Arbane (or Arbanne) is a white

French wine French wine is produced all throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France is one of the largest wine producers in the world, along with Italian, Spanish, and America ...

grape variety This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see Viti ...

that has been historically grown in the

Aube Aube () is a French department in the Grand Est region of north-eastern France. As with sixty departments in France, this department is named after a river: the Aube. With 310,242 inhabitants (2019),Champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

, but has now all but disappeared from the vineyards with less than left in France in 2006.J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz ''Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours'' pgs 48-49, Allen Lane 2012 Despite its rarity, it is still permitted grape variety to be blended with

Chardonnay Chardonnay (, , ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern French wine, France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from English wine, Englan ...

Pinot noir Pinot Noir () is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words for ''pine'' and ''black.' ...

and Pinot Meunier and other varieties in the

Champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

cuvée ''Cuvée''Or Cuvee on some English-language labels. () is a French wine term that derives from ''cuve'', meaning vat or tank.J. Robinson (ed), ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'', Third Edition, p. 218, Oxford University Press 2006, winepros.com.a ...

''. Recent years have seen a renewed interest in the older, almost extinct grape varieties of the Champagne region, including Arbane. The

Champagne house The listing below comprises some of the more prominent houses of Champagne. Most of the major houses are members of the organisation ''Union de Maisons de Champagne'' (UMC),Moutard-Diligent in Buxeuil is the only producer of a " Vieilles Vignes" Champagne made only from Arbane, while a few others, including

Champagne Aubry Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

and Drappier, produce blends which include both Arbane and other now rare Champagne varieties such as

Petit Meslier Petit Meslier is a rare white wine grape that is a minor component of some Champagne blends. It is valued for its ability to retain acidity even in hot vintages. In the very rare cases where it is not blended, it makes crisp wines tasting of appl ...

and

Pinot blanc Pinot blanc is a white wine grape. It is a point genetic mutation of Pinot noir. Pinot noir is genetically unstable and will occasionally experience a point mutation in which a vine bears all black fruit except for one cane which produces white ...

. Moutard-Diligent also produce a "Cuvée Six Cépages" which uses six of the seven authorized grapes varieties : Chardonnay, Pinot noir, Pinot Meunier, Petit Meslier, Pinot blanc and Arbane; the additional approved grape variety being Fromenteau (

Pinot gris Pinot Gris, Pinot Grigio (, ) or Grauburgunder is a white wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. Thought to be a mutant clone of the Pinot Noir variety, it normally has a grayish-blue fruit, accounting for its name, but the gra ...

).JORF n°0273 du 25 novembre 2010 page 21013 texte n° 8: Décret n° 2010-1441 du 22 novembre 2010 relatif à l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Champagne »

History

Arbane has a long history of cultivation in the southern Champagne wine region, particularly around the commune of

Bar-sur-Aube Bar-sur-Aube (, literally ''Bar on Aube'') is a commune and a sub-prefecture in the Aube department in the Grand Est region of France. Surrounded by hills and Champagne vineyards, the city is traversed by the river Aube, from which it derives ...

Ampelographer Ampelography ( ἄμπελος, "vine" + γράφος, "writing") is the field of botany concerned with the identification and classification of grapevines, ''Vitis'' spp. Traditionally this has been done by comparing the shape and colour of the ...

s believe that the name Arbane comes from the medieval

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word ''albana'', which means "white grape" and is still being used a primary name and synonym for several varieties in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

including the Albana grape in

Emilia-Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title ...

. Arbane has no known connection to the other Albana grapes but the synonym Albane is still used even today for Arbane. It is also speculated by some ampelographers that recorded plantings of an Alban grape in the

Les Riceys Les Riceys () is a commune in the Aube department in north-central France. It is situated in an important viticultural area, and in particular is known for Rosé des Riceys wine. With its 866 ha of vines, it is the commune that has the large ...

commune in 1388 may be the earliest mentioning of Arbane. However,

Master of Wine Master of Wine (MW) is a qualification (not an academic degree) issued by The Institute of Masters of Wine in the United Kingdom. The MW qualification is generally regarded in the wine industry as one of the highest standards of professional knowle ...

