Folle blanche, also known as Picpoule, Gros Plant, and Enrageat blanc, is a
wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
grape
A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters.
The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, ...
variety from southwest France. It was the traditional
grape
A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters.
The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, ...
variety in
Cognac
Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the Communes of France, commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the Departments of France, departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime.
Cog ...
and
Armagnac
Armagnac (, ) is a distinctive kind of brandy produced in the Armagnac region in Gascony, southwest France. It is distilled from wine usually made from a blend of grapes including Baco 22A, Colombard, Folle blanche and Ugni blanc, traditionally ...
production until the 20th century. Folle blanche is an offspring of
Gouais blanc
Gouais blanc () or Weißer Heunisch () is a white grape variety that is seldom grown today but is important as the ancestor of many traditional French and German grape varieties. The name ''Gouais'' derives from the old French adjective ‘ ...
, with the other parent so far unidentified.
It has been mostly replaced by its
hybrid
Hybrid may refer to:
Science
* Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding
** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species
** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...
offspring
Baco blanc
Baco blanc or Baco 22A is a French-American hybrid grape variety. It is a cross of Folle blanche and the Noah grape, created in 1898 by the grape breeder François Baco. Folle blanche is its ''Vitis vinifera'' parent. Noah, its other parent, is ...
due to
phylloxera
Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. Grape phylloxera (''Daktulosphaira vitifoliae'' (Fitch 1855) belong to the family Phylloxeridae, within the order Hemiptera, bugs ...
damage. Baco blanc (also known as Baco 22 A) is a cross of Folle blanche and the ''
Vitis riparia
''Vitis riparia'' Michx, with common names riverbank grape or frost grape, is a vine indigenous to North America. As a climbing or trailing vine, it is widely distributed across central and eastern Canada and the central and northeastern parts ...
×
Vitis labrusca
''Vitis labrusca'', the fox grape, is a species of grapevines belonging to the ''Vitis'' genus in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The vines are native to eastern North America and are the source of many grape cultivars, including Catawba, Co ...
'' hybrid
Noah
Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5– ...
. Folle blanche is also the parent of the very hardy and disease-resistant Baco 1 (or
Baco noir
Baco noir (pronounced BA-koh NWAHR) is a hybrid red wine grape variety produced by Francois Baco from a cross of ''Vitis vinifera var.'' Folle blanche, a French wine grape, and an unknown variety of ''Vitis riparia'' indigenous to North America. ...
), a cross of Folle blanche and a ''Vitis riparia'' variety. Baco noir and Baco 22 A, like Folle blanche and their other parents, produce a very acid
wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
. This makes them more suited to
distillation
Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separation process, separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distilla ...
than less acidic grapes.
Folle blanche is used in the Loire Valley area and in Brittany around
Nantes
Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...
to produce
Gros Plant du Pays Nantais, a very dry and often tartly acidic wine that pairs well with shellfish.
Vallée de Loire: Les cépages du Val de Loire
There it is used both in the production of table wine as well as ''eau de vie
An ''eau de vie'' ( French for spirit, §16, §17 literally " water of life") is a clear, colourless fruit brandy that is produced by means of fermentation and double distillation. The fruit flavor is typically very light.
In English-speakin ...
''.
History
The first recorded mentioning of Folle blanche was in 1696 when the grape was documented as one of the varieties growing in the Charente-Maritime
Charente-Maritime () is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region on the southwestern coast of France. Named after the river Charente, its prefecture is La Rochelle. As of 2019, it had a population of 651,358 with an area of 6,864 square kil ...
department. Here the grape has had a long history being used in the production of Cognac and Armagnac. The name ''Folle'' is a feminine derivative of the French word ''fou'' which means " mad" with 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 speculating that this could be a reference to the grapevine's tendency to being highly productive and grow vigorously where ever it is planted. Several of Folle blanche's synonyms also seems to make similar allusions such as ''Gros Plant'' ("big vine") which was first used for the grape in 1732 in the Loire-Atlantique
Loire-Atlantique (; br, Liger-Atlantel; before 1957: ''Loire-Inférieure'', br, Liger-Izelañ, link=no) is a department in Pays de la Loire on the west coast of France, named after the river Loire and the Atlantic Ocean. It had a population o ...
department and ''Enrageat'' (from the French ''enragé'') that has been a common synonym for Folle blanche in Southwest France since at least 1736.[J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz ''Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours'' pgs 358-359, 630-633, Allen Lane 2012 ]
DNA analysis in the late 20th and early 21st century has concluded that Folle blanche is likely one of the numerous offspring vines of Gouais blanc
Gouais blanc () or Weißer Heunisch () is a white grape variety that is seldom grown today but is important as the ancestor of many traditional French and German grape varieties. The name ''Gouais'' derives from the old French adjective ‘ ...
