Cadarca or Kadarka or Gamza is a dark-skinned variety of

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry (botany), berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non-Climacteric (botany), climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of ...

used for red wine. It has a long history and is popular in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

and

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Mac ...

, where it is known as Гъмза ''Gamza''. It used to be an important constituent of the Hungarian red cuvée Bull's Blood of

Eger Eger ( , ; ; also known by other alternative names) is the county seat of Heves County, and the second largest city in Northern Hungary (after Miskolc). A city with county rights. Eger is best known for its castle, thermal baths, baroque bu ...

or Szekszárd, but has long been in decline in Hungarian plantations, to be replaced by Kékfrankos and

Portugieser Blauer Portugieser is a red Austrian wine, Austrian, Slovenian wine, Croatian wine and German wine grapeJ. Robinson (ed) ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pg 542 Oxford University Press 2006 found primarily in the Rheinhessen (wi ...

. It is also grown in most other central European and balkan countries where it is sometimes known as ''Cadarca'' or ''Skadarska''.Herbst, Ron and Sharon ''Wine Lover's Companion'' pg 273 (Barron's 1995) Kadarka is sometimes assumed to originate from Hungary. Another hypothesis is that is related to the variety Skadarsko, which is supposed to originate from Lake Scutari, which is situated on the border between

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the ...

and

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = ...

. In a recent study, it is claimed that one of the parents of Kadarka is

Papazkarası Papazkarası, also Papaskara ( tr, papazkarası, "priest's black"), is a Turkish grape variety and a Turkish wine grown in the Marmara and Central Anatolia regions of Turkey. This variety was used to make a red wine blend with Cinsaut. The wine ha ...

which is grown in Strandja region of Kırklareli. Cadarca (Kadarka) wine is characterised by full, easily recognizable taste, deep aroma and dark or medium dark colour. Kadarka is often used for cuvees including some of the

Egri Bikavér Egri Bikavér (Bull's Blood of Eger) is a blended red wine produced in Eger, Hungary. It is very representative of the red wines of Eger, a terroir wine, which carries the flavour of the soils of local production sites, the mezzo-climate uniqu ...

s, and also for production of table wines. The best Kadarka has been grown in Minis, Romania since the 17th century. In Bulgaria, Gamza is mostly cultivated in the northwestern and central northern regions, in the Danubian Plain. Until the recent decades, Gamza was the dominant grape varietal in these Bulgarian regions. The main features of Gamza are a large yet compact cluster of small, almost spherical grapes, dark blue to black in colour.

Synonyms

Kadarka is also known under the following synonyms:Vitis International Variety Catalogue: Kadarka
, accessed on December 16, 2009 (note: site renders Hungarian accented characters incorrectly) Backator-Szőlő, Black Kadarka, Blaue Kadarka, Blaue Ungarische, Bleu de Hongrie, Blue Kadarka, Branicevka, Budai Fekete, Cadarca, Cadarca de Minis, Cadarca Neagra, Cadarka, Cedireska, Cerna Ghija, Cerna Giza, Cerna Meco, Cerna Skadarka, Cetereska, Cherna Gizha, Chernina, Chetereshka, Csoka Szőlő, Domanli, Edle Ungartraube, Edler Schwarzblauer Tokayer, Feket Budai, Fekete Czigány, Fekete Zinka, Fűszeres Kadarka, Gamza, Gemza, Gimza, Gmza, Gymza, Jenei Feket, Jenei Fekete, Kadar, Kadarka, Kadarka Blaue, Kadarka Ble, Kadarka Bleu, Kadarka Chernaya, Kadarka Crna, Kadarka Fekete, Kadarka Fűszeres, Kadarka Keck, Kadarka Modra, Kadarka Nemes, Kadarka Nera, Kadarka Noir, Kadarka Rubinrot, Kadarka Schwarz, Kadarka Sinyaya, Kadarkas, Kadarska, Kallmet, Kara Shiralak, Kék Budai, Kékkardarka, Kereszetes Levelű, Keresztes Levelű, Ksoka Szőlő, Ksoko Szőlő, Lúdtalpú, Lugojana, Meco Cerna, Mekis, Mekish, Modra Kadarka, Mor Kadarka, Mórkadarka, Mosler Schwarz, Nazlin Gomza, Nazlun Gamza, Nemes Kadarka, Noble Bleu, Noir de Scutari, Noir de la Moselle, Raisin Noir de Scutari, Raisin Turc, Schwarzer Cadarca. Schwarzer Mosler, Schwarzer Skutariner, Scutariner, Sirena, Siva Gamza, Skadarka, Skadarska, Skakar, Tanka Gamza, Török Szőlő, Törökbúza Szőlő, Törökszőlő, Tokaynero di Scutari, Ungarische Edeltraube, Vodishka Loza, Vodnishka, Vrachansko Cherno, Zelena Gamza, Zherni Shipon.

References

{{wines Red wine grape varieties Grape varieties of Hungary Bulgarian wine Grape varieties of Bulgaria