Persan is a red French wine grape variety that is grown primarily in the Savoie region.J. Robinson ''Jancis Robinson's Guide to Wine Grapes'' pg 148 Oxford University Press 1996 While the name hints at a Persian origins for the grape, it is most likely native to the Rhône-Alpes region with the name "Persan" being a corruption of the synonym "Princens" which is also the name of a small hamlet by Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne in Savoie which has been noted since the 17th century for the quality of its vineyards.J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz ''Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours'' pgs 783-784 Allen Lane 2012

History

The exact origins of Persan is unknown. The name of the grape lends itself to the theory that it originated in the Middle East and worked its way west via Cyprus. One legend has it that Prince

Louis of Savoy Ludovico I or Louis I (Italian: Lodovico; 24 February 1413 – 29 January 1465) was Duke of Savoy from 1440 until his death in 1465. Life He was born at Geneva the son of Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy and Mary of Burgundy; he was the first to ho ...

had the vine brought to France from Cyprus, where he reigned as king in the 15th century. Another theory that Master of Wine

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 ...

puts forth is that the name Persan is a corruption of ''Princens'' which combined two words from the local dialect meaning ''prin'' (or prime) and ''cens'' (a fee due to landowners from their vassals). Records indicate in the 17th century there was a vineyard located in the small hamlet of Princens by Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne east of Grenoble that was highly regarded and could have been home to the "Princens" grape that late became known as Persan. The earliest mention of the name Persan itself occurred in 1846 when

Albin Gras Albin may refer to: Places * Albin, Wyoming, US * Albin Township, Brown County, Minnesota, US * Albin, Virginia, US People * Albin (given name), origin of the name and people with the first name "Albin" * Albin (surname) ;Mononyms * Albin of ...

, then secretary of the

Statistical Society of Isère Statistics (from German: '' Statistik'', "description of a state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. In applying statistics to a scientific, industr ...

and a board member for the Agricultural Society of Grenoble, noted plantings of the variety in the

Isère Isère ( , ; frp, Isera; oc, Isèra, ) is a landlocked department in the southeastern French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.Isère Isère ( , ; frp, Isera; oc, Isèra, ) is a landlocked department in the southeastern French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.

Viticulture

Persan is known as an early budding, mid- ripening vine that produces small bunches of tiny berries. It can be very vigorous and usually needs to be pruned heavily in order to maintain reasonable yields. The vines seems to thrive particularly well on stony, calcareous soils with the main viticultural hazard being a susceptibility to powdery and downy mildew.

Wine regions

In the 19th century, Persan was widely planted throughout the Savoie region and Isère region until the phylloxera epidemic at the end of that century greatly reduced its numbers. It is still found in the Savoie region today where it is a permitted variety in the '' appellation d'Origine Contrôlée'' wines of the

Vin de Savoie AOC Vin de Savoie is an ''Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée'' (French, AOC) and Protected Designation of Origin (EU, PDO) for red and white wines in the Savoy wine region of France, which is located in the foothills of the Alps. The region is divided ...

as well as the '' Vin de Pays d'Allobrogie'' zone but plantings were down to just 22 acres (9 hectares) in 2012. There have been some efforts to revive the variety with Michel Grisard of Domaine Prieuré St-Christophe in

Fréterive Fréterive is a commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (ARA; ; frp, Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Ârpes; oc, Auvèrnhe Ròse Aups; it, Alvernia-Rodano-Alpi) is a region in southeast-central France created b ...

increasing his planting to make a varietal style of the grape. Grisard, along with other local Savoie producers such as

Domaine de Méjane An estate is a large parcel of land under single ownership, which would historically generate income for its owner. British context In the UK, historically an estate comprises the houses, outbuildings, supporting farmland, and woods that s ...

and

Domaine Saint-Germain An estate is a large parcel of land under single ownership, which would historically generate income for its owner. British context In the UK, historically an estate comprises the houses, outbuildings, supporting farmland, and woods that s ...

have also been spearheading a local movement to have Persan replanted in the esteemed Princens vineyard of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne. 200604 - Saint-Jean de Maurienne 1

Across the border from Savoie in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, more than 1500 vines of Persan were planted in a vineyard outside Geneva that should be in full production by the 2016 vintage. In 2001, DNA testing confirmed that the local Bécuet grape growing in the

Susa Valley The Susa Valley ( it, Val di Susa; pms, Valsusa; french: Val de Suse; oc, Val d'Ors) is a valley in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont region of northern Italy, located between the Graian Alps in the north and the Cottian Alps in the sou ...

of Piedmont around Pinerolo was, in fact, the Persan grape of Savoie. Today it is often blended with the local grape variety

Avanà Avanà is a red Italian wine grape variety that is grown in the Piedmont wine region of northwest Italy. Historically, the grape has also been grown in the Dauphiné and Savoie wine region of eastern France where it was known as Hibou noir and in ...

to make a wine known as Ramiè. Some varietal examples of Bécuet are also made in the

province of Turin The former Province of Turin ( it, Provincia di Torino; pms, Provinsa ëd Turin; french: Province de Turin) was a province in the Piedmont region of Italy. Its capital was the city of Turin. The province existed until 31 December 2014, when it wa ...

in the communes of Gravere and Giaglione.

Confusion with and relationship to other varieties

Due to the similarities in synonyms it was long thought that Persan was the same grape as

Étraire de la Dui Étraire de la Dui (also known simply as Étraire) is a red French wine grape variety that was historically grown in the Rhone and Savoy wine regions. Its numbers were hit hard following the phylloxera epidemic The Great French Wine Blight wa ...

which is also found in the Savoie wine region. In 1902, L. Rougier, an ampelographer writing for Pierre Viala and

Victor Vermorel The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

's catalog of grape varieties, determined that the two were separate varieties with Étraire de la Dui likely being an offspring of Persan. Over a 100 years later, DNA testing conducted by Swiss geneticist José Vouillamoz "strongly suggested" that there was, indeed, a parent-offspring link between Persan and Étraire de la Dui but in what direction (i.e. who is the parent and who is the offspring) is not yet known. Other varieties that Persan has been confused with over the years include Mondeuse noire,

Syrah Syrah (), also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In 1999, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeuse B ...

and

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.' ...

. In 1876, French viticulturist Jules Guyot even speculated that Persan may have been a local mutation of the

Burgundian Burgundian can refer to any of the following: *Someone or something from Burgundy. *Burgundians, an East Germanic tribe, who first appear in history in South East Europe. Later Burgundians colonised the area of Gaul that is now known as Burgundy (F ...

Pinot noir that developed in Savoie. However, DNA testing has dismissed that theory. Persan was used to crossed with Peloursin to create the red grape variety Joubertin.

Synonyms

Over the years Persan has been known under a variety of synonyms including Aguyzelle, Aguzelle, Bâtarde, Bâtarde longue, Beccu (in Savoie), Becouet, Becuet (also spelled as Bécuet or Becuét in the Val di Susa region of Piedmont), Becuette (sometimes spelled as Bécuette), Begu, Berla'd Crava Cita, Berla Cita, Berlo Citto (in the Val Chisone region of Piedmont), Biquet, Bucuet, Cul de Poule, Étraire (in Isère), Étrière, Étris (in Isère), Guzelle, Moirans, Persan Noir, Petit Becquet, Posse de Chèvre, Pousse de Chèvre, Presan, Pressan, Princens (in Savoie), Prinsan, Prinssens, Rives, Sérine (in Isère), Sérinne pointue, Siranèze pointue, Siranne (in Isère) and Siranne pointue. Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC)
Persan
' Accessed: October 2nd, 2012

References

{{reflist Red wine grape varieties