Cabernet sauvignon ranks as the world's most popular wine-grape

Cabernet sauvignon is the world's most widely grown grape variety, research undertaken by the University of Adelaide has found.

The university has compiled information from 44 countries to develop the first database of the world's wine-grape varieties and regions.

Researchers say their analysis accounts for 99 per cent of global wine production.

School of Economics Professor Kym Anderson says the database is useful to the wine industry.

"In the wake of wine's globalisation, wine producers need to exploit their geographical and varietal distinctiveness in order to boost their competitiveness," he said.

"This database, for the first time, offers transparency across the world's wine varieties and regions."

As well as declaring cabernet sauvignon the most-grown variety, it has also shown that red grapes account for 55 per cent of the world's vine-bearing area.

This is thought consistent with a shift from white to red wine consumption over the past decade.

Prof Anderson says wine growers can also use the database to adapt to climate change, giving them information on varieties that perform well in climates similar to what they expect theirs to become in the decades ahead.

AAP