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 Pupillin is a commune in the Jura department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Population Geography Pupillin is located in the hills above Arbois, and is famed locally for its extensive vineyards, where monks were already grow ...

but can appear on wine labels throughout Jura as an authorized

synonyms A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

. While technically a dark-skinned ''noir grape'', the skins of Poulsard are very thin with low amounts of color - phenols and produces very pale colored red wines, even with extended maceration and can be used to produce white wines. Because of this, Poulsard is often blended with other red-skin varieties or used to produce lightly colored ''

rosé A rosé () is a type of wine that incorporates some of the color from the grape skins, but not enough to qualify it as a red wine. It may be the oldest known type of wine, as it is the most straightforward to make with the skin contact method. ...

'' wines. Additionally the grape is used to make ''

blanc de noir Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

'' white wines and sparkling ''cremants''.J. Robinson ''Jancis Robinson's Guide to Wine Grapes'' pg 129 Oxford University Press 1996 Poulsard is an authorized grape variety in the '' Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée'' (AOC) wines of

Arbois AOC Arbois () is a commune in the Jura department, in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, eastern France. The river Cuisance passes through the town, which centres on an arcaded central square where one can sample the local wines. The commune ha ...

, Côtes du Jura AOC,

Crémant du Jura AOC Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. While the phrase commonly refers to champagne, European Union countries legally reserve that term for products exclusively produced in the Champagne reg ...

, L'Etoile AOC and Macvin du Jura AOC. Outside Jura, Poulsard is also grown in

Bugey AOC Bugey wine is produced in the Bugey region in the Ain département of France, under the two VDQS designations Bugey and Roussette du Bugey. On May 28, 2009, INAO gave its final approval for the elevation of Bugey and Roussette du Bugey to ''App ...

of 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 it ...

'' département'' in eastern France.J. Robinson ''Vines, Grapes & Wines'' pg 200 Mitchell Beazley 1986

Wine regions

Poulsard is found almost exclusively in eastern France, particularly in the Jura between

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

where it has been grown since the 15th century. Because of its versatility and its distinctive floral aromas, the grape was once the most widely planted grape variety in Jura but because of various viticultural difficulties and changing trends in the wine market, its numbers have declined. However, it is still the second most widely planted in Jura.Jura Wines '
Grape Varieties
"'' Official Site. Accessed: February 7th, 2011 It is a permitted grape in several Jura AOCs including the Arbois and Côtes du Jura AOC where it is blended with

Trousseau noir Trousseau or Trousseau Noir, also known as Bastardo and Merenzao, is an old variety of red wine grape originating in eastern France. It is grown in small amounts in many parts of Western Europe; the largest plantations are today found in Portugal, ...

and

Pinot noir Pinot Noir () is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words for ''pine'' and ''black.' ...

to produce red and ''rosé''; the L'Etoile AOC where it is used to produce a ''blanc de noir'' white wine and the Crémant du Jura AOC where it is used to make white and sparkling ''rosé''. Outside Jura, it is grown in the Bugey wine region located near the Beaujolais wine region. There Poulsard is blended with Gamay, Pinot noir and

Mondeuse noire Mondeuse noire () is a red French wine grape variety that is grown primarily in the Savoy region of eastern France. The grape can also be found in Argentina, Australia, California, Switzerland and Sicily. Plantings of Mondeuse noire was hit ...

to produce light reds.

Viticulture

While the grape can grow in many different

vineyard soils The soil composition of vineyards is one of the most important viticultural considerations when planting grape vines. The soil supports the root structure of the vine and influences the drainage levels and amount of minerals and nutrients that the ...

, in Jura it is most often planted on

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...

marl Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, clays, and silt. When hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae. Marl makes up the lower part o ...

, limestone and clay soils. The grape clusters produce tightly compacted bunches with thin-skinned oval berries that have a light violet to black color. The Poulsard vine tends to buds early, which makes it prone to the viticultural hazard of early spring time

frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor in an above-freezing atmosphere coming in contact with a solid surface whose temperature is below freezing, and resulting in a phase change from water vapor (a gas) ...

. In some vintages, '' coulure'' can set in and affect yields (which are usually very low to begin with). Additionally the vine is very susceptible to various

grape diseases 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

downey 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 cruci ...

, grey rot and oidium. These issues, coupled with its low phenolics and coloring pigments, have contributed to the grape's decline in overall plantings,Oz Clarke ''Encyclopedia of Grapes'' pg 188 Harcourt Books 2001 though it still maintains its presence in Jura. Historically, Poulsard has been used in eastern France as a table grape but its thin skin has made transport of the grape beyond local villages difficult.

Clones

Over the centuries the Poulsard grape has developed a number of

mutations 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 ...

that have allowed clones of the variety to emerge. In addition to the light red-berried form that is most commonly found, there is a completely white-skin and separate pink-skinned variety of Poulsard as well as deeply aromatic, darker skin variety ''musqué'' clone.

Wine styles

Though technically a red-skinned ''noir grape'', Poulsard often produces ''

Vin gris ''Vin gris'' () is a variant of ''rosé'' wine made from red grapes, in particular ''Pinot noir'' and ''Pinot gris''. ''Pinot noir'' is a black grape, but can also be used to make rosé or white wine. When the grapes are brought to the winery and cr ...

'' either due to low extraction of color compounds or from oxidation of the

must Must (from the Latin ''vinum mustum'', "young wine") is freshly crushed fruit juice (usually grape juice) that contains the skins, seeds, and stems of the fruit. The solid portion of the must is called pomace and typically makes up 7–23% of t ...

that lightens the color even further. While most red skin grape contribute color over a matter of hours to a few days during the maceration process where the skin is kept in contact with the fermenting

, the amount of pigment in Poulsard is so low that even after a week of extended maceration very little color has seeped into the must. It is for this reason that Poulsard is often used in the production of white and lightly colored ''rosé'' wines, though officially more than 80% of the

harvest Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...

in Jura is used for red wine production. Though Poulsard can be used to produce a varietal wine, it is often blended the grape with other varieties either for enhanced color or to allow the Poulsard to contributes to the aroma of the blend. Among the grapes that Poulsard are often blended with is Trousseau noir,

Trousseau gris ''Trousseau Gris'' is a French wine, French grape variety made into white wine. It is occasionally found in eastern France and was once widely grown in California wine, California under the name ''Gray Riesling''. In cool climates it can produce ...

, and Pinot noir.

Synonyms

Poulsard and its wines have been known under a variety of

including Belossard, Blussart, Blussard Blau, Blussard Frueh Blau, Blussard Modry, Cornelle, Drille-de-Coq, Kleinblaettrige Fingertraube, Malvasier Schwarz, Mècle, Mescle, Méthie, Miècle, Olivette, Pandouleau, Pelossard, Peloussard, Pendulot, Plant d'Arbois, Pleusard, Pleusart, Plousard, Ploussard, Plussart, Pulceau, Pulsar, Pulsard, Quille de coq, Raisin Perle and Yurskii Zhemchug.Poulsard
, Vitis International Variety Catalogue, Accessed: February 7th, 2011 The white clone version of Poulsard blanc shares many similar synonyms in addition to Blussard weiss, Pelossart, Pulsar Belyi and Quille de Coque.Poulsard blanc
, Vitis International Variety Catalogue, Accessed: February 7th, 2011

References

{{wines Red wine grape varieties