Forastera (Spanish grape)

Forastera is a white Spanish wine grape variety that is primarily grown in the Canary Islands. While it may have historically been used in sack production, now it is mostly a minor blending grape permitted in the Denominaciones de Origens (DOs) of the Canary Islands.^[1]

Relationship to other grapes

In the early 21st century, DNA analysis confirmed that the Forastera grape of the Canary Islands was a completely different and distinct variety with no close genetic relationship to the Italian Forastera grape growing on the islands of Ischia and Procida off the coast of Naples in Campania.^[2]

References

1. J. Robinson Jancis Robinson's Guide to Wine Grapes pg 71 Oxford University Press 1996 ISBN 0-19-860098-4
2. J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours pgs 360-361 Allen Lane 2012 ISBN 978-1-846-14446-2