País

Pais is a red grape variety of great historical importance. In Chile and Argentina, it is known as Criolla Chica and as Mission in North America. It was the first Vitis vinifera grape variety to be exported from the Old World (Spain) to the New World (Mexico) in the 16th Century.

Pais is a genetic match to Listán Prieto, an old variety that has disappeared from its homeland of Castilla-La Mancha. There are still a few hectares of the grape variety in the Canary Islands. Here, it has often been confused with the much more common Listán Negro (the latter was linked to Mission in earlier studies). In any case, Pais/Mission is usually regarded as a unique variety due to significant mutation.