Most important vine varieties:

• Vitis vinifera : the main Eurasian species

• American vines : 3 species native to North America and resistant to Phylloxera

Within each vine variety, there are different types of grapes (Merlot, Chardonnay, Gamay, Carignan, etc.).

Since the arrival of phylloxera (this insect destroys roots) in Europe in the 19th century, vine plants have mainly been obtained by grafting. This propagation system consists in attaching a graft to a rootstock. American varieties, which were highly resistant to phylloxera, were used as rootstocks and European varieties as grafts. This technique allowed us to combine the quality of French grape varieties with the resistance to this parasite of American vines.