Camaraou noir is a red
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 was historically grown in
South West France but is now more widely planted in the
Spanish wine
Spanish wine () includes red, white, and sparkling wines produced throughout the country. Located on the Iberian Peninsula, Spain has over 1.2 million hectares (2.9 million acres) planted in wine grapes, making it the most widely pla ...
region of
Galicia where it is known as Espadeiro. However, despite its Spanish synonym Camaraou noir has no relationship to the
Portuguese wine grape
Espadeiro
Espadeiro is a red Portuguese wine grape planted primarily in the Minho region for making Vinho Verde. It is also grown across the border, in Galicia (Spain) where it is used to make light bodied wines.J. Robinson ''Jancis Robinson's Wine Co ...
that is used to make red
Vinho Verde
Vinho Verde () (literally 'green wine') refers to Portuguese wine that originated in the historic Minho province in the far north of the country. The modern-day 'Vinho Verde' region, originally designated in 1908, includes the old Minho provin ...
. The grape may have some relation to the
Jurançon and
Béarn
The Béarn (; ; oc, Bearn or ''Biarn''; eu, Bearno or ''Biarno''; or ''Bearnia'') is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in southwest France. Along with the three Bas ...
wine grape
Camaralet de Lasseube which is also known as ''Camaraou blanc'' but
DNA analysis
Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...
has shown that the two varieties are distinct and not
color mutations of one or the other.
[J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz ''Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours'' pgs 179-180, Allen Lane 2012 ]
History
Ampelographers
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 ...
believe that the name ''Camaraou'' derives from the
Béarnese word ''camarau'' which may have, in turn, be derived itself from the
Gascon word ''cama'' that means "leg, trunk" and could be a reference to
viticultural
Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...
practice of growing grapevines up trees as
trellising
A trellis (treillage) is an architectural structure, usually made from an open framework or lattice of interwoven or intersecting pieces of wood, bamboo or metal that is normally made to support and display climbing plants, especially shrubs. . Another possibility is that the name has some connection to the commune of
Camalès located in the
Hautes-Pyrénées
Hautes-Pyrénées (; Gascon/Occitan: ''Nauts Pirenèus / Hauts Pirenèus'' awts piɾeˈnɛʊs es, Altos Pirineos; ca, Alts Pirineus alts piɾiˈneʊs English: Upper Pyrenees) is a department in the region of Occitania, southwestern France. ...
department of southwestern France.
A late 18th century document shows that a ''Camarau'' grape was growing in the
Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; eu, Pirinio Atlantiarrak or ) is a department in the southwest corner of France and of the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Pyrenees mountain range and the Atlanti ...
department,
French Basque Country and in the
País Vasco
The Basque Country (; eu, Euskadi ; es, País Vasco ), also called Basque Autonomous Community ( eu, Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoa, links=no, EAE; es, Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco, links=no, CAPV), is an autonomous community of Spain. It ...
region of northern Spain, however the description of this grapes seems to indicate that it was more likely the white Camaraou blanc (Camaralet de Lasseube) grape. The first mention that was definitively of Camaraou noir was in
Viala & Vermorel
Viala may refer to:
* "Viala", an alternate name of the Chasselas wine grape variety
* French ship ''Viala'' (1795), a ship-of-the-line of the French Navy
Places
* Calmels-et-le-Viala, Aveyron department, France
* Viala-du-Pas-de-Jaux, Aveyron ...
catalogue of grape varieties produced from 1901 to 1910 by the French ampelographers
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 ...
.
Viticulture
![Vindima em Portugal](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Vindima_em_Portugal.jpg)
Camaraou noir is a
late-ripening variety that can be very vigorous and high
yielding if not kept in check by winter
pruning or
green harvest
Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...
ing. The vine tends to produce small berries but as part of very large, compact clusters that can be susceptible to various
viticultural hazards
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''
*''Ampe ...
like
mildew. Traditionally Camaraou noir is
trained
Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. I ...
up tree trunks, an ancient practice that dates back to
Roman winemaking days.
Wine regions
While Camaraou noir is still a permitted variety in the ''
Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée
An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical boun ...
'' (AOC) wines of Jurançon and Béarn, the vine is very rarely planted there.
Today most of the world's Camaraou noir vines can be found in the northwestern
Spanish wine region of Galicia where the grape is a permitted grape variety in the ''
Denominación de Origen'' (DO) wines of
Rías Baixas. Here the grape is known as ''Espadeiro'' and ''Caíño Redondo'' with a long history of being grown in the
Pontevedra and
Ourense province
Ourense (in Spanish, ''Orense'') is a Spanish province, in the southeastern part of the autonomous community of Galicia. It is bordered by the provinces of Pontevedra to the west, Lugo to the north, León and Zamora, (which both belong to Cas ...
s. In 2008, there were 137
hectare
The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...
s (339 acres) of Camaraou noir growing in Galicia where it was mostly blended with
Mencía and
Caíño tinto.
Relationship to other grapes
Due to similarities in synonyms, Camaraou noir is often confused for the Portuguese wine grape Espadeiro but DNA analysis in 2003 confirmed that the two varieties are separate and that most of the Espadeiro grown in Galicia, as well as another variety known as Caiño Redondo, were in fact Camaraou noir.
DNA profiling has also clarified the relationship between Camaraou noir and Camaralet de Lasseube (also known as ''Camaraou blanc'') showing the two varieties to be related but distinct and not color mutations. Both grapes appear to also related to the Jurançon grapes
Ahumat,
Arrouya noir and
Penouille.
Synonyms
Over the years Camaraou noir has been known under a variety of synonyms including: Caiño Redondo, Camaralet noir, Camaran, Camaras, Camarau, Camaraue rouge, Gros noir, Moustardet and Sparse Menue.
Vitis International Variety Catalogue
The Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC) is a database of various species and varieties/cultivars of grapevine, the genus ''Vitis''. VIVC is administered by the Geilweilerhof Institute for Grape Breeding (''Institut für Rebenzüchtung Gei ...
(VIVC)
Camaraou noir
'' Accessed: April 20th, 2013
References
{{Reflist
Red wine grape varieties
French wine
Spanish wine