France: Vine varieties

carignan was France’s most planted vine variety for many decades, thanks to its ubiquity in France’s largest wine region, the Languedoc-Roussillon, but by the turn of the century Merlot had assumed this role and its total plantings had grown to 114,306 ha/282,336 acres by 2011. grenache was second most planted with 87,723 ha, while ugni blanc, grown chiefly for distillation into brandy, was still France’s third most planted variety with 83,230 ha. Syrah overtook Cabernet Sauvignon to become the country’s fifth most planted variety with a total of 66,859 ha to Cabernet’s 51,769 ha. Carignan had been so thoroughly routed in the Languedoc Roussillon, and Chardonnay so widely planted, that the latter overtook the former to become France’s seventh most planted variety with 47,487 ha. The only other varieties planted on more than 30,000 ha were Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir, although Sauvignon Blanc was very nearly that widely grown. The picture overall is one of increasing domination of French vineyards by the international varieties.