Crouchen

Posted by Unknown at 02:40

Crouchen (kru-shen) is a French variety which has now practically disappeared from France. It is still a recommended variety in the south-west near the Pyrenees and appears on the list of varieties which can be used in the wines of Bearn. Crouchen was used in the excellent ‘vin de sable’ produced near Capbreton before the afforestation of the Landes displaced the vineyards during the twentieth century. The name used there for the variety, Sable Blanc, may well correspond with the ‘Sales Blanc’ introduced into New South Wales by James Busby in 1832. The variety now seems to be grown only in South Africa and Australia. In South Africa it came to be called Riesling, and seems to have been introduced from there to the Adelaide area as Riesling. It spread from there to the Clare and Riverland areas before the mistaken identity was discovered. It was then called Clare Riesling, until finally identified as Crouchen. It was also brought into the Barossa Valley, where it was mis-identified as Semillon, and taken from there to the Sunraysia area as Semillon before it was identified as Clare Riesling.

Clairette

Posted by Unknown at 02:42

Clairette (klair-reht) is an important variety in the south of France. It was also the most important white variety in the French colony of Algeria before the country gained independence, with an estimated 10 000 ha. lt does not appear to be grown in Europe outside France and the only major plantings elsewhere appear to be in South Africa and Australia, nearly all in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales. In France it is sometimes known as Blanquette and this name is used in New South Wales. (The so-called Blanquette of South Australia is a clone of Doradillo.) Two other varieties in France have also been referred to as Clairettes – Ugni Blanc (synonym, Trebbiano) is sometimes called Clairette Ronde in both France and Italy, and Bourboulenc has been called Grosse Clairette or Clairette Doree.

Colombard

Posted by Unknown at 02:38

Colombard (kohl-om-bard) is a variety from the Bordeaux region of France. Although it has fallen from favour in France in recent years, with a decline in plantings, it has seen a remarkable expansion in California, where the plantings are about 14 200 ha. It is also grown in South Africa.There were a number of introductions into Australia from California and in 2003 the planted area of Colombard here was 2700 ha.

Dolcetto

Posted by Unknown at 02:37

Dolcetto (dol-chet-oh) is an important
variety in the Piemonte region of Italy.
Unlike some of the other red varieties of
the region, which are also grown in other
parts of Italy, Dolcetto is regarded as
having a special adaptation limited to
Piemonte. There is very little Dolcetto in
other countries, with only a few hectares
in both Argentina and Australia. Australian
plantings are confined to South Australia
and Victoria. The area in South Australia,
where the variety has been correctly
named, has decreased over the years,
while in Victoria, where it has been
confused with Malbec, there have been a
few small new plantings which were
intended to be of Malbec.

Doradillo

Posted by Unknown at 02:36

Doradillo (dor-ad-il-loh) is a variety which seems to have found its greatest acceptance in Australia. It was imported under that name from Spain by James Busby in 1832. It was also taken to South Africa and further importations were made to Australia from there. It does not seem to be a commercial variety in South Africa and it is not recorded separately in Spanish plantings. It may perhaps be included under Jaen, a name said to have been used for more than one variety in Spain. Jaen that was imported to Merbein from the Estacion de Viticultura y Enologia et Requena in Valencia province has proved similar to, but distinct from, Doradillo.Of the 145 ha of Doradillo in Australia, about three-quarters grows in South Australia and the rest in New South Wales and Victoria.

Dourado

Posted by Unknown at 02:14

Dourado (du-rah-doh) is a variety from the Tagus Valley of Portugal. Its full name is Gallego Dourado. In South Africa it is planted as (False) Pedro. lt is likely that it was brought from South Africa to Australia as it is known here as Pedro, sometimes Pedro Ximenez in error, but more usually distinguished as Rutherglen Pedro. It may also have come in James Busby’s collection in l832 under some other name or unnamed, as it occurred unidentified in vineyards which might be sourced from Busby’s collection.Dourado can be found as odd vines in most of the older wine-growing districts. Appreciable numbers of vines are mixed with other varieties at Mudgee and Great Western and small plantings are present at Roma, in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area and north-east Victoria.

