Gueuche 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 Amer ...

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 Franche-Comté of eastern France but is now close to being extinct. Though its exact relationship has not yet been determined by DNA analysis, ampelographers believe that the grape variety is closely related to the Hunnic grape

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 ‘ ...

which is notable for being the mother vine to several grape varieties including Chardonnay and

Gamay Gamay is a purple-colored grape variety used to make red wines, most notably grown in Beaujolais and in the Loire Valley around Tours. Its full name is Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc. It is a very old cultivar, mentioned as long ago as the 15th centu ...

. There also might be a relationship between Gueuche noir and the

Jura wine Jura may refer to: Places * Jura, Scotland, island of the Inner Hebrides off Great Britain *Jūra, river in Lithuania Mountain ranges * Jura Mountains, on the French–Swiss–German border *Franconian Jura, south-central Germany *Swabian Jura, ...

grape

Enfariné noir Enfariné noir (or Gouais noir) is a red French wine grape variety that is grown predominantly in the Jura wine region of eastern France. Despite being known under the synonym ''Gouais noir'' in the Aisne, Aube, Marne, Meuse and Seine-et-Marne ...

.J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz ''Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours'' pgs 330-331 & 451-452 Allen Lane 2012

History

Records indicate that Gueuche noir has been growing in the Franche-Comté at least the 18th century. Under the synonym ''Foirard noir'', the grape may have been one of the varieties listed on a February 3, 1731 parliamentary decree from

Besançon Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzer ...

in the

Doubs Doubs (, ; ; frp, Dubs) is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Eastern France. Named after the river Doubs, it had a population of 543,974 in 2019.Foirard blanc, Valet noir and Barclan blanc that were planted after 1702 to be uprooted and replaced with cereal crops. The exact origins of Gueuche noir are not yet known but early DNA analysis suggest a strong relationship between the grape and the genetically prolific Gouais blanc vine which is the mother and grandparent to several ''

Vitis vinifera ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, is a species of flowering plant, native to the Mediterranean region, Central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran. There are curr ...

'' varieties. In the 20th century, ampelographers such as

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 ...

and Jean Guicherd have speculated that Gueuche noir may have some relationship to the Jura variety Enfariné noir.

Viticulture

Gueuche noir is a mid to late-ripening grape variety that can be very fertile and high yielding. The grape's thin skins and small, compact bunches are 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 fungal disease like

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, a ...

as well 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 ...

Wines regions

While once widely planted in the Franche-Comté, today the grape is nearly extinct and is currently not listed in France's official registry of grape varieties permitted for use in ''

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 bou ...

'' (AOC) wine production. In the commune of Liesle in the Doubs department, Domaine des Cavarodes has been rehabilitating an old vineyard that includes

old vine Old or OLD may refer to: Places * Old, Baranya, Hungary * Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, ...

s of Gueuche noir that are between the ages of 50–100 years. These vines are

field blend 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 ...

ed with several other grape varieties including Gamay, Enfariné noir, Pinot noir, Pinot Meunier,

Poulsard Poulsard (also Ploussard) is a red French wine grape variety from the Jura wine region. The name Ploussard is used mainly around the town of Pupillin but can appear on wine labels throughout Jura as an authorized synonyms. While technically a ...

Trousseau Trousseau may refer to: *A dowry *The wardrobe of a bride, including the wedding dress or similar clothing *A hope chest, glory box or its contents *Trousseau (grape), a wine grape also known as Bastardo ** Trousseau Gris, a white mutation of the ...

, Argant, Blauer Portugieser and Mézy. The grapes are harvested together and used to produce a red blend under the ''

Vin de Pays ''Vin de pays'' (, "country wine") was a French wine classification that was above the '' vin de table'' classification, but below the ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) classification and below the former ''vin délimité de qualité s ...

de Franche-Comté'' designation. Another Jura wine producer, Domaine Ganevat in Rotalier, has also replanted a small vineyard with new Gueuche noir vines that they use in the blend for their early-drinking nouveau wine.

Styles

According to ampelographer Pierre Galet, Gueuche noir tends to have difficulties ripening in the Franche-Comté with

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. ...

examples of the grape often being very

acidic 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 ...

and "hard" tasting.

Synonyms

Over the years Gueuche noir has been known under a variety of synonyms including: Espagnon, Foirard, Foirard noir (in

Poligny, Jura Poligny () is a commune in the Jura department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. The town stands at the foot of the first plateau of the Jura region, with limestone cliffs rising to its east and south, and a steephead valley lead ...

), Gouais, Gros plant, Guat, Plant d'Anjou noir, Plant d'Arlay (in

Salins-les-Bains Salins-les-Bains (), commonly referred to simply as Salins, is a commune in the Jura department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Eastern France. It is located on the departmental border with Doubs, 34.8 km (21.6 mi) to the south-southw ...

), Plant de Saint-Remy and Plant de Treffort (in the

Ain Ain (, ; frp, En) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. Named after the Ain river, it is bordered by the Saône and Rhône rivers. Ain is located on the country's eastern edge, on the Swiss border, where ...

department).

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)
Gueuche noir
' Accessed: April 28th, 2013

References

{{reflist Red wine grape varieties