Terret noir is a dark-skinned

French wine French wine is produced all throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France is one of the largest wine producers in the world, along with Italian, Spanish, and America ...

grape variety This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see Viti ...

grown primarily in the Rhône valley region 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 ...

. It is a

mutation 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 ...

of the old ''

Vitis vinifera ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, is a species of flowering plant, native to the Mediterranean region, Central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran. There are curre ...

'' vine

Terret A terret is a metal loop on a horse harness, guiding the lines and preventing them from becoming tangled or snagged on the harness. The lines run from the hands of the driver, through the terrets, and then attach to the horse's bit to guide the ...

.J. Robinson ''Jancis Robinson's Guide to Wine Grapes'' pg 184 Oxford University Press 1996 It is a permitted blending grape for Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Like the related ''

Terret gris Terret gris is a white French wine grape variety planted primarily in the Languedoc wine region. It is a mutation of the ancient ''Vitis vinifera'' vine Terret. ''Appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) regulations allow the grape to be used in ...

'' and ''

Terret blanc Terret blanc is a white French wine grape variety growing primarily in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of southern France. It is a mutation of the Terret vine that also spawned the dark skinned Terret noir and light-skinned Terret gris varieties. ...

'', the vine tends to bud late and grow vigorously. Terret noir produces a light

color Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...

wine that is perfumed and tart.J. Robinson ''Vines, Grapes & Wines'' pg 202 Mitchell Beazley 1986 In 2007, there were of Terret noir in France. This was a steep decline from the 400 ha (1000 acres) plantings that the ''

Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité The Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (previously ''Institut National des Appellations d'Origine'') (INAO) is the French organization charged with regulating French agricultural products with Protected Designations of Origin (PDOs). ...

'' (INAO) reported in 2000.J. Robinson (ed) ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pg 693 Oxford University Press 2006

Wine regions

Terret noir is a permitted grape variety in several

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

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 ...

AOCs including:P. Saunders ''Wine Label Language'' pp. 51-85 Firefly Books 2004 * Châteauneuf-du-Pape, no maximum or minimum usage for Terret noir though it tends to be a minor blending component far behind

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 ...

Syrah Syrah (), also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In 1999, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeuse B ...

, Mourvedre and Cinsault. Grapes destined for use in Châteauneuf-du-Pape must be harvested to a yield no greater than 35

hectoliters The litre (international spelling) or liter (American English spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metre (m3). ...

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...

with the finished wine needing to attain a minimum alcohol level of 12.5%. *

Corbières AOC Corbières is an Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) for wine in the Languedoc-Roussillon, France, and it is this region's largest AOC, responsible for 46 per cent of the region's AOC wine production in 2005. Red wine dominates the producti ...

, permitted as minor blending components in both the 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. ...

'' wines behind

Carignan Carignan (also known as Mazuelo, Bovale Grande, Cariñena, Carinyena, Samsó, Carignane, and Carignano) is a red grape variety of Spanish origin that is more commonly found in French wine but is widely planted throughout the western Mediterra ...

which must make up at least 50% of the blend. Here the grapes are often blended with Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault and Picpoul. Grapes destined for the AOC wine must be harvested to a yield no greater than 50 hl/ha with the finished wine needing to attaining a minimum alcohol level of 11.5%. *

Costières de Nîmes AOC Costières de Nîmes is an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) for wines that are produced in an area between the ancient city of Nîmes and the western Rhône delta, in the French department of the Gard. Formerly part of the Languedoc region ...

, permitted to be blended in both the red and ''rosé'' wines up to a maximum of 50%. Here Terret is often blended with Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre,

Counoise Counoise is a dark-skinned wine grape grown primarily in the Rhône valley region of France. Counoise is also grown in California, New Jersey, and Washington. Counoise adds a peppery note and good acidity to a blended red wine, but does not have ...

and Cinsault. Grapes destined for AOC production must be harvested to a yield no greater than 60 hl/ha with the finished wine needing to attain a minimum alcohol level of at least 11%. *

Coteaux du Languedoc 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 ...

