Penfolds "Koonunga Hill" 2014

Red-wine variety of grape

Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the most well-known red wine grape varieties in the world. It is grown in nearly every major wine-producing region, in a wide range of climates, from the Okanagan Valley in Canada to the Beqaa Valley in Lebanon. Cabernet Sauvignon rose to popularity as a result of its use in Bordeaux wines, where it is often blended with Merlot and Cabernet Franc. The grape spread through Europe and into the New World, settling in places like California’s Santa Cruz Mountains, Paso Robles, Napa Valley, Hawkes Bay, South Africa’s Stellenbosch region, Australia’s Margaret River and Coonawarra valleys, and Chile’s Maipo Valley and Colchagua. It was the world’s most widely planted premium red wine grape for most of the twentieth century, before Merlot overtook it in the 1990s. By 2015, however, Cabernet Sauvignon had reclaimed its place as the most widely planted wine grape, with 341,000 hectares (3,410 km2) under vine globally.