, though the second parent is currently unknown. In 2001, French ampelographer Guy Lavignac
Guy or GUY may refer to:
Personal names
* Guy (given name)
* Guy (surname)
* That Guy (...), the New Zealand street performer Leigh Hart
Places
* Guy, Alberta, a Canadian hamlet
* Guy, Arkansas, US, a city
* Guy, Indiana, US, an uninc ...
theorized that Folle blanche likely originated in either the Landes or Gers
Gers (; oc, Gers or , ) is a department in the region of Occitania, Southwestern France. Named after the Gers River, its inhabitants are called the ''Gersois'' and ''Gersoises'' in French. In 2019, it had a population of 191,377. departments of Southwest France due to the proliferation of offspring and sibling varieties of Folle blanche in those regions.
Historically, Folle blanche was planted along the western coast of France from the Loire Valley down through Gascony
Gascony (; french: Gascogne ; oc, Gasconha ; eu, Gaskoinia) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part o ...
by Dutch wine merchants who used it in the production of ''eau de vie''. After the phylloxera epidemic
The Great French Wine Blight was a severe blight of the mid-19th century that destroyed many of the vineyards in France and laid waste to the wine industry. It was caused by an aphid that originated in North America and was carried across the Atl ...
of the 19th century, plantings of Folle blanche declined as wine growers switched to heartier, more rot resistant varieties such as the Baco blanc grape in the Cognac and Armagnac regions. This trend continued throughout most of the 20th century and into the 21st century as plantings of Folle blanche steadily declined from in 1958 to in 2009.
Relationship to other grapes
Through its offspring relationship with the Hunnic grape
A division of grape varieties into Frankish and Hunnic grape varieties was practiced in German-speaking countries in the Middle Ages and separated varieties considered to be better from those considered to be lesser. Frankish (''fränkisch'') grap ...
Gouais blanc, Folle blanche is at least a half-sibling of numerous grape varieties including Aubin vert
Aubin vert is a white French wine grape variety that is grown in the Lorraine region where it is an authorized variety for the ''Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée'' (AOC) wines of the Moselle. While often confused for the Côtes de Toul grape Au ...
, Bachet noir
Bachet noir is a traditional French variety of red wine grape that is a sibling of Chardonnay. A little is still grown in the Aube, where it is used to add colour and body to Gamay wines.
History
DNA fingerprinting has shown that it is one of ...
, Knipperlé
Knipperlé is a traditional French variety of white wine grape from Alsace. It's not listed for use in AOC wine, but is a minor component of blends for local drinking, in some ways an Alsatian equivalent of its sibling Aligoté in Burgundy.
His ...
, Montils
Montils () is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in southwestern France. The 17th–18th actor Louis Deseschaliers was born in Montils.
Geography
The Seugne flows north-northwest through the western part of the commune.
Population
...
, Peurion
Peurion is a traditional French variety of white wine grape that is a sibling of Chardonnay. Once quite popular, not much is still grown in France these days.
History
Peurion was popularized by the Augustinian monks at Langres north of Dijon a ...
, Roublot
Roublot is a traditional French variety of white wine grape that is a sibling of Chardonnay. It was once quite widely grown near Auxerre.
History
In the early 19th century, Roublot made up a third of the area in Saint-Bris-le-Vineux in the west ...
, Dameron
Dameron is a traditional French wine, French variety of red wine grape that is a sibling of Gamay. Its wines are somewhat weightier than Gamay, but it is disappearing from its traditional areas in northern France. Not much is grown in France th ...
, Balzac blanc and Genouillet. American ampelographer Linda Bisson
Dr. Linda Bisson is a trained yeast geneticist who focuses on sugar catabolism and fermentation. She is a retired professor and geneticist from the University of California at Davis.
Education and career
Bisson has an undergraduate degree fro ...
classifies Folle blanche as a member of the Folle ampelographic group with strong similarities and potential genetic relationship with fellow Folle grapes Meslier-Saint-François
Meslier-Saint-François is a white French wine grape variety that is now grown predominantly in the Loir-et-Cher department of the Loire Valley (wine), Loire Valley. Historically, the grape was found more widely throughout the Loire and western F ...
and 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 ...
.
The rare Bordeaux wine
Bordeaux wine ( oc, vin de Bordèu, french: vin de Bordeaux) is produced in the Bordeaux region of southwest France, around the city of Bordeaux, on the Garonne River. To the north of the city the Dordogne River joins the Garonne forming the ...
grape Merlot blanc
Merlot blanc is a white French wine grape variety that came from a natural crossing of the Bordeaux wine grape Merlot and the Cognac grape Folle blanche. The grape is distinct from ''Merlot gris'' which is a pink-skinned color mutation of the re ...
is a natural crossing of Folle blanche and Merlot
Merlot is a dark blue–colored wine grape variety, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of ''merle'', the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the ...
that was discovered in 1891. Other grapes that have a parent-offspring relationship with Folle blanche include Monbadon, also known as Burger in California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, which is believed to be a crossing of Folle blanche and Ugni blanc and Jurancon blanc, which is believed to be a crossing of Folle blanche with Pruéras
At one point Folle blanche was thought to be a color mutation
The propagation of grapevines is an important consideration in commercial viticulture and winemaking. Grapevines, most of which belong to the ''Vitis vinifera'' family, produce one crop of fruit each growing season (vine), growing season with a lim ...
of Jurancon noir (which is also known as Folle noire) but DNA analysis in 2009 showed that the black berried Jurancon grape was actually an offspring of Folle blanche through a natural crossing with Malbec
Malbec () is a purple grape variety used in making red wine. The grapes tend to have an inky dark color and robust tannins, and are known as one of the six grapes allowed in the blend of red Bordeaux wine. In France, plantations of Malbec are n ...
. Additionally, Fuella nera (another grape known under the synonym Folle noire) was once speculated to have been a color mutation but DNA evidence has shown that is not the case.
Folle blanche has been used to breed a number of new varieties including Baco blanc (with Noah) and Baco noir (with an unknown ''Vitis riparia'' species) with both made by grape breeder François Baco as well as Folignan which was created in 1965 at the Institut national de la recherche agronomique (INRA) as a crossing with Ugni blanc.
Confusion with other varieties
Due to its complex genetic relationship with numerous varieties, Folle blanche is often mistaken for grape varieties that share some familial relationship such as its half-sibling Knipperlé. The synonyms ''Piquepoul'' used in the Gascony region and ''Piquepoul du Gers'' used in the Lot-et-Garonne
Lot-et-Garonne (, oc, Òlt e Garona) is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the rivers Lot and Garonne, it had a population of 331,271 in 2019.[Rhône wine
The Rhône wine region in Southern France is situated in the Rhône valley and produces numerous wines under various ''Appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) designations. The region's major appellation in production volume is Côtes du Rhône ...]
grape Piquepoul blanc
Piquepoul, Picpoul, or Picapoll is a variety of wine grape grown primarily in the Rhone Valley and Languedoc regions of France as well as Catalonia, Spain. It exists both in dark-skinned (Piquepoul noir) and light-skinned (Piquepoul blanc) v ...
but DNA analysis has shown no close relationship with the two varieties.
Viticulture
While Folle blanche can be a very productive, mid-ripening and high yielding variety, it is highly susceptible to a number of 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''
*'' Am ...
including 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 ...
, mite
Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods). Mites span two large orders of arachnids, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari, but genetic analysis does not show clear evid ...
s and black rot Black rot is a name used for various diseases of cultivated plants caused by fungi or bacteria, producing dark brown discoloration and decay in the leaves of fruit and vegetables:
* A disease of the apple, pear and quince caused by a fungus ('' Botr ...
. The early budding
Budding or blastogenesis is a type of asexual reproduction in which a new organism develops from an outgrowth or bud due to cell division at one particular site. For example, the small bulb-like projection coming out from the yeast cell is know ...
nature of the vine also makes it susceptible to spring time frost damage while the very compact clusters makes the berries susceptible to fungal infections like botrytis bunch rot
''Botrytis cinerea'' is a necrotrophic fungus that affects many plant species, although its most notable hosts may be wine grapes. In viticulture, it is commonly known as "botrytis bunch rot"; in horticulture, it is usually called "grey mould" o ...
.
Wine regions
In 2009, there was of Folle blanche growing in France, most of it in the Pay Nantais region (overlapping the Muscadet
Muscadet ( , , ) is a French wine, French white wine. It is made at the western end of the Loire Valley (wine), Loire Valley, near the city of Nantes in the Pays de la Loire region. It is made from the Melon de Bourgogne grape, often referred t ...
region) of the Loire Valley where it is used to make 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) wine Gros Plant du Pays Nantais. While the grape's use in Cognac and Armagnac has largely fallen out of favor in preference to Baco blanc, some producers in Armagnac make 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. ...
brandy out of the grape.
Outside France Folle blanche is grown in the Basque Country where it is known as Mune Mahatsa and is sometimes blended with Hondarribi Zuri (Courbu blanc). In the Catalan wine
Catalan wines are those that are produced in the wine region of Catalonia. Occasionally, the appellation is applied to some French wine made in the Catalan region of Roussillon also known as Northern Catalonia or the ''Pays catalans''. The city of ...
region of Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
it is used by some brandy producers. In California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
there are a few limited plantings of the variety.
Styles
According to 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 ...
, Folle blanche tends to produce rustic base wines with high levels of acidity
In computer science, ACID ( atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a sequ ...
.
Synonyms
Over the years, Folle blanche has been known under a variety of synonyms including:[Folle Blanche](_blank)
, 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 ...
, accessed 2010-11-24
Notes
References
{{reflist
White wine grape varieties