, permitted as a minor blending component in the red and ''rosé'' wines behind Grenache, Mourvedre and Syrah that must make up at least 50% of the blend collectively and Carignan which can not make up no more than 50% of the remaining parts. Terret, along with Counoise, Cinsault and

Lladoner Pelut 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 conditio ...

are used in varying, small percentages. Grapes destined for AOC production must be harvested a yield no greater than 50 hl/ha with the finished wines needing to attain a minimum alcohol level of at least 11%. The minimum rises to 11.5% if the wine has a '' cru'' designation—meaning that it was grown in the specially recognized vineyards around Corbières, Mejanelle, St-Christol,

Vérargues Vérargues (; Provençal: ''Verargas'') is a former commune in the Hérault department in the Occitanie region in southern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Entre-Vignes. Climate The climate is hot-summer Mediterranea ...

, Montpeyrous,

Pic St-Loup Pic Saint-Loup (Languedocien: ''Puòg de Sant Lop'') is a mountain in Languedoc-Roussillon, southern France, located near the communes of Cazevieille and Saint-Mathieu-de-Tréviers in the Hérault department Department may refer to: * Departme ...

, Quatourze, Saint-Drézéry,

St-Georges d'Orques Saint-Georges-d'Orques (; oc, Sant Jòrdi d'Òrcas) 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 t ...

, St-Saturnin and the extinct volcano

Montagne de la Clape Montagne or Montagné may refer to: People * Camille Montagne (1784–1866), French military physician and botanist. The standard author abbreviation Mont. (of Montagne) is used to indicate this individual as the author when citing a botanical n ...

Coteaux de Pierrevert AOC Coteaux de Pierrevert is a wine-growing AOC in the western part of the Provence wine region of France, where the wines are produced in 11 communes of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence département. It is partly located in the valley of the Durance ri ...

, permitted as a minor blending component in the red and ''rosé'' wines behind Carignan, Cinsault, Grenache, Mourvedre and Petite Syrah. Grapes destined for AOC production must be harvested a yield no greater than 50 hl/ha with the finished wines needing to attain a minimum alcohol level of at least 11%. *

Côtes du Rhône AOC Côtes du Rhône is a wine-growing ''Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée'' (AOC) for the Rhône wine region of France, which may be used throughout the region, also in those areas which are covered by other AOCs. In a limited part of the region, ...

, permitted as a minor blending component in the red and ''rosé'' wines behind Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, Carignan, Cinsault, Muscardin, Camarese, Picpoul noir,

Grenache gris 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 Clairette rosé. Grapes destined for AOC production must be harvested a yield no greater than 52 hl/ha with the finished wines needing to attain a minimum alcohol level of at least 11%. * Côtes du Rhône Villages AOC, permitted as a minor blending component in the red and ''rosé'' wines behind Grenache (25-65%), Syrah, Cinsault and Mourvedre which collectively must account for at least 25% with Terret noir, Carignan, Muscardin, Cammarese and Picpoul permitted to fill in any remaining amount. Grapes destined for AOC production must be harvested a yield no greater than 42 hl/ha with the finished wines needing to attain a minimum alcohol level of at least 12.5% *

Minervois AOC Minervois is an AOC in the Languedoc-Roussillon wine region, in the departments of the Aude and of the Herault. Historically, the region's capital has been the village of Minerve. AOC regulations require the wine to be blended (at least 2 variet ...

, permitted in the red and ''rosé'' wines up to a maximum of 40% with at least 60% of the blend needing to be a collective of Syrah (minimum 10% on its own), Mourvedre, Lladoner Pelut and Grenache, with Carignan, Cinsault, Picpoul and Aspiran noir permitted to fill in the remaining components of the blend. Grapes destined for AOC production must be harvested a yield no greater than 50 hl/ha with the finished wines needing to attain a minimum alcohol level of at least 11.5%. For wines produced around the commune of La Livinière, a special designation of ''Minervois la Livinière'' can be produced under the same AOC blending and alcohol requirements with the yield reduced to a maximum of 45 hl/ha.

Synonyms

Terret noir is also known under the synonyms Terre Chernyi, Terret Bourret and Terret du Pays.Vitis International Variety Catalogue: Terret Noir
, accessed on December 7, 2009

References

{{reflist Red wine grape varieties Grape varieties of France