Grape Variety

The world's varieties

There are an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 distinct grape varieties in the world, although only about 150 are grown commercially at any significant scale. The most planted red variety is Cabernet Sauvignon, followed by Merlot and Tempranillo. The most planted white is Chardonnay, followed by Airén and Sauvignon Blanc. Each variety has a characteristic flavour profile shaped by its aromatic compounds, its acidity and its tannin structure.

The vast majority of these varieties are Vitis vinifera, the European wine grape. Outside Vitis vinifera, there are also American species (Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia) and French-American hybrids bred for disease resistance. These are important in cool, damp climates like the UK, where some of them are grown for their resilience.

Varieties in the UK

The UK wine industry is built on a relatively small number of varieties. The big three for sparkling wine are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, accounting for the majority of plantings. For still white wine, the leading varieties are Bacchus, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Ortega, Müller-Thurgau, Seyval Blanc and Reichensteiner. For still red, Pinot Noir dominates, with small amounts of Regent, Rondo and Dornfelder.

The most recent WineGB plantings data, covering 2024 and 2025, show continued growth in Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Bacchus, with smaller but significant increases in Pinot Meunier, Pinot Gris, Ortega and the resilient hybrids Regent, Rondo and Cabernet Cortis. Producers are increasingly thinking about climate resilience, and several of the newer plantings are of varieties that can handle a wider range of conditions.

Why the UK leans cool-climate

The cool UK climate favours early-ripening varieties with high natural acidity. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir both ripen reliably in the South East, and they make wines with the structure and balance for traditional method sparkling. Bacchus, Ortega and Müller-Thurgau ripen even more reliably and produce aromatic whites that have found a strong domestic market. Seyval Blanc, Reichensteiner and the new PIWI varieties (Pilzwiderstandsfähig, German for fungus-resistant) are grown in more marginal sites where Vitis vinifera struggles.

The English Sparkling PDO restricts permitted varieties to Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and Auxerrois for the sparkling category. For still wines, the English Wine PDO allows a wider range, including Bacchus, Ortega and Seyval Blanc. These rules are still evolving as the industry lobbies for more flexibility.

The future of varieties in the UK

Climate change is shifting the picture. The 2022 and 2025 vintages, in particular, have shown that warmer sites in the South East can now ripen varieties that were marginal a decade ago, including Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc and even small plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. The industry is also looking at new PIWI varieties such as Cabernet Cortis, Souvignier Gris and Sauvignac, which offer disease resistance alongside a more familiar flavour profile.

Trade bodies such as WineGB, Plumpton College and the UK Wine Research Group are running variety trials in several regions. The next ten years are likely to see the UK variety map expand significantly, with new plantings of warm-climate varieties on the best sites and a continued reliance on cool-climate classics elsewhere.