Jancis Robinson Jancis Mary Robinson OBE, ComMA, MW (born 22 April 1950) is a British wine critic, journalist and wine writer. She currently writes a weekly column for the ''Financial Times'', and writes for her website JancisRobinson.com, updated daily. She ...

notes that some ampelographers and wine historians question if the 14th century grape is, indeed, the same variety as the modern Arbane. Ampelographers do not question that the grape was widely established in Champagne by the turn of the 19th century and was noted in 1801 by

Jean-Antoine Chaptal Jean-Antoine Chaptal, comte de Chanteloup (5 June 1756 – 30 July 1832) was a French chemist, physician, agronomist, industrialist, statesman, educator and philanthropist. His multifaceted career unfolded during one of the most brilliant periods ...

to produce highly regarded wine, along with Fromenteau, in Morveaux near the commune of

Baroville Baroville () is a commune in the Aube department in the Grand Est region of north-central France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Barovillois'' or ''Barovilloises''. Geography Baroville is located some 25 km west by north-w ...

Viticulture

Arbane is a vigorous but low yielding grape variety that ripens mid to late in the

harvest season The harvesting of wine grapes (Vintage) is one of the most crucial steps in the process of wine-making. The time of harvest is determined primarily by the ripeness of the grape as measured by sugar, acid and tannin levels with winemakers basing t ...

. The vine produces small bunches of little berries. The main

viticultural hazard This is a list of diseases of grapes (''Vitis'' spp.). Bacterial diseases Fungal diseases Miscellaneous diseases and disorders Nematodes, parasitic Phytoplasma, virus and viruslike diseases See also *'' Ampeloglypter ater'' *'' Am ...

that afflicts Arbane is

downy mildew Downy mildew refers to any of several types of oomycete microbes that are obligate parasites of plants. Downy mildews exclusively belong to the Peronosporaceae family. In commercial agriculture, they are a particular problem for growers of crucif ...

Wine regions

Though Arbane is a permitted grape variety in

Champagne production Sparkling wine production is the method of winemaking used to produce sparkling wine. The oldest known production of sparkling wine took place in 1531 with the ''ancestral method''. Pressure and terminology In popular parlance and also in the ...

, it is very rarely used with less than 1 hectare (2.5 acres) of the grape planted throughout France in 2006. Most of these plantings are very old and used by the Champagne house Moutard-Diligent to produce a

varietal A varietal wine is a wine made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label.The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000.winepros.com.au. ...

''Vielles Vignes'' bottling and as part of a separate ''cuvée'' that uses six of the seven authorized grape varieties in Champagne—Chardonnay, Pinot noir, Pinot Meunier, Pinot blanc, Petit Meslier and Arbane.

AOC regulations

While Chardonnay, Pinot noir and Pinot Meunier make up the vast majority of Champagne wine production, Arbane is permitted to be used in regular

vintage Vintage, in winemaking, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product—wine (see Harvest (wine)). A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certa ...

and non-vintage ''cuvée'' (but not ''Blanc de Blanc'' which is only made from Chardonnay) provided that the grapes are harvested to a yield no greater than 65

hectoliters The litre (international spelling) or liter (American English spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metre (m3). ...

/hectare (approximately 4.3 tons/acre) and the finished wine attains a minimum

alcohol level Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...

of at least 11%.P. Saunders ''Wine Label Language'' pgs 49-50, 59 & 98 Firefly Books 2004

Synonyms

Over the years Arbane has been known under a variety of synonyms including: Albane (in Aube), Arbane blanc, Arbane du Bachet, Arbanne (in Les Riceys and Moulins-en-Tonnerrois), Arbanne blanche, Arbenne, Arbenne blanc, Arbone, Crène (in

Balnot-sur-Laignes Balnot-sur-Laignes () is a commune in the Aube department in the Grand Est region of north-central France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Balnotiers'' or ''Balnotières''. The commune has been awarded one flower by the ''Nationa ...

Balnot-la-Grange Balnot-la-Grange () is a commune in the Aube department in the Grand Est region of north-central France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Balnotiers'' or ''Balnotières''. Geography Balnot-la-Grange is located some 35 km sout ...

and

Polisot Polisot () is a commune in the Aube department in north-central France. Population See also *Communes of the Aube department The following is a list of the 431 communes of the Aube department of France. The communes cooperate in the fol ...

), Crene, Crénillat (

La Valla-en-Gier La Valla-en-Gier () is a commune in the Loire department in central France. Population See also *Communes of the Loire department The following is a list of the 323 communes of the Loire department of France. The communes cooperate in the f ...

and Rive-de-Gier in

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...

), Crenillat and Darbanne (in Aube).Vitis International Variety Catalogue: Arbane
, accessed on October 12, 2008

References

{{Reflist White wine grape varieties