Autochthonous

A grape variety native to a specific region or place. Autochthonous grapes are well suited to their terroir, having evolved over millennia to thrive at the region’s latitude, altitude, soils, and mesoclimate. Climate change threatens this suitability to place.

Autochthonous grapes might also be referred to as local, native, or indigenous. The Italians say autoctono, and the French autochtone.

Synonyms:
native, indigenous, local, autoctono (Italian), autochthone (French)
« Back to Glossary Index
More from Meg Maker
2019 Cromavera Albariño San Luis Obispo County
Cromavera’s varietal Albariño is fermented and aged in a mix of stainless...
Read More
0 replies on “Autochthonous”