Brun Fourca is a red French wine grape variety that once grew widely throughout Provence and Southwest France but is now limited to small plantings within the

Palette Palette may refer to: * Cosmetic palette, an archaeological form * Palette, another name for a color scheme * Palette (painting), a wooden board used for mixing colors for a painting ** Palette knife, an implement for painting * Palette (company), ...

'' Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée'' (AOC).J. Robinson ''Jancis Robinson's Guide to Wine Grapes'' pg 34 Oxford University Press 1996

History

The name Brun Fourca comes from the colour of the stems ''brun'' (or brown) and the characteristic "forked" (''fourche'') shape of the clusters with shoulder or "wing" branch of the cluster being of pronounced size and length in contrast to the main bunch stem. The first written mention of Brun Fourca was in a 1772 document where the name was used as a synonym for

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.' ...

. Provençal records from 1783-1784 mention actual Brun Fourca planted in the communes of Aubagne and

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. ...

in the Bouches-du-Rhône department.J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz ''Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours'' pg 139-140, Allen Lane 2012

Viticulture

Brun Fourca is a mid-ripening variety that is highly prone to powdery mildew and

botrytis 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" or ...

. The vine produces small "forked" clusters of very large berries that easily fall off the rachis when the grapes are fully ripe.

Wine regions and AOC regulations

While the grape was historically grown throughout the Provence, South West France and Languedoc wine regions, today it is nearly extinct with less than 2.5 acres (1 hectare) of the variety recorded in France in 2006. What is left is found almost entirely within the Palette AOC where two estates,

Château Simone A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Nowaday ...

and

Château Crémade A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. No ...

, claim to still be using the grape in their red and

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. ...

blends with Cinsault,

Grenache Grenache () or Garnacha () is one of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world. Niels Lillelund: ''Rhône-Vinene'' p. 25, JP Bøger – JP/Politikens Forlagshus A/S, 2004. . It ripens late, so it needs hot, dry conditi ...

and Mourvedre. Pinot Noir

Brun Fourca grapes destined for AOC wine production must be harvested to a yield no greater than 40 hl/ha with the finished wine attaining a minimum alcohol level of at least 11%. In addition to Cinsault, Grenache and Mourvedre which must make up the majority of the wine, Brun Fourca can also be blended with Carignan, Castet, Manosquin,

Muscat noir Muscat ( ar, مَسْقَط, ) is the capital and most populated city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the total population of Muscat Governorate was ...

and

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebanon' ...

.P. Saunders ''Wine Label Language'' pp. 91 Firefly Books 2004

Confusion with other varieties

Over the years plantings of Brun Fourca have been confused with other wine grape varieties due to either similarities in appearance of synonyms. These include the

Burgundian wine Burgundy wine ( or ') is made in the Burgundy region of eastern France, in the valleys and slopes west of the Saône, a tributary of the Rhône. The most famous wines produced here, and those commonly referred to as "Burgundies," are dry red win ...

grape Pinot noir, of which Brun Fourca was an 18th-century synonym, and the ancient

Ardèche Ardèche (; oc, Ardecha; frp, Ardecha) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.Chichaud.

Synonyms

Among the synonyms that have been used to describe Brun Fourca and its wines include Brun d´Auriol, Brun de Farnous, Brun Farnous, Brun Tourcae, Brun Tourcale, Brunfourka, Caula, Caula Noir, Caula noir de Vaucluse, Farnous (in the

Var department Var (, ) is a department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. It takes its name from the river Var, which flowed along its eastern boundary, until the boundary was moved in 1860 and the department is no longer associ ...

), Floura, Flouron (in the Drôme), Gros Taulier, Mançonnet (in Ardèche), Morrastel Fleuri, Morrastel Flourat, Moulan (in Hérault), Moulard, Moulau, Mourastel Flourat, Moureau (in

Gard Gard () is a department in Southern France, located in the region of Occitanie. It had a population of 748,437 as of 2019; Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC)
Brun Fourca
'' Accessed: March 24th, 2013

References

{{reflist Red wine grape varieties