What is "forastera"

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.

Forastera is a white Italian wine grape variety that is grown on the islands of Ischia and Procida off the coast of Naples in Campania. In the early 21st century, DNA analysis confirmed that the Spanish wine grape variety of the same name grown in the Canary Islands is a completely different and distinct variety with no close genetic relationship to the Italian Forastera.

Forastera is the primary name or synonym of several wine and table grape varieties including:

• Forastera, grown on the islands of Ischia and Procida in the Campania region of southern Italy
• Forastera (Spanish grape), grown in the Canary Islands
• Chelva, Spanish grape that is also known as Forastera blanca and Mantuo grown in the Extremadura region
• Doradilla, Spanish grape that is also known as Forastera blanca that is grown in the Malaga region of Andalucia