared to Chardonnay, Pinot Noir or other international varieties,” says Belluzzo. “But we aren’t selling only wines. Our aim is to give consumers a taste of terroir, identity and family.”