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.
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.
References
- J. Robinson Jancis Robinson's Guide to Wine Grapes pg 71 Oxford University Press 1996 ISBN 0-19-860098-4
- 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