down-to-earth

With regard to grape variety, see under autochthonous.

The Latin/Greek term (autós = self, chthón = earth) means "long-established, indigenous, native to the soil" and, in relation to geology and biology, "originating or occurring at the site of discovery" (the opposite is allochthonous, meaning originating elsewhere - not native to the site of discovery). A related term is "endemic" (endemie), which means "occurring locally" or "common in a particular area" (but not necessarily originating there). The term "autochthonous", often used in describing grape varieties, means in a narrower sense that the vine is almost exclusively or predominantly traditionally cultivated in a particular area, where it also originated or at least has a relatively long history and has acquired a certain cultural significance.

A variety is thus also considered autochthonous if it has been established for a very long time, even if it did not originate in the region in question. Many of these aspects apply to the so-called landraces. In a broader sense, older new varieties can also be considered autochthonous grape varieties....

Full text

Voices of our members

wein.plus is a handy, efficient guide to a quick overview of the colourful world of wines, winegrowers and grape varieties. In Wine lexicon, the most comprehensive of its kind in the world, you will find around 26,000 keywords on the subject of grape varieties, wineries, wine-growing regions and much more.
Roman Horvath MW
Domäne Wachau (Wachau)

Welcome back!

down-to-earth

autochthonous

Voices of our members

The world's largest Lexicon of wine terms.

EVENTS NEAR YOU