Durif

Posted by Unknown at 02:10

Durif (dur-if ) has been known as a variety for only about a century, and owes its name to Dr Durif who propagated it in the Rhone Valley in France around 1880. It resembles Peloursin and may be a seedling or a sport from this variety. It was popular in France as it appeared to have some resistance to downy mildew. However, it is no longer recommended or authorised and its planted area in France is declining. It is sometimes known as Pinot de l’Ermitage but is in no way related to the true Pinots. Another name, Syrah Forchue, refers to its tendency to produce forked shoots.The Petite Sirah of California may be a mixture of Durif and Peloursin, although the proportions are unclear. All clones imported to Australia have proved to be Durif.Vineyards examined have shown roughly equal numbers of the two varieties – the total area of plantings in 2003 was 331 ha.

Farana

Posted by Unknown at 04:29

Farana (far-ah-nah) is the Algerian name for this variety. It is grown in other countries around the Mediterranean Sea, and is known as Planta Pedralba in Spain, Mayorquin in France, Beldi in Tunisia and Damaschino in Sicily.The major plantings were in Algeria and Spain, but as wine grape plantings have declined in Algeria since independence, Spain probably now has the largest area. In Australia a little is grown in the Barossa Valley, where it was formerly confused with Trebbiano.

Furmint

Posted by Unknown at 04:26

Furmint (fer-mint) is a famous white grape variety but there seems to be only one major planting in the world – in Hungary, for making the special wines of Tokaj-Hegyalja. Furmint has been taken to many other countries but does not seem to have been planted extensively in any of them. It has probably been in Australia since Busby’s import of 1832 but is found only as odd vines in plantings of other varieties, including a mixed planting at Great Western dating from 1868. A variety imported from Italy as Furmint has proved to be another, as yet unidentified, variety.

Gamay

Posted by Unknown at 03:22

Gamay (ga-may) ranks after Carignan, Grenache,Merlot, Cinsaut, Cabernet Sauvignon and Aramon among the red wine grapes of France. A little over half the total planting is in the Beaujolais region, the rest is scattered through Burgundy and the Loire Valley. Gamay is also grown in the north of Italy and neighbouring areas in Yugoslavia. It has not been grown in California and there has been confusion in Australia because varieties introduced from California as Gamay proved to be wrongly named.The Gamay Beaujolais imported in 1962 was in fact a clone of Pinot Noir with an upright growth habit, and the Napa Gamay imported in 1968 was Valdiguie. Clones of the true Gamay have since been imported from France and a single vine was found in an old planting at Great Western.

Graciano

Posted by Unknown at 02:39

Graciano (grah sih-ahn-oh) is primarily a Spanish variety. Although it is not one of the major varieties used in bulk wines, there are a few thousand hectares of Graciano in the Ebro Valley where, along with Carignan and Tempranillo, it is an important component in the appellation wines of Rioja and Navarra. In France the variety is called Morrastel and is recommended in the south, but little remains, possibly because of its relatively low yield. The area of Graciano in Australia is very small. The variety should not be confused with the so-called Morrastel of South Australia, which is really Mataro, nor with the Mourastel imported from California, which is Carignan. In Algeria, large areas of Mataro were mistakenly called Morrastel. Xeres imported from California proved to be Graciano.

Grenache

Posted by Unknown at 02:15

Grenache (gren-ahsh) is a very important variety in southern Europe.There are large plantings in Spain, where it is known as Garnacha. In France the area of Grenache was around 87 000 ha in 1988, and has no doubt continued to increase at the expense of the high-yielding but poorquality variety Aramon. It is an important variety on the island of Sardinia, where it is called Cannonao. Grenache is also grown in Sicily and the southern Italian mainland under the names of Granaccia and Alicante.Other than Europe and remnant plantings in Algeria, the only appreciable areas are in California and Australia. Australia has 2322 ha, most in South Australia and the rest fairly evenly dividedbetween New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia.