Giró blanc is a pink-skinned

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 ...

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 ...

grown in the

Balearic islands The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...

where it used in white wines produced under the

Illes Balears The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...

appellation.

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 grape is indigenous to

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...

with

DNA profiling DNA profiling (also called DNA fingerprinting) is the process of determining an individual's DNA characteristics. DNA analysis intended to identify a species, rather than an individual, is called DNA barcoding. DNA profiling is a forensic tec ...

showing no known relationship to the Sardinian wine grape

Girò Girò is a red Italian wine grape variety that is grown on Sardinia and is used mostly in the production of fortified wines in the Giro di Cagliari ''Denominazione di origine controllata'' (DOC). The grape was once widely planted throughout Sardin ...

or to

Grenache Grenache () or Garnacha () is one of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world. Niels Lillelund: ''Rhône-Vinene'' p. 25, JP Bøger – JP/Politikens Forlagshus A/S, 2004. . It ripens late, so it needs hot, dry conditi ...

which is known as Girò (without the ''blanc'' designation) on Majorca.J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz ''Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours'' pg 412 Allen Lane 2012 Today the grape is almost exclusively found on the island of Majorca with in cultivation in 2012.

History

Balearic Islands in Spain (plus Canarias)

Ampelographers believe that Giró blanc is likely indigenous to the island of Majorca. The variety was nearly extinct in the late 20th century with only a few scattered vines left on the island. Spanish winegrowers Toni Gelabert and Juaquin Monserrat began cultivating these vines and eventually had 200 vines available for further propagation by Spanish growers on the Balearic islands. In 1995, Gelabert produced the first commercial Giró blanc wine from vines planted at his

Manacor Manacor () is a town and municipality on the island of Mallorca, part of the Spanish autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. It is the second largest town in Mallorca, after the capital of Palma. The municipality has tourist areas such a ...

estate on the western end of Majorca. By 2010 the grape was officially recognized by the Spanish government as a commercial wine grape.

Viticulture

Giró blanc is an 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 ...

but late-ripening grape variety that produces a moderately vigorous

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an ...

with large bunches of small grapes. The grape's skins are relatively thick which gives the berries some protection against the

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 ...

s of

downy Downy, also known as Lenor in Europe, Russia and Japan, is a brand of fabric softener produced by Procter & Gamble that was introduced in 1960. Lenor is a brand name of fabric softener and dryer sheets, also produced by P&G, sold in Europe, Rus ...

and

powdery mildew Powdery mildew is a fungal disease that affects a wide range of plants. Powdery mildew diseases are caused by many different species of ascomycete fungi in the order Erysiphales. Powdery mildew is one of the easier plant diseases to identify, as ...

s but the vine still has some susceptible to fungal infections such as

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 ...

Relationship to other grapes

Historically, Giró blanc was thought to be either a color

mutation In biology, a mutation is an alteration in the nucleic acid sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA. Viral genomes contain either DNA or RNA. Mutations result from errors during DNA or viral replication, mi ...

of Grenache, which is known as Giró in the Balearics, or in someway related to the red Italian wine grape Girò that is grown on the nearby island of Sardinia. The French ampelographer

Pierre Galet Pierre Galet (28 January 1921 – 30 December 2019) was a French ampelographer and author who was an influential figure within ampelography in the 20th century and before DNA typing was widely introduced. Beginning in the 1950s, Pierre Galet introd ...

was one of the first to dismiss these theories and speculate that Giró blanc was its own distinct variety. Galet's intuition was proven correct in the early 21st century when DNA profiling showed that Giró blanc was not related to either Grenache or Girò.

Wine 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 ...

, Giró blanc produces full-bodied white wines that usually have high

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 ...

s and medium

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 ...

which takes well to barrel aging. The wines tend to be highly aromatic with what Robinson describes as "noticeable power for a white wine" with citrus and tropical fruit aromas that can also include a ''

pâtisserie A () is a type of Italian, French or Belgian bakery that specializes in pastries and sweets, as well as a term for such food items. In some countries, it is a legally controlled title that may only be used by bakeries that employ a licensed ...

'' note in some examples.

Synonyms

Over the years, Giró blanc has been known under a variety of synonyms including: Giró blanco and Giró Roz.

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)
Giró blanc
'' Accessed: August 14th, 2013

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Giro blanc Spanish wine Grape varieties of Spain White wine grape varieties