ENDANGERED GRAPES?

What am I talking about when I say endangered grapes? Well there are some wine grapes that are endangered of no longer being grown due to the lack being used in making wine. There are almost 1,400 different grapes in the world. But out of all of them only about 20 are used in making wine. Which means that these other unused grapes are not getting planted.

There are 155 Mediterranean varieties planted on a small number of acres. There is still many grapes that could be gone for good. One of the main reason these grapes are on the chopping block is that they produce poor quality wine and some are not drinkable but are really yummy. So how can you help? Well there are wines to look for that are made from Abouriou, Abrustine, Altesse, Charbono, and Erbaluce. Abouriou are grown in California and France. They are low in acid and high in tannin. Abrustine is a Tuscan red grape. But no one is sure how many vines are left. Altesse is found in France and is a golden grape. Charbono is found in California but is on less than 300 acres. Erbaluce has been around for several thousand years and is on about 800 acres. It is versatile but not widely used.

Now for me I love eating grapes as much as I am loving drinking them and would love to find these grapes and try them all. Being an amateur wine drinker I would be sad never to be able to taste some of these grapes and the wines made from them. Hopefully they wont disappear.