Piquepoul, Picpoul, or Picapoll is a

variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, ...

grown primarily in the Rhone Valley and

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...

regions of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

as well as

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. It exists both in dark-skinned (Piquepoul noir) and light-skinned (Piquepoul blanc) versions, as well as a very little grown Piquepoul gris. Piquepoul blanc is the most common of the Piquepouls, with cultivated in France in 2000, and an increasing trend. Piquepoul tends to bud late and has some sensitivity to

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 ...

History

Piquepoul has a long history in the Languedoc region, and along with

Cinsault Cinsaut or Cinsault ( ) is a red wine grape whose heat tolerance and productivity make it important in Languedoc-Roussillon and the former French colonies of Algeria, Lebanon, and Morocco. It is often blended with grapes such as Grenache and Ca ...

and

Clairette blanche Clairette blanche is a white wine grape variety most widely grown in the wine regions of Provence wine, Provence, Rhône (wine region), Rhône and Languedoc wine, Languedoc in France. At the end of the 1990s, there were of Clairette blanche g ...

is one of the oldest domestic grape varieties of that region. It was blended with Clairette blanche to produce the wine

Picardan Picardan or Picardan blanc is a white wine grape which is one of 13 permitted blending grapes within the Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC in Rhône wine region in France, although very little planted. The Vitis International Variety Catalogue previousl ...

in the 17th & 18th centuries. After the

Great French Wine Blight The Great French Wine Blight was a severe blight of the mid-19th century that destroyed many of the vineyards in France and laid waste to the wine industry. It was caused by an aphid that originated in North America and was carried across the Atl ...

, when large shifts in varieties planted took place, Piquepoul lost popularity due to its susceptibility to fungal diseases such as powdery mildew and its low yield.

Piquepoul wines

In Languedoc, Piquepoul blanc is used both for blending and for varietal wines. Red wines produced from Picpoul noir are high in alcohol, are richly scented, but have a very pale colour, which has made the variety more popular as a blending ingredient than as a producer of

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. ...

wines. Both the blanc and noir versions of Piquepoul are permitted blending grapes for the production of

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Châteauneuf-du-Pape (; Provençal: Castèu-Nòu-De-Papo) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. The village lies about to the east of the Rhône and north of the town of Avign ...

. However, in 2004 only 0.15% of the appellation's surface was planted with the Piquepoul varieties. In the New World, Piquepoul is being successfully grown in the foothills of the

Chiricahua Mountains The Chiricahua Mountains massif is a large mountain range in southeastern Arizona which is part of the Basin and Range province of the west and southwestern United States and northwest Mexico; the range is part of the Coronado National Forest. T ...

(5000 feet above sea level) in the

Willcox AVA The Willcox AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in southeastern Arizona, centered around the city of Willcox where it is bisected by Interstate 10. Approximately 85% of wine grapes from Arizona are grown within the AVA boundaries. The ...

of southern Arizona. It is also grown in the

Red Mountain AVA The Red Mountain AVA is an American Viticultural Area that includes the land surrounding Red Mountain in Benton County, Washington. It is part of the Yakima Valley AVA, which in turn is part of the larger Columbia Valley AVA. Located betwe ...

of eastern Washington State. Piquepoul blanc is being grown in

Sonoma, California Sonoma is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Sonoma is one of the principal cities of California's Wine Country and the center of the Sonoma Valley AVA. Sonoma's p ...

. Piquepoul blanc is also grown successfully in the

Texas Hill Country AVA The Texas Hill Country AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in the Texas Hill Country north of San Antonio and west of Austin, Texas. The appellation is the third largest American Viticultural Area in geographic area behind the Upper ...

and

Texas High Plains AVA The Texas High Plains AVA is an American Viticultural Area located on the Llano Estacado region of Texas. The appellation is the second largest American Viticultural Area in Texas, and covers an area of over . Most of the vineyards are on fla ...

s. In Australia, Piquepoul blanc was first planted in 2013, and the first commercial release of wine was in 2017. Cuttings of the variety were imported for the wine's suitability for drinking with

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not al ...

Picpoul de Pinet

Picpoul de Pinet is an AOC within the

Languedoc AOC Languedoc-Roussillon wine, including the ''vin de pays'' labeled ''Vin de Pays d'Oc'', is produced in southern France. While "Languedoc" can refer to a specific historic region of France and Northern Catalonia, usage since the 20th century (esp ...

for white wines made exclusively from Piquepoul blanc in the communes of Pinet,

Mèze Mèze (; oc, Mesa; phn, Mansa) is a commune in the Hérault department in southern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Mézois''. Geography Situated on the étang de Thau, Mèze shares with Bouzigues its historic role as the oyster capital o ...

Florensac Florensac (; oc, Florençac) is a commune in the Hérault department in southern France. Population Images Image:Florensac mairie.JPG, Town hall. Image:Florensac Herault.JPG, Bridge between Florensac and St. Thibéry. Image:Le Chateau de ...

Castelnau-de-Guers Castelnau-de-Guers (Languedocien: ''Castèlnòu de Guèrs'') is a commune in the Hérault department in southern France. It is the birthplace of historian Michel Christol. Population See also *Communes of the Hérault department The ...

Montagnac Montagnac or Montanhac may refer to the following places in France: * Montagnac, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, a former commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence ''département'' that is now a part of Montagnac-Montpezat *Montagnac, Gard, in the Gard ''dé ...

and

Pomérols Pomérols (; oc, Pomeiròus) is a commune in the Hérault department in the Occitanie region in southern France. Population See also *Communes of the Hérault department The following is a list of the 342 communes of the Hérault departmen ...

. The wines are green-gold in color, full-bodied, and show lemon flavours. They have a soft, delicate nose, with pleasant hints of

acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...

and hawthorn blossom. Modernization of the winemaking has led to increased interest in these wines.

Synonyms

Synonyms for Piquepoul blanc include Avello, Avillo, Extra, Feher Piquepoul, Languedocien, Picapoll, Picapolla, Picapulla, Picpoul, Picpoul de Pinet. Synonyms for Piquepoul gris include Avillo, Languedocien, Picapulla, Picpoul, Pikepul Seryi, Piquepoul rose, Szürke Piquepoul. Synonyms for Piquepoul noir include Avillo, Kek Piquepoul, Languedocien, Pical, Pical negro, Pical Polho, Picalpolho, Picapoll, Picapoll Negro, Picapouia, Picapouya, Picapulla, Picpouille, Picpoul, Picpoule, Picquepoul, Pikepul Chernyi, Pique Poule, Piquerette noire.Vitis International Variety Catalogue: Piquepoul noir
, accessed on June 18, 2008 Picpoul is also a synonym for the variety

Folle blanche Folle blanche, also known as Picpoule, Gros Plant, and Enrageat blanc, is a wine grape variety from southwest France. It was the traditional grape variety in Cognac and Armagnac production until the 20th century. Folle blanche is an offspring o ...

, which has no known relationship to Piquepoul.

References

{{Reflist White wine grape varieties Red wine grape varieties Languedoc-Roussillon wine AOCs Grape varieties of France