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Maréchal Foch () is an inter-specific
Marechal Foch was formerly commonly grown in the Loire, but today it is limited to a small number of hectares in Europe. Because it is a hybrid variety, cultivation for commercial wines in Europe is restricted by European Union regulation.
It is more extensively grown in North America, including southern Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia, as well as the eastern wine growing regions of the United States, where it ripens fully by the end of September. It is also commonly grown in Minnesota and Ohio. In the west, it is grown in Colorado in Delta County. Additionally, it is grown in Oregon's Willamette Valley, Missoula, Montana and Canada's Okanagan Valley and
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 ...
French red wine grape variety. It was developed at the Oberlin Institute in Colmar-Alsace, at the beginning of the 20th century, by Eugène Kuhlmann, then known as Kuhlmann 188-2''.'' The variety arrived in the U.S. in 1946, where it was subsequently renamed Marechal Foch in honor of Marshall Ferdinand Foch, Supreme Allied Commander during the First World War. Some believe it to be a cross of Goldriesling
Goldriesling is a grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera'' used for white wine. It was created in 1893 by Christian Oberlin in Colmar, Alsace by crossing Riesling with another grape variety, which is sometimes given as Courtillier Musqu ...
(itself an intra-specific cross of Riesling and Courtiller Musqué
Muscat d'Eisenstadt (also known as Muscat de Saumur and Muscat Précoce de Saumur) is a white variety of grape of French origin. It was first cultivated in 1842 by Auguste Courtiller (1795–1875), who created it by selecting seedlings from a P ...
) with a '' Vitis riparia'' - '' Vitis rupestris'' cross. Others contend that its pedigree is uncertain and may contain the grape variety Oberlin 595. It ripens early, and it is cold-hardy and resistant to fungal diseases. The berry size is small, which makes it prone to bird injury. The quality of wine produced by Marechal Foch vines is highly dependent upon vine age, and the flavor profile associated with many new-world hybrid varietals is much reduced in examples made with fruit picked from older vines.
Wine regions
Marechal Foch was formerly commonly grown in the Loire, but today it is limited to a small number of hectares in Europe. Because it is a hybrid variety, cultivation for commercial wines in Europe is restricted by European Union regulation.
It is more extensively grown in North America, including southern Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia, as well as the eastern wine growing regions of the United States, where it ripens fully by the end of September. It is also commonly grown in Minnesota and Ohio. In the west, it is grown in Colorado in Delta County. Additionally, it is grown in Oregon's Willamette Valley, Missoula, Montana and Canada's Okanagan Valley and Comox Valley
The Comox Valley is a region on the east coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, that includes the city of Courtenay, British Columbia, Courtenay, the town of Comox, British Columbia, Comox, the village of Cumberland, British Columb ...
. Marechal Foch was introduced to Canadian vineyards in 1946 by Adhemar de Chaunac of Brights' wines, along with several other French hybrids.
However, the extent to which Marechal Foch is grown in Canada has been much reduced, due to an extensive vine-pull program in the early 1980s designed to replace hybrids with ('' Vitis vinifera'') cultivars.
Wines
Marechal Foch is used to make a variety of styles of wine, ranging from a light red wine similar to Beaujolais to more extracted wines with intense dark "inky" purple colour and unique varietal character, and even sweet, fortified, Port-like wines. Wines made from Marechal Foch tend to have strong acidity, aromas of black fruits and, in some cases, toasted wheat, mocha, fresh coffee, bitter chocolate, vanilla bean, and musk. In the darker variants of the wine a strong ''gamey
Game or quarry is any wild animal hunted for animal products (primarily meat), for recreation (" sporting"), or for trophies. The species of animals hunted as game varies in different parts of the world and by different local jurisdictions, thou ...
'' nose is also often described. Highly extracted, and more carefully produced wines made from older plantings of Marechal Foch have recently been successfully marketed as more expensive niche wines with a dedicated following.
Related varieties
The grape varietiesLéon Millot
Léon Millot (sometimes called "Leon Millot Rouge" (or "Foster's Leon") to distinguish it from "Leon Millot Noir" (a.k.a. "Wagner's Leon") which many breeders believe to be ) is a red variety of hybrid grape used for wine.Lucie Kuhlman, and Marechal Foch came out of the same crossing, and are therefore related.
Synonyms
Foch, Kuhlmann 188.2, Marschall FochSee also
* List of grape varieties *Marechal Joffre
Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre (12 January 1852 – 3 January 1931) was a French general who served as Commander-in-Chief of French forces on the Western Front from the start of World War I until the end of 1916. He is best known for regroup ...
References
{{Hybrid grape varieties Red wine grape varieties Hybrid grape varieties Canadian wine